Brisbane’s spectacular after-dark lantern experience
Botanic by Night: NightGlow has been thoughtfully designed as a low-impact experience that respects its natural setting, with independent ecological advice informing the event’s design, and measures in place to protect the Gardens’ flora and fauna.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow proudly features artworks designed by contemporary First Nations artists and informed by their cultural knowledge, language and storytelling.
A Quandamooka Nunukul woman of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, Queensland), Casey Coolwel-Fisher’s work is a vibrant exploration of the connection between people, fauna and Country. Nathan Peckham – artist from Tubba-gah Wiradjuri Country (Dubbo, Northern New South Wales) and founder of Aboriginal-led Yurana Creative – celebrates culture and storytelling through his indigenous art.
Ample Projects – renowned for spectacular illuminated sculptures – have partnered with Casey and Nathan to bring their works to life as shining, anamorphic lanterns. A Sydney-based collective of artists, designers and technologists, Ample Projects’ practice explores the relationship between people, cities, and nature, drawing on lived urban experience to create reflective, immersive works.
The collection is a conversation between the artists, with the “skins” of each animal lantern featuring patterns that reflect their unique totems and stories. The koala was first created by Nathan Peckham as an original design for Taronga Zoo’s Wild Lights; for Botanic by Night: NightGlow and with Nathan’s permission, Casey has redesigned the koala’s skin to reflect her own totem. What emerges is a dialogue in light between two artists and two Countries – Nathan’s Tubba-gah Wiradjuri and Casey’s Quandamooka Nunukul – in the heart of Meanjin, Brisbane.
The lantern is itself one of the world’s great craft traditions – a Chinese art form refined over centuries. Its home is Zigong, Sichuan province, a city known as the Lantern Capital where artisans have shaped silk and steel into light for generations, and which today produces most of the world’s large-scale lantern displays – including those for Botanic by Night: NightGlow.
The installation is complimented by an original, atmospheric soundscape inspired by the sounds of the yidaki (didgeridoo). Grounded in Mt Coot-tha as a traditional gathering and music-making place of the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, the score sits respectfully alongside the experience’s First Nations art and storytelling.
This shared creative perspective and artistry will light the way for guests to explore and engage with Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha after nightfall, and inspire shared discovery along the way.
In your interactions with each lantern, Botanic by Night: NightGlow invites you into this story of ecological interdependence – each encounter offering an opportunity to learn about the animals, the habitats that sustain them, and the relationships that make living systems like Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha thrive. The works weave ecological knowledge together with First Nations storytelling, reminding us that land, water, sky, animals and people are all connected, and that each of us has a part to play in caring for them.
Please enjoy the lanterns respectfully, and remember – do not touch or enter fenced zones.
City Parklands was pleased to work with Nurri Theresa Jackey-Williams, one of South-East Queensland’s most respected Aboriginal elders and cultural authorities, to receive cultural approval for the event.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow is a thoughtful new way to explore Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha after dark.
Considered one of Queensland’s premier subtropical Botanic Gardens, it spans 56 hectares of diverse, living horticultural collections, nature walks, picnic areas and cycling trails. The site is home to more than 200,000 plants, including native species and those from around the world, as well as significant botanic collections across rainforest, arid, wetland and Australian bush landscapes.
Welcoming more than a million visitors each year, Botanic by Night: NightGlow reimagines the Gardens as a living library of ecological knowledge – the event is an invitation to experience this site of shared discovery in a new light, while respecting and protecting its important environmental values and assets.
Environmental stewardship is a core design consideration of Botanic by Night: NightGlow. Designed with care for the landscape it calls home, the activation has been shaped by expert ecological advice at every step – from planning and design, to delivery.
Carefully considered lighting design, an event route that uses established visitor pathways, and a temporary footprint are all practical measures that have been taken to minimise Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s ecological impact.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s event route weaves through the existing Queensland Conservation Trail and Gardens Explorer Trail in a high-use part of Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. To protect the integrity of the Gardens, it intentionally avoids living botanic collections and sensitive, planted areas.
