Audiences can get interactive with art at a special twilight exhibition at the University of the Sunshine Coast Art Gallery from Tuesday 6 October to Thursday 8 October.

The exhibition, from 5.30-8pm each evening, will feature 12 finalists from the new media section of the Sunshine Coast Art Prize, with a large-scale interactive projection, digital animations and a smart game on display.

The exhibition’s final night will coincide with the Twilight Art Markets, organised by USC student art group FRANK About Art, with festivities taking place from 4-8pm.

USC Gallery Curator Dawn Oelrich said the special exhibition was a chance for students and the public to see some outstanding works in the expanding New Media space.

“New media includes animation, smart games, some photography, soundscapes and visual-scapes, with a focus on innovative digital technologies,” Ms Oelrich said.

“It’s an area that students really respond to, and their visual language is very much about what’s happening in the digital world.

“Among the finalists is a piece from Victorian artist Yandell Walton. Her work is a large projection of a beautiful rainforest image, but as people interact with it, the rainforest starts to transform and die.”

The Gallery’s regular exhibits also will be open for viewing.

The Twilight Art Markets, from 4pm to 8pm on Thursday 8 October, will feature local art and craft, live music, workshops, food stalls and a suitcase rummage.

Entrance to both the markets and exhibition is free.

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize New Media Award winners will be announced on 9 October at the Art and Ecology Centre, Maroochy Botanic Gardens. The award is sponsored by Sunshine Coast Council, USC and Maroochy Music and Visual Art Festival.

— Gen Kennedy