YIRRAMBOI Festival is a 10-day feast of mediums spanning the breadth of artistic expression, united by a collective voice of resilience and evolution. Emerging, mid-career and established First Nations creatives take back space to crack open the heart of Melbourne, revealing the hum of Country beneath.
Returning May 2027, YIRRAMBOI once again invites audiences to immerse themselves in First Nations stories, truth and expression.
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Highlights from the 2025 program
- Over 400 First Nations creatives including 70+ international artists delivered 180 performances across 40+ venues.
- 16 World Premieres and 12 YIRRAMBOI Commissions included Lazarus, tracing Taungurung Elder Larry Walsh’s journey from the Stolen Generations to justice, and Three Blak Ravers, a queer horror cabaret exploring identity, fear and survival.
- banj ba walert : water and possum by Stacie Nicholson-Piper honoured Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown through a 360° audio work blending possum-skin drumbeats and immersive visuals, connecting audiences to Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung culture.
- Table for 6 celebrated six trailblazing First Nations women, Rachael Maza, Kylie Belling, Rhoda Roberts, Lynette Narkle, Lily Shearer and Margo Kane, in a one-night theatre-dinner.
- Curated by Dr Paola Balla, Blak Women’s Healing transformed Arts House into a powerful space for Aboriginal women’s voices and calls for justice, peace and wellbeing.
- The Uncle Jack Charles Festival Hub, relocated to narrm’s arts precinct, becoming a self-determined home for gathering, performance and collective joy, honouring the late storytelling pioneer.
- The Uncle Archie Roach Block Party & Barring Yanabul closed the festival with live music, DJs, voguing, performance art and installations in one of the largest international First Nations music events ever staged in narrm.
- The International Gathering featured 50+ artists and presenters from Northern Turtle Island and Aotearoa through workshops, truth-telling and a d/Deaf & Disabled Futures Symposium.
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Image credit: Sapphic Flicks
