culture
Townsville VR Installation Pulls Crowds to Flinders Street Gallery This July
Residents are lining up for the new digital exhibit at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery that mixes local stories with interactive technology.
How we reported this
The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery on Flinders Street opened its new VR installation on July 11 with 1,200 visitors through the doors on the first day alone.
The exhibit runs through the July school holidays and features headsets that let users walk through reconstructed scenes of 19th-century Townsville waterfront life and current Reef protection projects. Gallery staff reported same-day ticket sales sold out by 2pm each afternoon since opening.
Why the sudden interest
Locals say the timing matches the release of similar VR works at the Melbourne International Film Festival and the start of winter indoor programming. The installation was funded in part by a $180,000 state arts grant announced in May, with entry priced at $15 for adults and $8 for children under 12.
Organisers at the gallery partnered with the Townsville Civic Theatre on Boundary Street to offer combined tickets that include a short film program on the same night. Data from the gallery shows a 35 percent increase in first-time visitors compared with the same week last year.
How to attend and what follows
Bookings for the remaining July sessions are available online through the gallery website or at the door on The Strand entrance. Sessions run hourly from 10am to 4pm daily, with last entry at 3:30pm. After the exhibit closes on August 15 the gallery will host a free public discussion on August 20 about expanding the project to Railway Estate community centres.