7 + 8 November 2026 | Various Locations

Step inside the studios of Canberra’s makers and discover the creative practices of local craftspeople, designers, artists and arts organisations. Proudly supported by home.by.holly.  

13 - 15 November 2026 | Ainslie Arts Centre

The Undercurrent Design Market brings together over 50 accomplished makers from across Australia, showcasing contemporary work in jewellery, glass, ceramics, textiles and diverse creative mediums.  

6 November 2026 | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

Dissent by Design explores creativity as a form of dissent: the ways artists, designers, activists and storytellers use their practice to resist, imagine and rebuild.  

6 November 2026 | Canberra Contemporary

Join Canberra Contemporary for the opening of Quietly Seething: Fate, Fury and Transmutation, a major new solo exhibition by feminist artist and craftivist Dr Tal Fitzpatrick. This exhibition makes space for a conversation about the power and pain of feminine rage using the gentle and familiar textures of cloth.  

11 November 2026 | Craft + Design Canberra

Create an embroidered soft circuit inspired by a memory of early digital technology. Combine stitching, copper tape and sound interaction to explore how personal stories can spark small, creative acts of dissent.

5 November – 6 December 2026 | Civic Square  

NEST | Design for the Displaced Future is a major public art commission for the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival, responding to the theme of Dissent. Located in Civic Square, the temporary public art installation brings together sculptural works exploring the universal instinct to nest and belong in a changing world. 

14 November 2026 | Ainslie Arts Centre

Discover the infinite possibilities of simple printmaking in this playful workshop. Using recycled materials and reclaimed textiles, you will create your own patterned cloth to take home, a small and wearable act of dissent. 

7 November 2026 | Canberra Spinners and Weavers

Join Rebecca Mayo and Canberra Spinners and Weavers for a special collaborative event as part of Living City: People, Plants and Place, supports by artsACT and the Australian National University School of Art and Design. Experience the Plant Sensibilia Machine, a large-scale, hand-operated textile dyeing device that brings the creative process from the studio to the public realm. 

6 – 18 November 2026 | Q Gallery

Want to ‘give the finger’ to actions (or inaction) that cause you distress? Sick of responding to issues and concerns with anger or sadness? ‘Radical Joy’ can help you find humour and hope to communicate your concerns.  

7 November 2026 –  30 January 2027 | Canberra Contemporary

Quietly Seething  is an immersive handcrafted installation inviting visitors to sit within a dazzling embroidered space while listening to the anonymous and deeply personal confessions of 60 female identifying and AFAB (assigned female at birth) people sharing their experiences of feminine rage. 

12 November 2026 | Craft + Design Canberra

In quiet dissent against a world that values speed over stillness, this workshop invites you to explore hand stitching techniques to slowly shape and adorn a talisman made from natural fibres and filled with flowers. Slow stitched talismans honour care, imperfection and the power of handmade objects as vessels of memory and protection. 

9 November 2026 | Craft + Design Canberra

Transform an old t-shirt into a new patch or artwork with a message of protest, resistance or rebellion using traditional rug making techniques.  

23 October –  12 December 2026 | Tuggeranong Arts Centre

Dissenting the trend of mass manufactured consumer goods, Tuggeranong Arts Centre presents outstanding craft and design in three exhibitions that privilege slow craft to refute disposable consumerism in favour of intergenerational investment in quality crafted and designed objects.

11 November 2026 | Canberra Contemporary

Join feminist artist and craftivist Dr Tal Fitzpatrick for a ‘Very Cross Stitching’ workshop as part of her solo exhibition Quietly Seething: Fate, Fury and Transmutation at Canberra Contemporary. Participants will be invited to stitch directly into Tal’s exhibition artwork, while sharing and connecting over what makes them cross.  

5 July – 13 December 2026 | Tuggeranong Arts Centre

In dissent against the decline of the Murray Cod, Tuggeranong Arts Centre invites you to join collaborative community weaving sessions, using natural fibre and recycled materials to complete a large scale textile sculpture. Hear First Nations stories and learn about the environmental conservation efforts surrounding this threatened and culturally significant species.