How to Embrace ‘Radical Access’ in the Arts
Between 2023 and 2024 Australia’s cultural and creative industries generated $67.4 billion, with audiences with disability attending at parity with non‑disabled audiences. Initiatives such as the Access Fringe partnership with Arts Access Victoria and the Fair Play program are embedding ‘radical access’ principles across the sector, providing commissions, mentorships and training to thousands of artists and organisations. The movement is also leveraging emerging technologies, exemplified by AI‑enhanced performances and digital labs, while urging collaborative design with disabled communities. Leaders stress that accessibility is an ethical responsibility, not a checklist, and that incremental, feedback‑driven actions can drive systemic change.
Sydney Finally Has a Cinémathèque – What Took so Long?
After more than two decades of proposals, the Art Gallery of New South Wales officially opened the Sydney Cinémathèque on 7 March, providing the city with a permanent home for curated repertory cinema. The gallery’s film program, already serving as an...
Mary Said What She Said Review: A Stunning Solo Act
"Mary Said What She Said" is a 90‑minute avant‑garde monologue starring Isabelle Huppert as Mary Queen of Scots, staged at the Adelaide Festival. Directed and designed by the late Robert Wilson, the piece blends rapid French dialogue, pre‑recorded Ludovico Einaudi...
The Tiger Lillies Review: Dead Funny Cabaret at Adelaide Festival
British post‑punk cabaret trio The Tiger Lillies performed at Adelaide Festival’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, promoting their new album Serenade from the Sewer. The act’s grotesque clown aesthetic and macabre ballads recalled Brecht‑Weill and Tom Waits, but critics found the music...
History of Violence Review: Exploring Memory, Trauma and the Nature of Truth at Adelaide Festival
History of Violence, directed by Thomas Ostermeier, opened Adelaide Festival’s Dunstan Playhouse from Feb 27 to Mar 2, adapting Édouard Louis’s autobiographical novel. The production blends live camera feeds, black‑and‑white projections, and a percussive score to fragment the protagonist’s traumatic recollection of...
Best Opportunities, Grants & Awards for Creatives: 9 to 15 March 2026
A nationwide roundup of creative funding and residency opportunities has been released for the week of 9‑15 March 2026. Programs span visual arts, writing, film, digital games and arts leadership, offering residencies, cash grants, scholarships and business accelerators across Victoria, Queensland, Western...
This Narungga-Led First Nations Performance Will Premiere in India in a Historic Cultural Exchange
Later this month, the Narungga‑led performance Guuranda X KMMC will debut in Chennai, India, marking the first public presentation of the Narungga language on the subcontinent. The three‑day event blends theatre, song, puppetry and dance, and will be livestreamed globally on 22 March....
Asia Pacific Arts Awards: Honouring Diaspora Artists and Enduring Connections
Creative Australia’s Asia Pacific Arts Awards were held in Perth on 23 February, awarding $25,000 cash prizes across six categories to artists, collectives and organisations with strong diaspora ties. The ceremony, staged at Western Australia’s Government House, underscored the role...
Tyshawn Sorey: Alone Review – Adelaide Festival 2026
Tyshawn Sorey delivered a one‑off, hour‑long solo piano improvisation at Adelaide Festival’s historic Her Majesty’s Theatre. The performance, titled *Tyshawn Sorey: Alone*, merged Impressionist textures, free‑jazz intensity, and avant‑garde sonorities into a continuous wave of sound. Sorey, a Pulitzer‑Prize‑winning, McArthur...
Rising Voices: Contemporary Art From Asia, Australia and the Pacific to Open at the V&A
London’s V&A, in partnership with QAGOMA, will open the "Rising Voices" exhibition in May, showcasing more than 70 works by over 40 contemporary artists from 25 Asia‑Pacific countries. The show pulls from three decades of the Asia Pacific Triennial, presenting...
Parrtjima Festival’s Extraordinary 2026 Program Revealed
Parrtjima Festival returns to Alice Springs from 10‑19 April 2026 for its 11th edition, centering on the theme “Language.” The free, all‑ages event will showcase more than 36 First Nations artists and over 50 performers across light installations, workshops, music and storytelling....
Perle Noire Review: Charting the Inner Life of the Iconic Josephine Baker
Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine debuted at Adelaide Festival, offering a non‑linear, emotionally driven portrait of iconic Black performer Josephine Baker. Directed by Peter Sellars and scored by avant‑garde jazz composer Tyshawn Sorey, the production blends operatic cabaret, spoken word,...
Dear Colin Brooks: Defunded Victorian Arts Organisations Address Creative Industries Minister
Several Victorian arts bodies—including Writers Victoria, the Public Galleries Association of Victoria, Abbotsford Convent and Australian Print Workshop—have been stripped of operational funding by Creative Victoria. The groups have publicly appealed to Creative Industries Minister Colin Brooks, citing petitions, funding...
Manifest Destiny Review: Alex Frayne’s Photographic Roadtrip Through a National Crisis
Australian photographer Alex Frayne’s “Manifest Destiny” debuted at the 2026 Adelaide Festival, presenting a three‑year road‑trip series that documents a fragmented United States. Shot primarily on medium‑format film and displayed in a semi‑immersive U‑shaped LED installation, the work juxtaposes decaying...
The Cherry Orchard Review: A Korean Take on Chekhov at Adelaide Festival
Simon Stone’s latest adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard relocates the story from pre‑revolutionary Russia to a contemporary South Korean chaebol family, premiering at Adelaide Festival 2026. The production stars Cannes Best Actress winner Doyeon Jeon in her first stage...