The 2024 Shine on Gimuy festival has been heralded a success after attracting nearly 50,000 visitors to its 10-day multi-arts program. Photo: Lewis Bin Doraho/Shine Productions.
The 2024 Shine on Gimuy festival has been declared an overwhelming success after nearly 50,000 people experienced the 10-day multi-art program in Cairns this month.
Featuring art, song, dance and storytelling, 49,412 visitors passed through the gates of the event, which was led by artistic director Rhoda Roberts to deliver a refreshing and immersive celebration of First Nations peoples, art and culture.
One of the festival highlights was the illuminated sculptural installation by Wujal Wujal artist Doreen Collins, who lost her work during the flood catastrophe that forced the evacuation of her community in December 2023.
Ms Collins, who relocated to Cairns following the natural disaster, stood proud beside the eight-metre tall recreation of a cassowary from one of her paintings and said the festival had presented a tremendous opportunity to show her artistic talent and tell her story.
Ms Roberts said the Artstory Light Walk stunningly depicted First Nations peoples’ intrinsic social ecology, which informed the 2024 curatorial theme of Entwined.
“With around 50,000 visitors, Shine on Gimuy ensures a space where we all feel special, with the lights illuminating the essence of our culture,” she said.
“It’s a gathering that enhances local businesses and the tourism sector while honouring the ancient lands of the Yidinji and celebrating First Nations cultural legacy.
“The spatial perceptions of the Indigenous realm – the philosophy and language – and our cultural customs and nuances are all wonderfully entwined.”
Wujal Wujal artist Doreen Collins sees her lost artwork come to life in lights at the Shine on Gimuy festival in Cairns. Photo: Lewis Bin Doraho/Shine Productions.
