Ephemera Past
Image credit: Dominique and Samuel Chen, Dream Palisade, Strand Ephemera Artistic Excellence Award Winner 2019
Strand Ephemera was established in 2001 by Townsville City Council to showcase the talent of regional artists in a national arena.
Today, Ephemera has become one of the largest biennial outdoor sculpture festivals in Northern Australia.
Ephemera is supported by a multitude of engaging public programs and features a selection of curated sculptures of national and international acclaim alongside those vying for the $1,000 People’s Choice Award, $10,000 Artistic Excellent Award and the $90,000 Ephemera Acquisitive Prize.
Ephemera is organised by Townsville City Galleries and assisted by a volunteer task force.
Ephemera: Seaside Sculptures 2021
As a part of the 20th year celebration in 2021, Strand Ephemera was rebranded to Ephemera: Seaside Sculptures and welcomed the inclusion of a new $90,000 Ephemera Acquisitive Prize proudly supported by the Queensland Government.
Staged over nine fabulous days and nights from Saturday 17 July - Sunday 25 July 2021, Ephemera transformed The Strand into a 2-kilometre outdoor seaside sculpture exhibition attracting over 180,000 local, national and international visitors.
Ephemera 2021 showcased 28 artworks by local and nationally renowned artists, including 19 competitive sculptures, four sculptures by invited artists, two school projects, two projection artists and a chalk artist.
Congratulations to:
Previous years
View the list of artists, winners and catalogues since the Strand Ephemera's creation in 2001.
Strand Ephemera 2019
26 July - 4 August 2019
$10,000 Award for Artistic Excellence
- WINNER: Dominique & Samuel Chen Dream Palisade
- Highly Commended: Ngethn O'Thawvl Wedlvn Thawvl
2019 People's Choice Award
- WINNER: Karl Meyer Hand In The Sand
- Runner-up: Karl De Waal I've been everywhere Man
Photographic Competition
- Under 18 years WINNER: Joshua Wyllie
- 18 years and over WINNER: Wesley Graffin
2019 Artists
- Alison McDonald- Warmth (maquette)
- Bruce Reynolds – Wing Defence
- Carla Gottgens - All Voyagers
- Christopher Trotter - Wings Over The Strand
- Counterpoint Architecture and Digimen - City Blocks
- Craig Walsh – Classification Pending
- Daniel Popper- Wooden Deity
- Derek Michael Besant RCA - WAYFINDER (there + back)
- Dominique & Samuel Chen - Dream Palisade
- Erica Gray - Clingy Coral Cluster
- Erth- Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo ™
- Fiona Quin - Story Fridges
- Graeme Buckley, Lynn Scott-Cumming & Rhonda Stevens - Aeolian Messenger
- Hannah Quinlivan – Polyrhythm
- Jan Hynes - Incarcerate!
- Jane Hawkins, Sally Munns & Rhonda Payne - Stranger to these shores
- John Nesirky - Fluid Air
- Karl De Waal - I've been everywhere Man
- Karl Meyer - Hand in the Sand
- Ken + Julia Yonetani – Sweet Barrier Reef
- Lance Seadon - Sanctuary
- Leela Chakravarti & Edward O'Brien - Coral Bleaching
- Leonard Andy & Nina Dawson - Gunduy Midja (Cassowary Shelter)
- Lisa Ashcroft - Whimsical eye candy toys
- Melissa Carey – The Spiral of Life
- Nema Adel (darkcinema) +Cliffie Rosenberg (EPPRO) - Sculptural Projection
- Ngethn O'Thawvl Wedlvn - Thawvl
- Robert Crispe and Clayton Tonkin – Galax-sea
- Ronald John Phillips - Gunya
- Sharon Goodwin – 16,615
- Sonia Ward - Puppet -Trees
- St Patrick's College - Plenty More
- Suzannah Babicci - Forever found
- Tanya Coventry and Bowen State High School Students - Seven Suffering Seas
- Therese Duff, Peter Hanley, Dennis O'Toole & Issara Singtothong - One in a Billion
- Tijn Meulendijks - Rectangular Composition
- Toni Rogers - The Language, the Wind and the Tides
- Townsville Primary School Students with Cass Roberts and Cassie Harris - Sea Turtle Hatchling
- Victoria Lees - Tangental Growth
- William Ross State High School - Future Astronomers Illuminated
Read the 2019 Strand Ephemera exhibition
↓
Strand Ephemera 2017
28 July - 6 August 2017
- WINNER: Erica Gray Visceral Bodies
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Marion Gaemers & Lynnette Griffiths Ancyent Marinere …. Are those her sails?