As its name would suggest, Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s lighting design glows from within, and features no flashing, laser or strobe lighting effects, or uplights into trees or canopies. Each lantern is lit to a precise and protective ecological specification: warm, low-blue light at 2200–2700K, with the LEDs contained and diffused within each sculpture’s fabric skin to minimise skyglow.
Grounded in Mt Coot-tha as a traditional gathering and music-making place of the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, an original score sits respectfully alongside the installations. Rather than using animal calls that could disturb nearby wildlife, the soundscape is gentle and ambient, including traditional instruments like the didgeridoo.
The installation is grounded in the ecology of our region – at the heart of Botanic by Night: NightGlow is the ibis, one of Brisbane’s most recognisable birds, and the green tree frog, beloved across South East Queensland and a familiar voice on a warm Brisbane night. Both of these works are entirely new, created bespoke for, and presented for the first time, in Brisbane.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow utilises these thoughtfully placed lanterns to showcase the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, and tell a new story about its equally stunning and fascinating ecosystem – each one lighting the way through the environment that sustains them.
Mt Coot-tha – the Aboriginal word for “place of honey” – will offer guests more than just earthly delights at Botanic by Night: NightGlow, with a dedicated food truck stop open nightly at the Amphitheatre.
For the meat lovers, Brazzo Boys will bring the real taste of Brazil – smoke barbecue and all – to Brisbane. If authentic German fare is more to your taste, Best of the Wurst will offer bratwurst, currywurst and much more.
For those seeking a more wholesome bite, the Feel Good Foodie will serve up 100% gluten-free street food as full of love as it is taste.
Those with a sweet tooth needn’t miss out, with Scandinavian specialists Oh Waffles cooking up waffles, pancakes and lemonade all night long.
Last stop, dessert – at the end of the event route, visitors can finish their evening with a final sweet treat from Di Pui Tiramisu.
The Botanic by Night: NightGlow food truck precinct is exclusively open to ticketholders – discover art, light and flavour this September school holidays by booking your ticket now.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s thoughtful design extends beyond its environmental considerations to offer an accessible and memorable experience for all guests.
Wheelchair-friendly event route
Botanic by Night: NightGlow is a wheelchair friendly event. The lantern route is approximately 837 metres, fully paved and wheelchair accessible, with some sections including gentle gradients.
Accessible toilets are available throughout the route at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, and accessible parking is available at various carparks along Sir Samuel Griffith Drive.
Sensory-friendly event design
Botanic by Night: NightGlow has been designed as a slow-paced and contemplative nighttime experience. The installations have been designed to glow from within – you will not encounter any strobe or laser lighting effects. You will be welcome to explore the event route at your own pace, where you will encounter large lanterns, colourful dynamic lights, and a gentle soundscape. There are plenty of places along the route, including the dedicated food truck precinct, for visitors to stop, dwell and rest.
Event staff will be on the ground and able to assist in the event you feel unwell.
Convenient travel options
Parking in the vicinity can be limited – so, for your convenience, a shuttle service will run from the Legacy Way carpark to the event entrance at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha on a regular schedule. This shuttle service is complimentary for Botanic by Night: NightGlow ticketholders, and is both wheelchair accessible and pram friendly.
Be sure to check the FAQs to guide your transport options.
If you have any questions about the Botanic by Night: NightGlow experience, or you have accessibility requirements and require assistance, please contact [email protected] – we will be happy to assist you appropriately.
Find your best way to get to Botanic By Night: NightGlow at Brisbane Botanic Garden Mt Coot-tha.
For those travelling to Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha by car where parking may be limited, an additional shuttle bus (complimentary only for ticketholders) will run between the event site and the Legacy Way overflow carpark. The last shuttle to this carpark will run at 10:30pm. Shuttle buses run nightly on event nights only and are strictly for the use of Botanic By Night: NightGlow ticketholders. Shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and pram friendly.
