Inside the festival that’ll go ahead rain, hail or COVID: Curiocity Mega-guide
After a horror year in 2020, Brisbane’s arts industry is fighting back with a fantastic 17-day festival kicking off next month.
QWeekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from QWeekend. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Science and technology are considered by some to be rather dry subjects but add creativity and they come to life. And at this year’s Curiocty Brisbane they will come to life in the most intriguing way in the various events and Curiocities - creations embodying the art-science nexus - that will spread across the city.
The spirit of that will exemplified in events such as the acclaimed World Science Festival Brisbane (WSFB), the jewel in the crown of Curiocity Brisbane which is on from March 12 to 28.
The WSFB is in it’s sixth year and since its inception it has featured a program that explores science and the arts through theatre, music and other creative presentations. Last year Curiocity Brisbane and the WSFB both fell victim to the pandemic and skipped a year but they’re back bigger and better this year and executive producer of Curiocity Brisbane 2021, Theresa Famularo, is happy that she can finally deliver her vision splendid after the COVID interruption.
But of course she says she has to be ready in case.
‘Rather eat my own vomit’: Qld’s worst theatre shows ever
QPAC ‘slobs’ slammed: ‘It’s the theatre not a BBQ!’
“The important thing for us this year was to be sure that we could maintain a certain agility and adaptability with our program,” Famularo says. “Having a lot of digital and augmented reality work offers us the opportunity to keep going if we went into lockdown again. We could release a lot of the program onto our website and people could still enjoy it.”
She’s hoping it doesn’t come to that but she’s prepared.
Famularo’s vision has helped develop Curiocity Brisbane into an expansive umbrella event that has its own unique attractions but also draws together other elements and events including WSFB and, this year, The Motorcycle Up Late Program at GOMA which will be another treat at Curiocity Brisbane. There will also be art in Brisbane City Council’s Outdoor Gallery with Sunny Side Up featuring art in laneways and other outdoor spaces around town.
The event is expected to draw about 325,000 visitors and contribute $14 million to the local economy.
Famularo says Curiocity Brisbane is about breaking down barriers and exploring the importance of STEM (Science technology engineering and maths) while adding the important connecting genre of art. So STEM has become STEAM (the A is for art) and that’s an element that has been intrinsic to the success and accessibility of the WSFB. In its very first year that was championed by the festival’s special guest, the iconic American actor Alan Alda who has spent years helping make science more accessible through the arts. Alda appeared on stage in Brisbane at that very first WSFB and in an ABC interview described science and art as “long lost lovers”. Famularo would agree.
She’s founder and director of Cre8ion, a production company specializing in a wide range of theatrical entertainment and large scale events across genres but with a focus on the arts.
She worked as an executive producer on the hugely successful Vivid Sydney from 2011 to 2013 and while Curiocity Brisbane is a different beast to Vivid Sydney it shares some of its characteristics.
Curiocity Brisbane goes further into the realm of marrying art with science and technology.
“Curiocity is about breaking down the barriers and helping us navigate the world of science and technology,” Famularo says. “The original idea that I worked on with Tourism and Events Queensland was that we would create an event that was around engaging with tech and innovation and putting that arts overlay on it. Activating that STEAM conversation is important.”
The program is expansive this year and reflects Queensland’s place as a global hub for science, technology, innovation and the arts. More than 60 installations known as Curiocities will feature in four Curiocity Precincts across the CBD and South Bank with these works sourced internationally and from local artists and creatives including schoolchildren who have worked on creating their own art and technology inspired Curiocities.
The pieces sourced from overseas include Platonic Volumes & Cosmologies by Bits to Atoms, an acclaimed architecture and design company based in Beirut. This large scale translucent lattice of recycled plastic beams illustrates a tipping point in scientific thinking derived from Kepler’s theories on cosmology.
Famularo says she is particularly pleased to be host the Queensland Schools Challenge this year in partnership with the WSFB. That was a project hatched during the dark days of lockdown.
“We decided during that period to go out to all schools and invite them to create a Curiocity,” Famularo says. “We got some incredible commissions and it was tough assessing them and bringing that down to the final six that are being created and on display this year.”
Curious Conversations hosted by writer Benjamin Law is another innovation.
“That will enable Curiocity makers to have a conversation and delve deeper into the world of STEAM,” Famularo says.
Curiocity Brisbane will present 30 world and national premiere works among the Curiocities that can be explored across four precincts. The journey through these precincts will often be an interactive affair with activations and innovations that allow people to engage with the creations in the virtual as well as the real world. 8-Bit Brisbane is one of the fun interactive works, a collection of pop-up, retro-styled mini games that open instantly on your device by scanning a QR code and I think we all know how to do that now. The games are simple and fun and uniquely Brisbane so you can go online and navigate the burning hot pavements in bare feet or enjoy shooing away those Ibis bin chickens virtually.
Some works from last year’s aborted event have been held over until this year and one of the most exciting is the interactive Maiwar AR.
“That one was something that was more than worth holding over,” Famularo says. “It’s quite transformational.”
