Welcome to Vic Park's newest festival!
Kick off Arts Season with a feast for the senses, as Arts & Culture Fest lights up McCallum Park.
Gather in the shadow of the new Boorloo Bridge as evening sets in, and immerse yourself in the stories and history of our Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River), told through performance and visual art.
Settle in just beyond the park's grand old fig trees, and delight in local food and a pop-up bar as traditional tool making workshops, live dance, theatre and musical experiences entrance while highlighting the rich stories and historical importance of our riverfront spaces, all coalescing around carefully curated, eye-popping live art projections and light shows.
Lose yourself on an immersive sound and light trail amongst the fig trees
Be wowed by roving acrobatic performers
Be enthralled by performance-based storytelling and traditional dance
Marvel at the light show capabilities of the new Boorloo Bridge
Soak up the stories and history of the river through multi-sensory projection art on the waterfront.
Performers
Sohan Hayes - Experience 'Kalyakoorl Nidja, Nidja Kalyakoorl | Forever Here, Here Forever', a live projection art show delivered in two segments on the riverfront.
Ad Lib Collective - A group of performers and composers who create unique and transformative musical and inter-disciplinary performances. Directed by percussionist/composer Thea Rossen, the Collective's projects focus on connecting communities to transformative artistic experiences around big issues that matter. For this new collaboration, Ad Lib Collectiveis developing instrumentation directly from shells gathered with Noongar Artist Sharyn Egan and working with electronic duo Wind Up Bird.
Wind-Up Bird - Wind-Up Bird is a collaboration between composers/synth-artists Josiah Padmanabham from Grievous Bodily Calm and Gazey, and award-winning Australian composer James Ledger. Their music is a melting pot of jazz, classical and contemporary influences all blended into psychedelic electronic textures.
Encounter Theatre - A well-known and highly lauded independent theatre company based in Noongar Boodjar, Encounter tells moving stories about identity and belonging, and will be presenting an original piece on the night.
Fliptease roving performers - Be enthralled by 'Treading Lightly', a simple responsive acrobatic movement piece set to a soft Australian bush soundscape.
Dylan Collard of Kalyakoorl - Get the kids involved with traditional tool-making workshops and activities.
Wadumbah Aboriginal Dancers - Traditional Bibbulmunn Aboriginal dance and music performed with fun, passion and power! Wadumbah brings the Dreaming stories of the very first Australians alive in a performance that’s authentic and spectacular.
See you out there!
Arts & Culture Fest is part of the Town of Victoria Park's 2025 Arts Season.
This event is supported by Lotterywest.
A montage of Sohan Hayes' previous work, set to music by Wind Up Bird x Ad Lib Collective, ahead of their joint performance at Arts & Culture Fest 2025.