Explore the
2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival Program
ALTER – a double bill of Design, Dance, Disability and Dissent
6 + 7 November 2026 | Belconnen Arts Centre
Design and dance collide in a double-bill exploring the interplay between body, identity and cross-cultural exchange. ALTER is an Austral/Asian collaboration presented by dancers living with and without disability - offering a beautiful hybrid of ephemeral visual art and dance, illustrating the power of dissent through lived and imagined realities.
BOLD Dissent
12 – 13 November 2026 | Canberra Museum and Gallery
BOLD Dissent is a two-day conference featuring leading dancers, designers and thinkers from across Australia and the world bringing a focus on dissent. Shaking up the way we create and present performing arts and the ways in which organisations and artists can create more accessible and inclusive environments for the future.
Closing Party | Dance of Dissent
14 November 2026 | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Join us in the courtyard of the National Film and Sound Archive to close the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival with an evening of dance, design and celebration under the Canberra sky.
Clothing the Loop: Sustainable Fashion and Circular Design Festival
6 + 7 November 2026 | Canberra Institute of Technology, Woden
Fashion meets activism. Performance meets purpose. Dissent becomes a work of art. Across one vibrant weekend, Clothing the Loop unfolds as a spectacular evening event and a full day of activities. Live dance, a runway parade, panel talks, clothes swaps, installations, tours and practical workshops celebrate the intersection of sustainable design, live performance and creative activism.
Quietly Seething | A Panel Discussion
7 November 2026 | Canberra Contemporary
Join Canberra Contemporary for a panel discussion on the theme of this year’s Craft + Design Canberra Festival, Dissent, featuring exhibiting feminist artist and craftivist Dr Tal Fitzpatrick, MoAD curator Stephanie Pfennigwerth and moderated by artist Raquel Ormella.
Quietly Seething | Performances
14 November 2026 | Canberra Contemporary
As part of Quietly Seething: Fate, Fury and Transmutation, a major new solo exhibition by feminist artist and craftivist Dr Tal Fitzpatrick, artist Sophie Dumaresq and dancer Juliet Burnett have developed performances that respond to the theme of feminine rage.