Foreword

Councillor Colleen Doyle Chair, Arts Advisory Committee, Townsville City Council

I struggled with the request to write the foreword for this exhibition. When Jonathan first approached me I thought this would be an easy task, ‘just talk about North Queensland’, I thought. How could this be so difficult, writing about something I am so well acquainted with, something that I have not only known, but lived, all my life? North Queensland is in my veins, I was born and bred here in Townsville, a fourth generation North Queenslander.

What is it about this place that keeps many of us here with no inclination to leave, and then brings, almost calls, others here? What about those who literally stumble upon North Queensland and become lifelong converts to the laidback, unique NQ lifestyle? “It is easy to be here”, was the comment made to me when talking about this very phenomenon recently with friends who had chosen to move to Townsville. North Queensland has an easiness about it. It is easy to get around, easy to meet people, easy to make friends, easy to become part of the community, easy to love.

I am going to focus on Townsville for a moment, there are not many cities in the world that can boast over 300 days a year of blue sky and sunshine, albeit burning sunshine during those long and sometimes torturous summers. A city located on the coast with stunning, almost deserted beaches, with a lively river flowing through and a large monolithic rock perched in the middle. Add to this already stunning array of natural features an island only minutes away which has the capacity to elicit feelings of relaxation almost as soon as you board the ferry, your mind is free and the cobwebs are blown away with the breeze. Go to Maggie for a day and feel like you have been gone a week.

Utopia Tropicae is a wonderfully curated celebration of all that is uniquely North Queensland, a celebration of our Artists, those who work and reside here, those who have left their North Queensland home, and those that may longer be with us but their spirit lives on through their work. Here we are treated with views, in turn bizarre, funny, whimsical, cheeky, poetic and just outright beautiful of the North through our artists’ collective lenses. The exhibition is a kaleidoscopic journey through the individualised interpretations and perspectives of our artists, and I can say without qualification that we are lucky enough in North Queensland to be home to one of the best artistic communities in the country. Curated by our own Creative Director Jonathan McBurnie and Curatorial Assistant Lucy Belle Tesoriero, I am certain you will enjoy it!