The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival celebrates Canberra as a creative capital and global city of design, bringing together more than 500 artists, designers, makers and creative thinkers across the city.

In 2026, we invite you to experience Dissent.

Through craft, design, visual art and performance, the Festival considers how creativity can challenge convention and open up different ways of thinking. It places Canberra’s creative community within a wider conversation about the role of design in shaping our future.

Across the program, six ideas shape the Festival’s approach to Dissent.

RETHINK | IMAGINE DIFFERENT WAYS FORWARD
Design thinking offers a way to question what exists, identify challenges and imagine what could be different.

RESIST | CREATIVE PRACTICE AS RESISTANCE
Craftivism explores how making and creative practice can become acts of resistance that challenge convention and make a statement.

MAKE | WORKING BY HAND
Making by hand can build skills and connection, while supporting creativity and wellbeing.

INCLUDE | ACCESS, VISIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
Access and participation shape who gets to take part, be seen and heard. Creative practice can help challenge barriers and create more inclusive spaces.

CONNECT | STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY
Sharing knowledge can bring people together, building connection and strengthening communities.

CHOOSE | LOCAL CHOICES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Buying locally made work supports artists and makers while making a more considered environmental choice. Choosing objects that are made to last and can be repaired also reduces waste.

Across ten days, more than 130 activations bring the Festival to life, with exhibitions and public artworks continuing throughout November across Canberra.

Come curious. Question what is. Imagine what could be.