- Alison McDonald Making Waves
- Banana Splits (Bernadette Boscacci & Sharon Kitching) Yellow Peril - the shape of things to come
- Cameron Rushton Giant Pacific Octopus
- Carla Gottgens Portal
- Christopher Trotter Sonic Bay Beacon
- Erica Gray Visceral Bodies
- Fiona Quin Story Chairs... Story Chairs... What Do You Hear?
- Harriet Geater-Johnson Transient Cabinet
- India Collins Urban Blooms
- Jan Hynes Fenced
- Jane Hawkins, Rhonda Payne and Sally Munns Sand Ephemera
- John Heard They Are Biting Well On Money Today
- John Nesirky Look Again
- Joy Heylen The Crab
- Katri Pekri & Alide Zvorovski AUDITORIUM
- Lance Seadon Billy Carts “Cruzin’ The Strand”
- Marion Gaemers & Lynnette Griffiths Ancyent Marinere … Are Those Her Sails?
- MJ Ryan Bennett Ebb and Flow
- Pamela Lee Brenner & Johannes Muljana Re-Evolution
- Pimlico State High School Legacy Of Lanterns
- Robert Crispe Lantis
- Sue Tilley The Gatherings
- Tanya Coventry & Bowen State High School This Heart Within Me Burns
- Tom Emmett Strangers In The Wind
- Vanessa Stanley Your Altered Gaze Returned
Strand Ephemera 2015
31 July – 9 August 2015
- WINNER: Alison McDonald Shimmer
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: The Strand Ephemera School Project with Artist/Facilitator Ben Trupperbäumer The Grand Winter Tour to Anywhere
- Aaron Ashley Night as Day, Day as Night
- Andrew Rankin The Tree of Light
- Antone Bruinsma The Three Graces
- Cameron Rushton Whale Shark
- Carla Gottgens Oceania Boanica
- Community Rehab North Queensland Beach Shack
- Daniel Templeman Four Rings
- Elizabeth Poole String Things
- Elizabeth West Belief
- Erica Gray Venomous Blue
- Emma Anna IMAG_NE
- Gabi and Michael Sturman Now You See Me...
- Hugh Martin Mantis Rhapsody
- Jan Hynes Memorial to Centennial Conflict
- Joy Heylen The Silver Dragon
- Juhé Wie The Ship We Are Sailing Together
- Julie Bentley Decoys
- Karen Walters The Canopy of Golden Pods
- Kaya Sulc The Burden
- Lance Seadon Boat People
- Lesley Kane, Jenni Hanna and Neil Brookes Wave Harp
- Marion Gaemers and Lynnette Griffiths Catch
- Mimi Dennett-Fountain Land Sew
- MJ Ryan Bennett A New Face
- P.A.C.E. Pimlico Art Cooperative Endeavour S.O.S.
