YIRRAMBOI Festival

YIRRAMBOI Festival YIRRAMBOI Festival
narrm/Melbourne, Australia Ancestors to Ancestors,
bones of my bones
who are we if not her? tides, reflecting
our Futures, Past.

Returning from 1-11 May 2025, YIRRAMBOI is a convergence of 400+ First Nations creatives across 180 performances and activating over 40 venues across Narrm/Melbourne. Deeply rooted in purpose, YIRRAMBOI platforms expressions of culture, identity, unity, and truth through evolutionary and experimental practices, breaking away from preconceived ideas of First Nations 'art'. YIRRAMBOI provides a stag

e for First Nations voices to be heard, for stories to reverberate through generations, to drive change and create a future where First Peoples are rightly celebrated. This year’s festival explores four powerful anchors—Legacy, Joy, Reclamation, and Akin—that form the foundation of its most ambitious program to date.

Calling Victorian based First Nations artists, collectives & arts organisations working in experimental theatre and danc...
09/06/2026

Calling Victorian based First Nations artists, collectives & arts organisations working in experimental theatre and dance.

CRACKED is a self-determined platform that seeds new experimental works by First Nations artists, grounded in long-term development and led by the artists themselves.

Six Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artists based in Victoria will be supported to create and present a 20-minute excerpt of new experimental work. These excerpts will be presented as two distinct triple-bill showings under the two specific genres of experimental theatre and experimental dance at YIRRAMBOI Festival 2027.

Selected artists will receive a $10,000 fee, alongside mentorship from leading First Nations practitioners, rehearsal space, accessibility provisions, technical support, and industry connections.

YIRRAMBOI have a strong commitment to d/Deaf, Disabled, neurodivergent, and regional artists.

Expressions of Interest close Sunday 12 July 2026, 11:59pm AEST.

For full details and to apply: https://yirramboi.com.au/cracked/

LAZARUS is in its final week at Theatre Works. The extraordinary true story of Uncle Larry Walsh, Taungurung Elder, acti...
01/06/2026

LAZARUS is in its final week at Theatre Works.

The extraordinary true story of Uncle Larry Walsh, Taungurung Elder, activist and storyteller, brought to life in a heartfelt and vital work that speaks directly to the soul of this country.

Woven from interviews with Uncle Larry himself, this dynamic production moves through decades of pain and triumph, laughter and resistance, as one man rises from the ashes of injustice to reclaim his story, his spirit, and his place.

Directed by Kamarra Bell-Wykes and featuring an exceptional cast, LAZARUS is showing until 6 June at Theatre Works.

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/venue:
Theatre Works
14 Acland St, St Kilda

/dates:
21 May–6 June

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FEATURED ON THE 2026 VCE DRAMA PLAYLIST
Lazarus was developed with the support of Australian Plays Transform and was originally commissioned by YIRRAMBOI.

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/image:


/tickets:
MobTix from $25
https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/lazarus

YIRRAMBOI 2025 Commission, HOLDING SPACE has been selected for imagineNATIVE in Toronto. The largest Indigenous film and...
12/05/2026

YIRRAMBOI 2025 Commission, HOLDING SPACE has been selected for imagineNATIVE in Toronto. The largest Indigenous film and media arts festival on the planet.

Through film, photography, and story, Apryl Day and Jirra Lulla Harvey honour the ways Elders hold space for us all, for healing, for remembering, and for love.

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TIFF Lightbox, Toronto, Canada
Sat 6 June, 11AM

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More info at the link in bio.

11/05/2026

YIRRAMBOI Festival 2027 Commissions

Somewhere Over the Blak Rainbow — A theatrical street-based songline mapping the Blak and Q***r histories of Fitzroy. Led by Bryan Andy Somewhere Over the Blak Rainbow blends memory, drag, music and monologue to honour generations of Aboriginal LGBTQIA+ lives on Wurundjeri Country.

One of four new works commissioned for YIRRAMBOI Festival in May 2027.

