The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a dynamic and rapidly growing institution that prioritises community, culture, and world-class education. Since opening its first campus on the Sunshine Coast in 1996, UniSC has expanded to five award-winning campuses across South East Queensland, uniquely located within three UNESCO biosphere reserves and the World Heritage-listed K’gari.

Recognised for its ground-breaking research, sustainability initiatives, and award-winning students and alumns, UniSC fosters innovation and forward-thinking. Free from the constraints of traditional institutions, it empowers fresh ideas and new approaches, creating a future-focused, supportive environment for learning and discovery.

The Creative Ecologies Research Cluster (CERC) at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) focuses on creative and interdisciplinary research, particularly in Southeast Queensland’s diverse ecosystems. CERC also has a hub at the K’gari (Fraser Island) Research Station. 

The UniSC Art Galley is a space where art, ideas and community come together. Located at UniSC Sunshine Coast, the Art Gallery was redeveloped in 2020 establishing itself a leading regional university art gallery in Australia.

The Gallery presents a program of exhibitions by leading local, national and international artists that are research-led, enquiry based and shaped by the university’s commitment to enabling opportunities for its communities to participate meaningfully with UniSC. 

BEEYALI is a Kabi Kabi word meaning “to call” and a creative collaborative research project using science to visualise the calls of wildlife. Conceived by Lyndon Davis, a Kabi Kabi man, in collaboration with sound artist Leah Barclay and photographer Tricia King, Beeyali was first commissioned as a large-scale projection work for New Light 2021, presented by ANAT and Illuminate Adelaide in association with the Adelaide Festival Centre.

The trio experimented with cymatics, an interdisciplinary field studying visible sound vibrations, where patterns are created in substances like sand or water when exposed to sound frequencies. Pioneered by scientist  Hans Jenny in the 1960s, cymatics revealed how sound waves generate intricate geometric patterns, drawing parallels between these forms and natural patterns in ecosystems. Beeyali is guided by Lyndon’s belief that understanding these patterns is fundamental to human health and connection to Country.

Blending Indigenous knowledge, creative practices, and technology, the Beeyali project aims to sound an alarm for the multitude of vulnerable species on the brink of extinction in Australia.

Established in 2008, SCCA is the leading arts organisation in the region, working to elevate the creative sector to be sustainable and relevant. Through advocacy, leadership, and The Refinery’s professional development programs at the intersection of art, technology, environment and design, we support creatives in making and promoting their work, helping them build creative capacity and long-term sustainability.