For visitors using taxis, Uber or other rideshare options, a dedicated drop off zone has been designated in front of the Visitor Information Centre at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot–tha.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha is accessible by bus, with services operating to and from nearby Mt Coot-tha Road bus stops. Evening services vary depending on the day and date, so we recommend planning your trip, including return services, using Translink’s Journey Planner or call 13 12 30. Please check the timetable for the specific date of your visit, as services may vary during school holidays, weekends and weekdays.
Dedicated accessible parking (including drop off and pick up zones) is available at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot–tha, Ada Street carpark and Legacy Way carpark. Shuttle buses to and from the Legacy Way carpark are wheelchair accessible.
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Botanic by Night: NightGlow proudly features artworks designed by contemporary First Nations artists and informed by their cultural knowledge, language and storytelling.
A Quandamooka Nunukul woman of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, Queensland), Casey Coolwel-Fisher’s work is a vibrant exploration of the connection between people, fauna and Country. Nathan Peckham – artist from Tubba-gah Wiradjuri Country (Dubbo, Northern New South Wales) and founder of Aboriginal-led Yurana Creative – celebrates culture and storytelling through his indigenous art.
Ample Projects – renowned for spectacular illuminated sculptures – have partnered with Casey and Nathan to bring their works to life as shining, anamorphic lanterns. A Sydney-based collective of artists, designers and technologists, Ample Projects’ practice explores the relationship between people, cities, and nature, drawing on lived urban experience to create reflective, immersive works.
The collection is a conversation between the artists, with the “skins” of each animal lantern featuring patterns that reflect their unique totems and stories. The koala was first created by Nathan Peckham as an original design for Taronga Zoo’s Wild Lights; for Botanic by Night: NightGlow and with Nathan’s permission, Casey has redesigned the koala’s skin to reflect her own totem. What emerges is a dialogue in light between two artists and two Countries – Nathan’s Tubba-gah Wiradjuri and Casey’s Quandamooka Nunukul – in the heart of Meanjin, Brisbane.
The lantern is itself one of the world’s great craft traditions – a Chinese art form refined over centuries. Its home is Zigong, Sichuan province, a city known as the Lantern Capital where artisans have shaped silk and steel into light for generations, and which today produces most of the world’s large-scale lantern displays – including those for Botanic by Night: NightGlow.
The installation is complimented by an original, atmospheric soundscape inspired by the sounds of the yidaki (didgeridoo). Grounded in Mt Coot-tha as a traditional gathering and music-making place of the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, the score sits respectfully alongside the experience’s First Nations art and storytelling.
This shared creative perspective and artistry will light the way for guests to explore and engage with Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha after nightfall, and inspire shared discovery along the way.
In your interactions with each lantern, Botanic by Night: NightGlow invites you into this story of ecological interdependence – each encounter offering an opportunity to learn about the animals, the habitats that sustain them, and the relationships that make living systems like Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha thrive. The works weave ecological knowledge together with First Nations storytelling, reminding us that land, water, sky, animals and people are all connected, and that each of us has a part to play in caring for them.
Please enjoy the lanterns respectfully, and remember – do not touch or enter fenced zones.
City Parklands was pleased to work with Nurri Theresa Jackey-Williams, one of South-East Queensland’s most respected Aboriginal elders and cultural authorities, to receive cultural approval for the event.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow is a thoughtful new way to explore Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha after dark.
Considered one of Queensland’s premier subtropical Botanic Gardens, it spans 56 hectares of diverse, living horticultural collections, nature walks, picnic areas and cycling trails. The site is home to more than 200,000 plants, including native species and those from around the world, as well as significant botanic collections across rainforest, arid, wetland and Australian bush landscapes.
Welcoming more than a million visitors each year, Botanic by Night: NightGlow reimagines the Gardens as a living library of ecological knowledge – the event is an invitation to experience this site of shared discovery in a new light, while respecting and protecting its important environmental values and assets.
Environmental stewardship is a core design consideration of Botanic by Night: NightGlow. Designed with care for the landscape it calls home, the activation has been shaped by expert ecological advice at every step – from planning and design, to delivery.
