We are proud to make craft and design accessible to everyone. The majority of the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival is free, spanning all program types including exhibitions, open studios, tours, talks, markets, performances, and public artworks — enjoy everything the festival has to offer.
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.
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.
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.
7 – 15 November 2026 | Grainger Gallery
In celebration of a maker whose vision continues to resonate as an enduring act of creative dissent, Robert Foster 10 Year Memorial Exhibition brings together 10 of Robert's most significant original works alongside new collaborative pieces by 10 artists whose practices were deeply shaped by his influence.
10 November 2026 | Nangari Street Carpark
Presented by Architectus in partnership with SONA and EmAGN, Dissent: Opposition/Proposition brings together emerging thought leaders from architecture, urban design and adjacent fields to interrogate the role of sanctioned and unsanctioned design in the city and explore how opposition can become a proposition for change.
1 – 11 November 2026 | Canberra Airport
Raw and Refined presents new work by established contemporary jeweller Phoebe Porter, highlighting the origins of the materials she employs and the labour of making. The exhibition celebrates the handmade as an act of creative dissent, challenging consumerism, mass production and conventional notions of value through thoughtful, enduring design.
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.
14 November 2026 | ANU School of Medicine and Psychology
How do we view, hear and learn from the human corpse? Artists and anatomists from the Australian National University School of Medicine come together to explore how art and narrative can protect and preserve the humanity of the human body.
7 November 2026 – 30 January 2027 | Canberra Contemporary
In the spirit of Dissent, Canberra Contemporary presents POWER – The Future is Here by Denis Golding, curated by Kyra Kum-Sing, alongside Tal Fitzpatrick's solo exhibition Quietly Seething: Fate, Fury and Transmutation. Together, these exhibitions interrogate power, resistance and transformation through bold and uncompromising contemporary practice.
6 – 22 November 2026 | Queanbeyan Hive
A powerful act of dissent against the marginalisation of older voices, Elder Art is an exhibition of artworks by older members of the community. Through art and artist talks, the exhibition amplifies these voices, celebrating the richness that a long life and diverse experiences of history can bring to our shared community.
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.
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.
