The story behind the scene and the people who created it

A new exhibition titled Northern Lights opened at the Townsville Civic Theatre on July 5, built around light installations and soundscapes created by eight local makers over the past eight months.

The project gained urgency after the Townsville City Council approved extra arts funding in January that required all works to be completed by mid-year, pushing teams to finish pieces that had sat in draft form for years.

Lead artist Mara Chen began the core concept in a rented studio on Ogden Street in South Townsville, while collaborator Liam Torres handled the audio components at the North Queensland Writers Centre on Sturt Street, where the pair first met during a 2024 residency program.

Attendance at Northern Lights reached 2,400 visitors in its first week, with adult tickets priced at $22 and family passes at $55, according to box office figures released by the theatre on July 11.

Building the installations

Chen and Torres recruited three additional fabricators from the Townsville Arts Collective to handle the large-scale light rigs that now hang from the theatre's main stage. The group sourced materials from suppliers along Palmer Street in the Brewery Precinct, where several pieces were assembled before transport to the waterfront venue.

Early sketches show the project started as a response to seasonal monsoon patterns, with each installation timed to change colour every 20 minutes during evening sessions.

Next steps for visitors and makers

Northern Lights runs until August 2, with three free community workshops scheduled at the theatre on July 19, 26 and August 1 for residents who want to try basic light-mapping techniques. Organisers expect ticket sales to cover remaining production costs once total attendance hits 8,000.