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Video by Joshua Scott .cwolf
Editing by Sapphic Flicks
Creative Direction by Sherene Stewart

30/04/2026

YIRRAMBOI Festival 2027 Commissions

Withewa (To Return Home) — Jedda Atkinson-Costa’s Withewa is a poetic film work honouring unsung Aboriginal Elders whose life stories risk being lost if not preserved. Filmed in places rich with memory, the work weaves voice, landscape, natural light and archival material to create intimate portraits of cultural leadership, care and quiet strength.

One of four new works commissioned for YIRRAMBOI Festival in May 2027.

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Video by Joshua Scott .cwolf
Editing by Sapphic Flicks
Creative Direction by Sherene Stewart

Grants of up to $25,000 are available as part of City of Melbourne’s Annual Arts Grant - bringing bold, one-off arts pro...
29/04/2026

Grants of up to $25,000 are available as part of City of Melbourne’s Annual Arts Grant - bringing bold, one-off arts projects to life.

Individual artists and small to medium arts organisations across all disciplines including performance art, music, dance, theatre, and visual art are encouraged to apply.

Applications close Wednesday 6 May 2026, 11.59pm.

Apply: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/annual-arts-grants

28/04/2026

YIRRAMBOI Festival 2027 Commissions

GANBINAN! — Written entirely in Yorta Yorta, GANBINAN! is a new album celebrating language reclamation, renewal and cultural resilience. Co-written and composed by Allara and Dr Lou Bennett AM, in partnership with Binung Boorigan, the project fuses contemporary music-making with deep cultural practice, positioning song as both pedagogy and activism.

One of four new works commissioned for YIRRAMBOI Festival in May 2027.

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Video by Joshua Scott .cwolf
Editing by Sapphic Flicks
Creative Direction by Sherene Stewart

We are seeking two deadly Senior Producers to join the YIRRAMBOI team ahead of our 2027 Festival.You will bring strong k...
23/04/2026

We are seeking two deadly Senior Producers to join the YIRRAMBOI team ahead of our 2027 Festival.

You will bring strong knowledge of the creative industries, particularly First Nations arts and culture, and demonstrate a strong commitment to upholding First Nations self-determination. You have experience delivering complex projects, working collaboratively within a team, and building strong relationships with artists and venues.

– PREFERRED START: EARLY JUNE 2026
– APPLICATIONS CLOSE: SUNDAY 24 MAY 2026, 11:59PM

We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ people, and culturally diverse communities.

Know someone who'd be perfect for this? Send it on.

APPLY: https://yirramboi.com.au/join-the-team/

What Yet — A new contemporary circus work by Maggie Church-Kopp and Johnny Brown, examining how cultural knowledge is tr...
14/04/2026

What Yet — A new contemporary circus work by Maggie Church-Kopp and Johnny Brown, examining how cultural knowledge is transferred and disrupted for young First Nations people today. Developed through extended research on Arrernte Country, the work transforms lived experience into powerful physical storytelling, addressing incarceration, education, childhood and cultural survival.

One of four new works commissioned for YIRRAMBOI 2027. Now in its sixth iteration, the YIRRAMBOI Commissions Program sits at the heart of the festival, laying the foundation for the broader program and offering an early glimpse of what’s to come.

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Images by Joshua Scott .cwolf
Creative Direction by Sherene Stewart

Read the full announcement: https://yirramboi.com.au/news/yirramboi-announces-major-new-commissions

Withewa (To Return Home) — Jedda Atkinson-Costa’s Withewa is a poetic film work honouring unsung Aboriginal Elders whose...
14/04/2026

Withewa (To Return Home) — Jedda Atkinson-Costa’s Withewa is a poetic film work honouring unsung Aboriginal Elders whose life stories risk being lost if not preserved. Filmed in places rich with memory, the work weaves voice, landscape, natural light and archival material to create intimate portraits of cultural leadership, care and quiet strength.
The first in a proposed series, the project positions Elders as living archives, preserving humour, wisdom and story as both cinematic works and deeply personal family keepsakes.

One of four new works commissioned for YIRRAMBOI 2027. Now in its sixth iteration, the YIRRAMBOI Commissions Program sits at the heart of the festival, laying the foundation for the broader program and offering an early glimpse of what’s to come.

+ +

Images by Joshua Scott .cwolf
Creative Direction by Sherene Stewart

Read the full announcement: https://yirramboi.com.au/news/yirramboi-announces-major-new-commissions

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