Reach for the sky – Horizon festival shines on
This year’s Horizon festival reaches for the sky and shows off the beauty of the Sunshine Coast and some top Australian talent.
Let’s hope the weather gods smile on the Sunshine Coast’s Horizon festival next month.
Clear skies after months of rain would be the perfect backdrop for the May 2-11 festival, as its vibrant program points us to the horizon and the limitless skies beyond.
Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhales Across Australia is the 10-day festival’s eye-catching show-stopper – floating above the distinctive backdrop of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and Glasshouse Mountains of South-East Queensland skies for the very first time.
The giant floating sculptures are complemented by specially curated works that reflect the art, people and places of Kabi Kabi and Jinabara country, and the festival theme of Radical Hope.
This is Megan Rowland’s first year as creative director. She’s confidently brought in new elements such as the festival hub at Maroochydore, the Australian premiere of dance theatre work BERSERK in a double-bill with the Queensland premiere of Phantom Femme Fatale and a bold new artistic vision from acclaimed artist Vernon Ah Kee.
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‘we really value the opportunity to be able to express what the region’s about’
“It has been a challenging time for festivals and it’s not that it’s not a challenging time for us as well,” Rowland says. “We’re all grappling with uncertainty and instability. We did have a short hiatus in 2024 while we recalibrated and really looked at how we were doing things.
“But, ultimately, the reason the festival’s able to continue is we have an incredible amount of support. It’s really close to everybody’s heart and as a region we really value the opportunity to be able to express what the region’s about.
“The festival is a combination of local commissions and the best of our local talent as well as touring works and works from internationally renowned artists. Some work is edgier, more experimental and designed to challenge people a little bit. Other work is grounded in gathering and fun, and then there’s work around cultural understanding and First Nations knowledge.”
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Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhales Across Australia.
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Photos: © Patricia Piccinini
Horizon Festival begins with a free family friendly Opening Night Street Party at the festival precinct on Maroochydore’s bustling Ocean Street, which will host live music from local artists every afternoon of the festival, as well as Urban Gallery weaving at shopfronts and on streets.
There’s a beautiful symmetry in the programming this year with input from the festival’s First Nations program director Cholena Hughes.
“From an arts and cultural perspective, First Nations people don’t differentiate arts and culture,” Hughes says. “Art is culture, culture is art. So, we’ve got some really exciting contemporary works, but then we’ve also got some really strong traditional works. Opening up we’ve got Barkaa (rapper and musician Chloe Quayle), which is pretty deadly.
“Yauar Warai Wandi (Sing, Dance, Gather) is a big showcase of traditional dance and it’s inclusive of our local traditional owners and some of our neighbours. We’ve also got some visitors coming down from Cairns, so that’s exciting. There’ll be some contemporary dance as well, and some singing.
“There’s an ephemeral arts trail that’s being created by some of our local First Nations artists, but we’ve also got two amazing specifically commissioned exhibitions – No Souvenirs and Scene Through the Screen.
“No Souvenirs is going to be a very installation, contemporary-based work. Scene Through the Screen is our Jinibara artists who are up at Mary Cairncross and they’re all working with screen printing, which is a new way of working for them.”
Light Line is one of two new First Nations music works, embedding sound at two locations – one on Kabi Kabi and one on Jinibara country – and capturing the synergy and magic of the changing light of dawn and dusk.
Rowland says the festival is deliberately spread throughout the Sunshine Coast, from beaches to urban centres and out to the stunning mountains overlooking it all.