- Pamela Lee Brenner and Johannes Muljana Bubble (Fountain of Zero)
- Sue Tilley Blue Wanderer
- Tanya Coventry with Bowen State High School students Colour in the Ocean
- Zhi Qi Luo Seven Coloured Swallows
Strand Ephemera 2013
30 August – 8 September 2013
- WINNER: Rainer H Schlüter Blue Dances (Danseuses Bleues) – Quintet
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: UnitingCare Community Whale Thong
- S.A. Adair Fleeting
- Jo Anglesey Rainbows
- Steve Campbell & Donna Foley 100 things that change with the wind
- India Collins Light my Way
- Marion Gaemers Germination
- Naomi Gittoes Imagine… Epiphany Bubbles
- Erica Gray Complicated Tap Sets
- Lynnette Griffiths Salt Water Immigrants
- Michelle Hall, Robert Crispe & Jo Lankester Flotilla
- Joy Heylen Coquillage
- Jan Hynes Strabble
- Ralph Knight Vanishing Facades
- Ian Loiterton The End Game
- Hugh Martin Dragonfly Spirits
- Alison McDonald & Stephen de Jersey Lost and Found
- Annee Miron You are still part of the Commonwealth
- Geoff Overheu Gates of Reason
- Chandra Paul The Space Between the Waves
- MJ Ryan Bennett Come Play with Me
- John Stanley Elements of Ambience
- Gabi Sturman A Vulnerable Parliament
- Julie Bruce, Elizabeth Tillack & Sue Valis Breezeway
- Sue Tilley One Fish, Two Fish, NO Red Fish, NO Blue Fish
- Adriaan Vanderlugt Unearthed
- Sarah Emily Kate Beautiful One Day
- DanceNorth #DNDANCEBOX
- La Luna Youth Arts Vertical Disaster
- The Winged Collective The Sirens
- The Winged Collective Adaptation
- GhostNets Australia Ghost Net Crocodile
Strand Ephemera 2011
2 – 12 September 2011
- WINNER: Girringun Artists Bagu with Jiman
- WINNER: Erica Gray Rock Anemone
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Aden McLeod People watching people in the spirit
- Wanda Bennett Pulse
- Christopher Bold What happens here then?
- Madonna Caffery Priceless
- Rhonda Cao Rays Catching Rays
- Chalk Dust collective: Aaron Ashley, John Bradshaw, Shane Keen, Lynn Scott-Cumming Chalk Dust
- Margot Douglas Solar Chandeliers
- Jean Downes Mushrooming
- Amanda Feher Flight School
- Fibres & Fabrics Assoc. Inc. I Remember When
- Donna Foley I SAY
- Kath Fries Swash
- Marion Gaemers and Bernadette Boscacci Littoral Trappings
- Richard Gillespie The whole town is talking
- Jak Henson You are here
- Jan Hynes Colours of the Strand
- Tracey Johnson Light Boxes
- Paul Kaptein The Continental Drifters #20: nimbus
- Karen Landt-Isley Strand Obscura
- Jo Lankester Fossil Outcrop
- Alison McDonald Flow II
- Candace Miles A beach for all sorts
- Victoria Nelson Dashing Hatchlings
- Simon Poole 2.5 Mowers
- Steve Price Tropical Cyclone Warning
- Helena Rador-Gibson Zen-Ephemera
- MJ Ryan Bennett Gifts from the Sea
- Fatih Semiz Transition
- Peter Spicer The Birdseed Café & Perch
- Annica Stenvall Batt All Light … Inside
- Sue Tilley Many Hands
- Adriaan Vanderlugt BoxFish
- Jamie Willis Silent Scream
- Martin Wilshire Surf Rats
Strand Ephemera 2009
4 – 14 September 2009
- WINNER: Marion GAEMERS Journeys
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Vic McEWAN & Sarah MOOR Listen. Now Walk
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Joanna Noela ANGLESEY Overlayunderlayoverlay
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Amanda FEHER The Cray
- Elizabeth POOLE Big Yellow Taxi (Tree Museum)
- Tony CUTHBERTSON Bottiger’s Hut
- Tijn MEULENDIJKS Untitled
- Jan HYNES Pink Piano
- Candace MILES FINish enDANGER
- Pam LANE Drift Capsules
- Barbara PIERCE Quarantine (1)
- Barbara PIERCE Quarantine (2)
- Matt STAPLES Observer of the Moon