Maiwar AR is a virtual heritage and animated cultural tour of first contact Brisbane that will be accessible on sites around the city. It was created by the team at Bilbie Labs led by Brett Leavy. Inspired by his own indigenous heritage he and his team have created a world of early Brisbane which people will be able to access on smart phones and devices in situ. People can stand in one of the various locations set aside for Maiwar AR (Maiwar is the Indigenous name for the Brisbane River) and they can the time travel back to Brisbane the day before Europeans arrived.
“I’ve been building a time machine,” Leavy says. “We want people to be able to do a virtual walkabout. I love to imagine people who went before me.”
With that in mind Curiocity Brisbane-goers will be able to access images of life around that time just prior to first contact between First Nations people and settlers.
“At one point near the Goodwill Bridge, underneath the big fig tree on the QUT side you will see Aboriginal women gathering bush food beneath that shady tree,” Leavy says. “These are fully animated figures. You will see at other locations men hunting kangaroos, campsites, corroborees. Wherever I have found historical records on country I have reconstructed that quite forensically.”
Famularo says the detail of Maiwar AR is astounding and that it‘s a vision of life in Brisbane at that time (before it was even Brisbane) that is “as close as possible to what we believe it looked like”.
That’s just one of the amazing journeys that await us at Curiocity Brisbane 2021.
TOP 10 WAYS TO SPARK YOUR CURIOCITY BRISBANE
#1
Virtual Time Machines for Cultural Storytelling
Benjamin Law in conversation with Brett Leavy & Guest
About: Delve into the world of temporal spatial storytelling, where satellite generated terrain enables travel into The Dreaming landscapes of First Nations People. It’s a place where cultural knowledge and practice is shared and preserved.
When: Saturday 13 March, 10:30am
Location: The Gardens Club, City Botanic Gardens
Register for your FREE ticket at www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#2
The Dancing Water Fountain
Part of the Queensland Schools Challenge and one more than 60 Curiocities across 4 precincts, The Dancing Water Fountains by Isis District State High School is an interactive work that explores the choreographed and synchronised movement of water to pitch,
frequency and rhythm through various music tracks.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: Cultural Precinct, South Brisbane
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#3
Maiwar AR
Maiwar AR is a virtual heritage and animated cultural tour of first contact Brisbane. Be immersed, via your smartphone or Wi-Fi enabled tablet, within the authentic historical past and be transported back through time to a
Brisbane (Maiwar) one day prior to First Settlement.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: City Botanic Gardens, Goodwill Bridge, South Bank, Cultural Precinct, CBD
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#4
Now You See Me
Now You See Me is a giant pair of binoculars offering an alternative perspective on the world in front of you. These are no ordinary binoculars – when you peer through the giant lenses, the world looks beautifully distorted. Rainbows spiral, faces are replicated and molecular textures pulse. Persuade your friends to dance and play in front of the lenses. the more movement that happens in front of the lenses, the wilder the visuals.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: Cultural Precinct, South Bank
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#5
The Motorcycle Up Late
Zip up your leather jackets and rev your engines! Up Late returns during GOMA’s The Motorcycle for an outdoor celebration across two jam-packed nights featuring live music, DJs, bars & dining, plus more.
When: Friday 19 and Sat 20 March 2020, 6:30 – 10:30pm
Location: GOMA, South Brisbane
For the line-up and to book tickets, visit https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats-on/brisbane-qagoma-events-calendar/events/the-motorcycle-up-late
#6
Sip a Sub-Zero Curiocity
Enjoy a Sub‑Zero Curiocity at Royal on the Park. Derived from a Vampire’s Kiss cocktail, our curious cocktail is as delicious as it is decadent – served with a touch of gold dust and a
smoky flair!
When: 12 – 28 March 2021
Location: Royal On The Park, Brisbane CBD
For more information, visit www.royalonthepark.com.au
#7
Microbiota
Microbiota is a magnification and representational depiction of the microorganisms that live in and around us. You are encouraged to climb and explore this artwork, while learning about the significant role microbiota play in our lives.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: South Bank
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#8
Bees Being
Bees Being adds an interactive element to an existing public artwork, titled ‘Across the Oceans their Fragrances Intermingled’, located on the glass ceiling in the Albert Lane building. This is an interactive experience you can view through your mobile device.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: Brisbane CBD
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#9
The Living Lantern
The Living Lantern is constantly evolving based on the interaction between wind and light. It has a dynamic, wind responsive outer membrane that opens and closes to filter the light from its core.
When: 12 – 28 March, 8am – 8pm daily
Location: Cultural Precinct, South Bank
For more info and a full interactive map of the Curiocities, visit www.curiocitybrisbane.com.au
#10
Until the End of Time
World Science Festival co-founder and renowned physicist Professor Brian Greene will premiere his new cinematic journey, Until the End of Time, live from New York. Professor Greene will take audiences on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal. He joins ABC’s Jonathan Webb live on screen from New York State following the premiere of the film for a Q&A.
When: Wednesday 24 March, 7.30pm
Location: Concert Hall, QPAC
For more information and to book tickets, visitwww.worldsciencefestival.com.au
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CURIOCITY BRISBANE
‘I’ve found the ultimate creepy hack to falling asleep’
Falling asleep can be a real problem for many but is this the solution to getting a good night’s rest?
New ways to learn
State schools recognised in the Queensland Government’s Showcase awards are delivering excellence through.