Preface, Zane Saunders
Description
A preface is written before the main text. In this major new performance installation, Jarrowia, Butchulla and Gunggari artist Zane Saunders explores the tensions between Indigenous knowledge, spirituality and colonial narratives. Set within one of Gurambilbarra / Townsville's oldest colonial buildings, Preface combines live performance, sculpture, sound and video to create an immersive experience that invites audiences into a deeply personal realm of ritual, spirituality and reflection, where questions linger long after the performance ends.
Preface is commissioned by PUNQ Festival, produced in partnership with Dancenorth, and is supported by QPAC and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
About the artist:
Zane Saunders is an Aboriginal interdisciplinary artist and performer of Jarrowia, Butchulla and Gunggari descent. Based in Kuranda, his practice spans performance, installation, sound, sculpture and moving image, exploring spirituality, Country and colonial histories through immersive works that invite reflection, dialogue and cultural reconnection.
Creatives
Concept, Direction, Performer: Zane Saunders
Design Consultant, Fabrication: Justin Bishop
Design Consultant, Audiovisual: Russell Milledge
Production Manager, Lighting Consultant: Charles Wiles
Crew
Stage Manager, Production Support: Felicity Organ Moore
Management
Producer: Kate O’Hara Director, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts
Executive Director, co-CEO, Dancenorth: Hillary Coyne
General Manager, Dancenorth: Eloise Grace
Melania Jack: PUNQ Producer
Times:
Doors Open 6.30pm
Show Starts 7pm
Show Run time 50 minutes
About the artist
Zane Saunders is an Aboriginal interdisciplinary artist and performer of Jarrowia, Butchulla and Gunggari descent, based in Kuranda, North Queensland. Working across performance, installation, sound, sculpture and moving image, his practice examines the intersections of spirituality, Country, memory and the enduring impacts of colonialism. Through immersive, ritualistic works, Saunders invites audiences into spaces of contemplation, challenging inherited narratives while reconnecting with Indigenous systems of knowledge and cultural responsibility.
His performances occupy galleries, theatres and public spaces, transforming each site into experiential environments where movement, symbolism and contemporary media converge. Rather than presenting fixed interpretations, Saunders creates conditions for reflection, asking audiences to consider their own relationships to culture, belief and place.
Saunders has presented work nationally through organisations including the National Gallery of Australia, Dancenorth and the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, where he presented Cure in Meanjin / Brisbane in 2019. He has also undertaken an Australia Council residency at Location One in New York and was commissioned by NorthSite Contemporary Arts in 2025 to create Lighthouse, a major digital façade work for Bulmba-ja.
His latest major work, Preface, extends an ongoing investigation into Indigenous spirituality and the legacy of religious colonialism. Premiering at PUNQ Festival in 2026, the work represents the culmination of years of research, collaboration and artistic development, continuing his exploration of contemporary Aboriginal performance, installation and ceremony.
FAQs
- Show times
Times:
Doors Open 6.30pm
Show Starts 7pm
Show Run time 50 minutes
- Location details
The old Bank of New South Wales building (across from Townsville Bulletin Square and Cowboys Leagues Club): 337–343 Flinders Street, Gurambilbarra / Townsville, QLD Australia 4810.
- Accessiibility
Wheelchair access via Stokes street entrance.
There are wheelchair accessible toilets nearby in Flinders Lane and City Lane
- What else can I see nearby?
This performance event is in the same building as two other installations.
In Absentia -Tszar (Aaron Ashley)
If you arrive earlier, you will be able to see all these installations on the same night. - What if I can't make it? How can I cancel?
If your plans change and you’re no longer able to attend, please cancel your ticket so we can make the spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
To cancel your ticket:
1. Find your Humanitix order confirmation email — search your inbox for “PUNQ Festival”, “order confirmation”, or the name of the show/event you booked.
2. Click Manage Order
3. Select the Refund/Cancel tab
4. Choose the ticket(s) you’d like to cancel and follow the prompts
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