Perth Festival 2026, reflecting the vision of Artistic Director Anna Reece, demonstrated the role that an international arts festival can play in sparking community connection and evoking a sense of place, while cutting through real and imagined barriers to celebrate art.
This year’s Festival offered a clear view from Perth, shaped by First Nations stories, global exchanges and local imagination, inviting audiences to engage deeply with art across theatres, galleries, public spaces and digital platforms. The Festival prioritised connection, attention and exchange redefining what festival participation can look like.
The Perth Festival editions of the digital work A View From A Bridge by UK artist Joe Bloom – in its first circuit outside the UK – have already been viewed by more than 2 million people around the world, sharing the deeply engaging and affecting stories of West Australians with a global audience. Filmed during Bloom’s visit to the state in January, the series commenced on the opening day of the Festival with Noongar Elder Dr Richard Walley OAM’s poignant reflection from the centre of Kings Park’s treetop bridge, with five further episodes now live and two more to come. Through intimate encounters shared far beyond Perth, the project demonstrated how a festival rooted in places can still resonate globally, inviting people to connect with this city wherever they are.
Encouraging audiences to experience art in unique spaces was once again a feature of Anna Reece’s programming vision with opera in an IKEA store (Secret Opera), Phillip Glass performed in a forgotten office inside a major shopping centre (The Trial), contemporary music and stunning visuals in a disused power station (East Perth Power Station and Boorloo Contemporary), a street-based adventure through the Boorloo cityscape (the booster protocol), a corroboree under the stars connecting the ancient cultures of Gondwanaland (The BhuMeJha Project), ballet in a quarry (WA Ballet’s Incandescence),and a guided tour of Perth’s major venues and their accessibility issues with Hugo Flavelle and his Wonder Chair (Let Me In, Let Me Out).
Powerful First Nations storytelling and performances were at the heart of the 2026 program with powerful works led by First Nations artists embedded across exhibitions, music, special events and public space: Lotterywest Community Experience Karla Bidi (Noongar for “Fire Trail”) flanking the river with open-air sound and light installations stretching from the hills to the sea and Kwop Ben lighting up Boorloo Bridge each evening were experienced by over 100,000 people, while thousands more gathered on the shores of Dyoondalup/Point Walter to share stories of Country through song, dance and music at the one-night event, Nitja. Boorloo Contemporary showcased bold new works by Western Australian First Nations artists through the support of Wesfarmers Arts, including Melissa Sandy’s The Void, Kait James’ Blak Flags, April Phillips and Friends with Computers’ Under Waters and Lance Chadd Tjyllyungoo’s monumental light projections.