Carefully considered lighting design, an event route that uses established visitor pathways, and a temporary footprint are all practical measures that have been taken to minimise Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s ecological impact.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s event route weaves through the existing Queensland Conservation Trail and Gardens Explorer Trail in a high-use part of Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. To protect the integrity of the Gardens, it intentionally avoids living botanic collections and sensitive, planted areas.
As its name would suggest, Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s lighting design glows from within, and features no flashing, laser or strobe lighting effects, or uplights into trees or canopies. Each lantern is lit to a precise and protective ecological specification: warm, low-blue light at 2200–2700K, with the LEDs contained and diffused within each sculpture’s fabric skin to minimise skyglow.
Grounded in Mt Coot-tha as a traditional gathering and music-making place of the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, an original score sits respectfully alongside the installations. Rather than using animal calls that could disturb nearby wildlife, the soundscape is gentle and ambient, including traditional instruments like the didgeridoo.
The installation is grounded in the ecology of our region – at the heart of Botanic by Night: NightGlow is the ibis, one of Brisbane’s most recognisable birds, and the green tree frog, beloved across South East Queensland and a familiar voice on a warm Brisbane night. Both of these works are entirely new, created bespoke for, and presented for the first time, in Brisbane.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow utilises these thoughtfully placed lanterns to showcase the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, and tell a new story about its equally stunning and fascinating ecosystem – each one lighting the way through the environment that sustains them.
Mt Coot-tha – the Aboriginal word for “place of honey” – will offer guests more than just earthly delights at Botanic by Night: NightGlow, with a dedicated food truck stop open nightly at the Amphitheatre.
For the meat lovers, Brazzo Boys will bring the real taste of Brazil – smoke barbecue and all – to Brisbane. If authentic German fare is more to your taste, Best of the Wurst will offer bratwurst, currywurst and much more.
For those seeking a more wholesome bite, the Feel Good Foodie will serve up 100% gluten-free street food as full of love as it is taste.
Those with a sweet tooth needn’t miss out, with Scandinavian specialists Oh Waffles cooking up waffles, pancakes and lemonade all night long.
Last stop, dessert – at the end of the event route, visitors can finish their evening with a final sweet treat from Di Pui Tiramisu.
The Botanic by Night: NightGlow food truck precinct is exclusively open to ticketholders – discover art, light and flavour this September school holidays by booking your ticket now.
Botanic by Night: NightGlow’s thoughtful design extends beyond its environmental considerations to offer an accessible and memorable experience for all guests.
Wheelchair-friendly event route
Botanic by Night: NightGlow is a wheelchair friendly event. The lantern route is approximately 837 metres, fully paved and wheelchair accessible, with some sections including gentle gradients.
Accessible toilets are available throughout the route at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, and accessible parking is available at various carparks along Sir Samuel Griffith Drive.
Sensory-friendly event design
Botanic by Night: NightGlow has been designed as a slow-paced and contemplative nighttime experience. The installations have been designed to glow from within – you will not encounter any strobe or laser lighting effects. You will be welcome to explore the event route at your own pace, where you will encounter large lanterns, colourful dynamic lights, and a gentle soundscape. There are plenty of places along the route, including the dedicated food truck precinct, for visitors to stop, dwell and rest.
Event staff will be on the ground and able to assist in the event you feel unwell.
Convenient travel options
Parking in the vicinity can be limited – so, for your convenience, a shuttle service will run from the Legacy Way carpark to the event entrance at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha on a regular schedule. This shuttle service is complimentary for Botanic by Night: NightGlow ticketholders, and is both wheelchair accessible and pram friendly.
Be sure to check the FAQs to guide your transport options.
If you have any questions about the Botanic by Night: NightGlow experience, or you have accessibility requirements and require assistance, please contact [email protected] – we will be happy to assist you appropriately.
Important event update
Due to severe weather, Botanic by Night will not be going ahead tonight, 6th of August.’