Uptown Brisbane is sprinkling joy and sweet tidings for a magical, candy-coated Christmas in the City this November and December, bringing nostalgic treats and neon dreams to life in Queen Street Mall and Brisbane City for the holiday season.
Experience a Yuletide joyride with windows wrapped in Christmas sweetness, enjoy a sugar rush with themed activities including customising your very own tote bag, playing mini-golf games, snapping a seasonal selfie and getting involved with charitable initiatives in Uptown at the top of the Queen Street Mall.
Candy Coated Christmas Windows created by artist and designer Kirsten Devitt have reimagined Uptown for the holiday season, creating festive windows that evoke the celestial magic of Brisbane’s subtropical fairy floss sunsets, frosted in fun and candy-coated celebration.
On display until 4 January 2026, visitors can marvel at four original display windows, featuring Devitt’s signature bold, playful design and whimsical wit that make the everyday extraordinary.
The striking festive windows will stop shoppers in their tracks, featuring over 60 glittery Christmas bears, including a giant revolving bear to surprise and delight, and over 1,000 twinkling lights, neon text signs, tinsel accents and more than 200 suspended Natale stars.
Artist and designer Kirsten Devitt draws on her own memories of Christmas traditions to reimagine Uptown for this festive season. Growing up in Southeast Queensland, she recalls the excitement of family road trips to Brisbane, where the glittering Festive Windows were a highlight of the holiday ritual.
Later, as a Brisbane-based artist and designer, she continued this tradition with her own family, deepening her appreciation for the sense of wonder these windows inspire. In this installation, Devitt channels that joy and nostalgia into spaces that shimmer with the celestial colours of Brisbane’s subtropical skies.
Evoking fairy-floss sunsets, frosted edges, and candy-coated hues, her work transforms Uptown into a place of playful enchantment. Through colour, light, and imagination, she captures the shared magic of celebration – where childhood wonder and community joy meet in a radiant, contemporary expression of festive spirit.
“I’m delighted to celebrate joy and the exuberant spirit of Christmas by bringing a blend of tradition and reinvention to Uptown Brisbane and the iconic Queen Street Mall windows,” said Devitt.
Kirsten is an artist and designer celebrated for her bold, playful approach to colour and form. Working primarily with laser-cut acrylic, her practice spans jewellery, homewares, and large-scale public artworks that delight and surprise. She is the founder of design studio Each To Own – where she brings vibrant imagination to life through wearable art and joyful objects.
Kirsten has a deep connection to the city’s creative community, having spent many years there developing her practice and contributing to its dynamic cultural scene. Her work often blends the clean lines of contemporary design with a nostalgic charm, creating a distinctive visual language that resonates with diverse audiences. Kirsten’s artistic explorations of acrylic as a medium celebrate its luminous potential.
From bold statement jewellery to colourful public installations, she pushes the material’s boundaries, transforming everyday moments into extraordinary visual experiences. Her public art is characterised by its warmth, accessibility and sense of fun – offering points of connection and wonder in shared spaces.
Visitors to Uptown Brisbane can also indulge in a candy-themed, five-hole mini-golf game and snap a sweet memory at the photobooth at the Candy Coated Christmas Mart, treat yourself to a customisable calico tote bag at the Tote Bag Customisation Kiosk pop up, and look out for another sweet surprise with a hidden Gingerbread House door in the retail centre, part of the Brisbane City Tiny Doors map of festively decorated portals to discover around the CBD.
Kirsten Devitt’s Candy Coated Christmas Windows are on display at Uptown Brisbane (Queen Street Mall Windows) until Sunday 4 January 2026. For more information, visit: www.uptownbrisbane.com.au for details.
Image: Candy Coated Christmas Windows (supplied)