- Alan VALENTINE Fishing Trawlers
- Fatih SEMIZ Ab aeterno
- Jenny FRASER Dark Day at Sea
- Geoff HARVEY Pierre the French Bulldog
- Geoff HARVEY Buster
- Geoff HARVEY Rover
- Alison MCDONALD The Bather
- Jill CHISM Smother Shed
- Jo CRUICKSHANKS Safe Guard
- Tegan OLLETT B'I'NDING
- Denise VANDERLUGT The rainbow jellyfish
- Kalven LLOYD Tropical Snow
Strand Ephemera 2007
7 – 16 September 2007
- WINNER: Nameer Davis Soundstripe
- DISTINCTION: Kerry Stelling A Way to Go
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kalven Lloyd-Smith Stations of the Spike
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Steven Crow, Sharon Crowe & Anna Mango Drifter
- Jan Hynes A Room with Four Views
- Thierry Auriac XXXXL
- Susan Peters Nampitjin Fish Traps
- Vic McEwan Hydro-phone
- Sylvia Ditchburn Picnic on the Strand with Lamingtons
- Graeme Buckley The Outrigger Crew
- Laurie Nilsen I’m a Widow by Choice
- Isabella Shatte Stranded Postcards
- Jill Chism Breathe, Spirare
- Takamiyoshi Fujii The Site of Wishes
- Penelope Volkofsky Trusting
- Judith Floyd Come and See
- Janelle Edwards Bits
- Sarah Pirrie Wreath or Reef
- Alison McDonald Just a Drop in the Ocean
- Madeleine Challender Scattering Possibilities
- Bruce Anderson Journey
- Dyasley Tuck Human Nature
- Bonemap: Russell Milledge & Rebecca Youdell The Peculiar Resonance of Memories
- Craig Walsh Blue Gold
- Donna Marcus Gross Domestic Product
- MJ Ryan Bennett Million Dollar View
- Richard Gillespie This land is your land, this land is my land
- Janet Gallagher Wish Tree
- Marion Gaemers Dressing Up for Dinner
- Philippa Herr & Glen Shields Tree of Lost Soles
- Chanchal Sue Foxen Migrant Skins
- Adriaan Vanderlugt Fish Scales
- Claudia Williams Crazy Geckos
- Amanda Feher Manta Ray
- Anne Lord Ice and Tides
- Fibres & Fabrics Assoc. Inc. Empty Nest Syndrome
- Barbara Pierce See Floor
- Jo Anglesey In Water Series - Floating Flowers
- Maree Edmiston Prior Waves
- Elizabeth Poole White Drawings
- Farvardin Daliri Shell Shadow
- Robert Everingham Organic Column 1, Organic Column 2
- Alison Macdiarmid An Inconvenient Truth…it’s a bit late now Johnny
- Gabrielle Hegyes Sand Circles
- Michelle Hall Prayers for the Sea Shore
Strand Ephemera 2005
September 2 - 11 2005
- WINNER: Adrian Davis & Lubi Thomas BoB
- WINNER: Andrew Thompson In Moving Stillness
- WINNER: Uncle Friday (Francis Wapau) Four Wind Brothers
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Cezary Stulgis The Pack
- Bruce Anderson Geometric Form series
- Jo Anglessey Tree Adornments
- Marisa Battaglini Flotsam & Jetsam People + chair
- Wanda Bennett Tide Lines #4
- Nicole Bentzen Awaiting Tidal Drift
- Janne Bogomiagkova Frangipanis
- Jo Cruickshanks Land Net
- Erwin Cruz Dog and Man
- Alison Curtis Seagulls
- Rebecca Dainer Fish n Chips
- Anthony Edwards Floating Discs
- Janelle Edwards Urchins
- Amanda Feher Ocean Play
- Fubres and Fabrics Assoc. Inc Flight of Fancy
- Marion Gaemers Let’s Climb a Tree
- Richard Gillespie Swimmer
- Michelle Hall Aurora
- Jane Hawkins Strand Life
- Gabriella Hegyes Nautilus
- Dominie Hooper Deckchair Dreams
- Jan Hynes EPHEMERA in the sands of time
- Ikebana The Bamboo Wave
- Lorraine Lamothe One Left Thong
- Alison McDonald A retribution of rubbish
- Courtney Pederson The Bone Dance
- Susan Peters Water Dreaming
- Barbara Pierce Tree Aprons
- Elizabeth Poole A Boat Shape Doonan
- Tobias Richardson Mystery Service
- Kerry Robertson Environmentally Friendly Water Feature II
- Lynn Scott-Cumming Tropical Paradise
- Anneke Silver Tropical Friday: HELP!!
