5 November 2026 | Craft + Design Canberra

Join us to formally launch the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival and celebrate the opening of 4 exciting exhibitions in the Craft + Design Canberra Gallery and Civic Square. 

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 + 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.  

- November 2026 | The Learning Nest Co.

Atelier as Dissent invites educators to rethink traditional classrooms through creative, inquiry-rich environments. Explore how atelier practice breaks boundaries, sparks student agency and connects art with interdisciplinary learning. Learn practical strategies for setting up an atelier that transforms teaching, thinking and curriculum design.  

6 November 2026 | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

In line with the Craft + Design Canberra Festival theme of Dissent, this conversation asks whether we are measuring the things that matter most. As Canberra grows and changes, are we optimising for the metrics that are easier to count, or for the things that make our city a better place to live? This discussion will explore how the measures we choose influence the places we create, and whether it is time to broaden the way we define success. 

11 November 2026 | Pearce Community Centre

Artmaking for YOU offers an inclusive, therapeutic artmaking workshop that explores creativity as an act of dissent.  

23 October – 15 November 2026 | M16 Artspace

Bespoke Utopia presents Canberra artists whose practices embrace the principles of slow design that is grounded in care, material knowledge and long-term thinking. Linking global conversations around sustainable design with Canberra’s rich craft history, the exhibition invites audiences to consider how design shapes everyday life and how thoughtful creative practices can challenge fast, disposable production models.  

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.

8 November 2026 | Braddon

Discover Braddon’s bold murals on an immersive guided walk exploring how artists use public walls to challenge ideas and spark conversation. Find hidden corners, encounter striking works up close and uncover the stories shaping Canberra’s most eclectic suburb. Braddon Mural Magic invites all ages to see the city as a living, creative gallery.  

9 – 15 November 2026 | Miko Designs

Break // Make: UC x Miko is a multidisciplinary design collaboration between University of Canberra students and Miko Designs. Exploring ‘Dissent’, students challenge convention, blend tradition with technology and push the boundaries of craft, architecture and design to envision our sustainable and creative futures.  

14 November 2026 | National Carillon

The Canberra Kinetic Sculpture Race is a one-day spectacle of human-powered, amphibious art machines. Teams create imaginative sculptures that travel across land, sand, and water in a whimsical celebration of creativity and dissent. Audiences can explore, watch, and cheer on these inventive, handmade moving artworks. 

9 – 15 November 2026 | Across Canberra

Explore Canberra's award-winning Architecture with new landmark buildings  and ingenious sustainable residences through the Australian Institute of Architecture's Tour program. 

13 November 2026 | Curtin

Discover Batten House, a new family home and studio in Curtin that responds beautifully to its parkland setting adjacent to the Yarralumla Creek open space network. Featuring a centralised courtyard with operable screens, reverse brick veneer construction and a rich textural palette of recycled hardwood, honed concrete and timber joinery. 

12 November 2026 | Deakin

Enter Canvas House, a restrained and beautifully considered home that draws from Scandinavian minimalism and French provincial architecture within Canberra's post war suburban fabric. Organised around a central outdoor living courtyard and achieving a 7.1 star energy rating, this fully electric home is a masterclass in passive solar design and sustainable living. 

9 November 2026 | CIT Woden

Step inside one of Canberra's most ambitious buildings, the CIT Woden Campus, home to the largest mass timber building by volume in Australia. Discover a profound Connection to Country narrative woven into every detail, from coloured terracotta bands expressing Valley, Bush, Mountain and Sky Country, to an oculus skylight through which Mullian tracks the sun. 

9 November 2026 | CIT Woden

Step inside one of Canberra's most ambitious buildings, the CIT Woden Campus, home to the largest mass timber building by volume in Australia. Discover a profound Connection to Country narrative woven into every detail, from coloured terracotta bands expressing Valley, Bush, Mountain and Sky Country, to an oculus skylight through which Mullian tracks the sun. 

12 November 2026 | Ainslie

Come into thisthoughtful addition to a heritage cottage that maximises passive comfort through clever sectional design, recycled Canberra Red bricks and high-level north facing glazing. A considered and layered composition that honours the old while confidently introducing the new. 

11 November 2026 | Wanniassa

Step inside Gugan Gulwan, a purpose-built facility designed with and for First Nations people. Created through deep community consultation by COX architecture in collaboration with ck architecture, this uplifting space responds to Country and community, embedding First Nations culture into every detail, from its gathering spaces to its significant artwork integration.

15 November 2026 | Turner

Step inside Secret Garden House, where three pavilions form a ‘house as landscape’, shaped by the quiet authority of an enormous oak tree. An energy positive home that embraces ease of living across generations, with Canberra red bricks, spotted gum timber and colour used as a form of craft.