Entertainment
13 December, 2025
Shire’s arts projects to keep flourishing
FROM creating an EP, to fairs, festivals and filmmaking retreats, the Mareeba shire arts community is being given the chance to flourish over the coming year.
Over $38,000 has been approved by the council for nine projects through the 2025/26 round of the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), unleashing original, creative and community-driven activities across the shire.
Among the recipients, singer-songwriter Aurelle Brunjes will be able to produce, record and release her debut EP, The City, which features seven original tracks inspired by rural life and personal stories. The EP will be launched in Dimbulah.
In Irvinebank, the School of Arts & Progress Association has been given a financial boost to expand its Back to Irvinebank John Moffat Festival. The festival will celebrate Irvinebank’s 125-year history and John Moffat’s legacy, with heritage talks, tours, and entertainment.
Over at Julatten and Mt Molloy, a two-day Bushy Creek Makers’ Fair is now in the planning stage, which will be held at Geraghty Park and showcase local talent, foster connection, and revitalise community assets. Organised by the Resident & Ratepayers Association, the planning stage focuses on web development, marketing, programming, and engagement.
A striking water tank mural is the focus of the Speewah District Residents Association’s public art project, which will honour the Speewah Rural Fire Brigade’s legacy and community fire efforts.
Another recipient, Kerry Balzarolo, will deliver three half-day filmmaking workshops for women, where participants take on entry-level roles and help produce a short film that will be submitted to film festivals.
In Kuranda, the Amphitheatre Society has been funded for a pilot Eco Arts Festival (for an annual event), which will feature three sustainability-themed creative workshops leading into a community festival celebrating local creativity, environmental awareness and live music.
The Historical Society also received funds for an Oral History Video Production & Workshop in which volunteers will be trained in filming and editing to produce video-based oral histories with notable Kuranda artists.
Students at Mt Molloy State School together with the local community will take part in workshops led by a local ceramic artist, to create three large interpretive signboards for the school entrance, celebrating local birdlife, history, and environment.
In the upskilling arena, recipient Blake Hidson will be offering a free community workshop on projection mapping, also known as video mapping, through a software technique used to turn objects, often irregularly shaped, into display surfaces for video projection.
