Artist Donna Maree Robinson to light up Sarina for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Through light and imagery, a Mackay artist hopes she can carry an awareness around domestic violence beyond the walls of her upcoming installation.

Donna Maree Robinson will be lighting up Sarina with her audio and visual art installation for domestic and family violence awareness month, May 21, 2025

The Sarina Leagues Club will light up tonight as local artists pay tribute to victims of an issue “hidden behind closed doors”.

On Wednesday May 21, Mackay based artist Donna Maree Robinson will project a video-audio installation as part of the Sarina Candlelight Ceremony to raise awareness of domestic and family violence.

Ms Robinson said the show will bring audiences through an emotional journey “that moves into something that represents a loss of control and loss of freedom”.

Ms Robinson previously created a light show for Domestic and Family Violence Awareness Month in May 2024. Photo: Donna Maree Robinson

“It’s kind of reflective and it creates a little discomfort but it’s so layered and so beautifully abstract in some ways, but in some ways you can feel the gloominess and depression,” she said.

Her work will be put up on the Sarina Leagues Club at around 5.30pm and will be part of a number of candlelight ceremonies marking Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month.

“Through layered visuals and fragmented sound, the work captures the quiet erosion of identity and the silencing of voice that occurs in abusive environments,” she said.

“I hope it sparks conversations on things that people don’t normally talk about…it’s an incredibly weighty subject so I just hope it just carries an awareness beyond the walls of that installation.”

It’s a time that resonates deeply with Jules Thompson, founder of the charity Broken Ballerina who will be running her own candlelight ceremony this Saturday at the Mackay Harbour Surf Life Saving Club.

Pink crosses line the sand for the 2024 candlelight ceremony at Mackay Harbour.

“It’s to pay our respects to the women, men and children who have lost their lives in the past year to acts of Domestic and Family Violence,” she said.

“I was born into DV and married to very abusive men, it means a lot to me.

“It hits home personally for me every time I hear someone’s story.”

Broken Ballerina Foundation founder Jules Thompson will be holding a candlelight ceremony on Saturday, May 25. Picture: Zizi Averill

So far this year, 577 domestic violence orders have been initiated in Mackay alone.

Overall, one in six women and one in 16 men have experienced a form of domestic violence with the rate of women getting killed by their partners rising by 28 per cent in four years.

It follows a 220 per cent increase in police responses to domestic and family violence in the past 10 years.

The rise in DV cases in the region led to a new program being installed earlier in the month allowing a specialist police officer to be embedded at Mackay Women’s Services offering first hand support to victim survivors.

Ms Robinson hopes her artistic gesture can lead to some sort of healing and change for those impacted by domestic abuse.

“It really means a lot to me for the survivors, the ones that have managed to get help and survive and lead much healthier lives for their children.”

“It’s a day for the victims and the ones that didn’t survive and it’s a day for creating that awareness for others.”

Originally published as Artist Donna Maree Robinson to light up Sarina for Domestic Violence Awareness Month