- Kerry Stelling Skyline Windharp
- Sam Sosnowski Under Waterworld
- Adriaan Vanderlught Soldier Crab
- Jeff Vickers The Duck
- Claudia Williams Grubs are a Gathering
- Julie Wilson-Foster Abundance
- Arthur Wicks Boatman
Strand Ephemera 2003
12 – 23 September 2003
- WINNER: Gavin Ryan Lyin’ Fish
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Adrian John Davis Tidal Mass
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Christine Spain Party Palms
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Uncle Friday (Francis Wapau) Migration North
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Mike Taylor Anthill
- Detlef Rohrbach Sorry
- Detlef Rohrbach Double Helix
- Detlef Rohrbach Madonna
- Detlef Rohrbach Flame
- Karsten Schneider Gargoyle
- Karsten Schneider Dreamweaver
- Karsten Schneider Dutchess of Virtue
- Chris Jakku Trapped
- Jennifer Herd Walls of Resistance, Series 2
- Sylvia Ditchburn Soft Centres
- Bonney Bombach Landed/Stranded
- Hugh Martin Ant Raiders
- Marion Gaemers Colonies
- Glen Manning Lost + Found
- Noela Anglesey INHERITANCE – Bitter-Sweet
- Stephen Newton Testimony
- Cath Bowdler Taking Off
- Rhesa Menkens Untitled
- Addie Cook Flying Ebur
- Alan Tulloch Re-Align – Altered Fields of Play
- Candace Miles BLEACHED URCHINS – dollars in the sand
- Julie Wilson-Foster Authentic Fake
- Duke Albada Kelp
- Janne Bogomiagkova C-Bodies II
- Eleanor Avery Silt
- Susan Kneebone Ruminant Isles
- Margot Douglas Flow
- Jan Hynes Picnic on the Grass
- Annee Miron One hundred take away seven…
- James McAvoy (Woweida) Milkway Dreaming
- James McAvoy (Woweida) The Initiation
- James McAvoy (Woweida) Turtle (Bungaroo) Dreaming
- Thierry Auriac STARZ-STARZ-STARZ
- Mandy Gunn Full Circle
- Fibres and Fabrics Assoc. Inc. Mermaids on the Strand
- Anne Lord Contemplating the Future
- Bruce Anderson Land Boat
- Martin Willis Thalassic Sphere
- Jan Golembiewski A Fluke
Strand Ephemera 2001
21 – 30 September 2001
- WINNER: James McAvoy Stories
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Janet Callincos Dreaming
- HIGHLY COMMENDED: Len Cook Coral Tree Dreaming
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Candace Miles In the Company of Diggers
- PERMANENT WORK: Robert Preston Mixture of Memory and Desire 4
- PERMANENT WORK: Anne Lord Flotsam and Jetsam
- PERMANENT WORK: Thierry Auriac Coconuts
- PERMANENT WORK: Thierry Auriac Tree Bracelets
- PERMANENT WORK: Thierry Auriac Flagpoles and Pennants
- PERMANENT WORK: Lyndall Milani Hambeluna: Spirit Rising
- Janelle Edwards Untitled
- Marion Gaemers Beach Family
- Amanda Skilling, Gillian Murdock, Marlene Edmunds, Makoto Oishi, Simone Small Stranded
- Alan Valentine Sea Gongs
- Jan Hynes Future Kangaroo Family
- Julie Wilson-Foster Remanence 111
- Margot Douglas Pods
- Gay Hawkes The Blues of the Strand
- Conor Doyle The Moment Despite Ourselves
- Karen Doolan Perspex
- Marion Gaemers & Hilary Martin Fruit Bat Lanterns
- Christopher Trotter Beached
- Anneke Silver Sun Catcher
- Elizabeth Woods & Lester Cliff Talking Rocks
- Connie Lawton What’s the Tide Mr Wolfe?
- Bonney Bombach White Wind Red Wind
- James McAvoy Standing Sculptures
- Kevin McMahon Portal
- Bradley Craperi Nuts and Bolts
- Corrie Wright Postcards by the Sea
- Karen Williams Ocean Spirit
- Jane Hawkins & Steph Rogerson Searching for Harold
- Julie Byrnes Tribe
- Martin Adams Serpent Snake