In a remarkable achievement, NAFA successfully organised a festival at full capacity for the first time in two years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some restrictions still in place, the 2022 festival witnessed an impressive turnout of over 52,000 attendees across 32 days. With 427 shows featuring 1456 artists from various backgrounds, both local and international, 2022 marked our biggest festival to date!

TROPIC SOUNDS

Kicking of our jam-packed year of events for 2022, was Tropic Sounds. After initially being postponed back in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NAFA hosted a music festival that welcomed ARIA award winners Lime Cordiale. The band were joined by Thelma Plum, Haiku Hands, Jamie MacDowell and Tom Thum, plus local support acts and DJ’s hosted at Reid Park.

WAYFINDER

Physical exuberance, sonic resonance, and collective exhilaration explode onto stage in a kaleidoscopic fusion of dance, music, and visual art called Wayfinder.

Dancenorth Australia joined forces with three-time Grammy nominated Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote and sound artist Byron J. Scullin to create a soaring composition evoking pleasure and possibility.

An undulating sound sculpture condenses and expands this scintillating score, immersing audiences in a new sonic dimension. Japanese-Australian visual artist Hiromi Tango offers her joyful, heart expanding artwork to both the stage design and costumes for this sublime new performance, illuminated by Niklas Pajanti’s beautiful lighting design.

Speaking to our sensorial nature, Wayfinder reminds us of a state of being that transcends the words that have come to define us. Navigating bigger and more ancient reference points, Wayfinder recognises connection as the central axis of the universe. By the stars, the waves, and the sun, we find our way.

CORROBOREE

In 2022, various dance groups representing First Nations communities in and around Townsville were given the opportunity to showcase their traditional culture, dance, and stories at the inaugural Corrobboree event. The event was organized by Big Eye Theatre, a Townsville arts organization led by First Nations individuals. Thanks to the support from NAFA, this event aimed to strengthen communities and foster connections with elders who possess valuable knowledge of song and dance.

Corroboree featured a range of activities including market stalls, food stalls, cultural workshops, music, and both traditional and improvised dances. The ultimate goal is for Corroboree to evolve into a First Nations dance competition similar to Sydney's 'Dance Rights'. With the combined efforts of Big Eye Theatre and NAFA, they are dedicated to establishing Corroboree as a prominent event in the artistic and cultural calendar of North Australia.

POSTWORLD AND DAVID SEQUEIRA - SONGS (UMBRELLA STUDIOS)

POSTWORLD features artists and collectives who create parallel universes in their creative practice. Audiences will be invited into playful, sublime, poetic and cautionary explorations in contemporary works and installations by nationally significant artists including those based in North Queensland. Drawing on the detritus of the human epoch, these worlds have their own internal iconographies and languages existing in alternate time and space. The exhibition will engage with contemporary discourse in object-oriented ontology like vegetal thinking, and the post-Anthropocene. New fictions rendered in the past, present and future provide alternate perspectives on the environment, gender and capitalist hegemony.

David Sequeira’s works often refer to musical notation, however they do not seek to illustrate particular pieces of music. Instead, musical references are used to heighten the sensation of colour in his work. The visual resonance and vibration of each colour is articulated not only by its geometric shape, but also by its position within Sequeira’s overall compositions. Through the individual components of his works and their subsequent ‘orchestration’ as a single piece, Sequeira points to the infinite harmonic possibilities of colour.

POSTWORLD and Songs were presented by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts and commissioned by NAFA.

FESTIVAL PROGRAM
IMPACT REPORT
2022 AWARDS