Arts Scene Around Freo

Welcome to our new feature – Arts Scene Around Freo – compiled by our Arts Editor, Gayle O’Leary. Here we will bring to your attention community Arts events happening around Freo – visual arts, live performances, music gigs of various sorts, you name it. Each week we will post Arts Scene on our homepage as well as in The Weekly Edition. If you’d like to have your event included, let Gayle know!

So, what’s happening this week?

PROMISE EVERYTHING

Opening Friday 1 May 6pm

A photographic exhibition and zine by Oliver Whithan

South Terrace Piazza Gallery, Fremantle

Boo Park Sunset Sessions
Thursday 30 April – 5pm -7pm

Featuring local musicians and beyond, including Emily Barker, at the gorgeous Freo response to Kings Park, Booyeembara Park at the corner of Stevens and Montreal Streets.

Food trucks available. Bring a cosy jumper or throw and get ready to boogie with us.
Booyeembara Park, Fremantle
https://events.humanitix.com/boopark

Chilli Jam

Friday 1 May 2026 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Chilli Jam Open Mic is back on the first Friday of May 2026 – join us for good vibes, great people, and an incredible lineup of diverse performers!

We’ll bring together diverse voices, including both established and emerging creatives, for a night of celebration, resistance, and community at the Fremantle Fibonacci Centre!

Fremantle Fibonacci Centre 19 Blinco Street, Fremantle https://events.humanitix.com/chilli-jam-open-mic-15

Remembering the Strike – 80th Anniversary Concert

Sunday 3rd May 2026 6pm

A celebration of the 80th anniversary of the 1946 Pilbara Aboriginal station workers strike

A concert to honour one of Australia’s great untold stories – the Pilbara Aboriginal station workers strike of 1946, with around 800 people involved in a walk off that affected over 20 pastoral stations. 

The strike is often recognised as one of the longest running industrial actions in Australian history, and was a highly influential event in Australia’s Land Rights movement.

Headlined by Shane Howard with his ‘Great Western band’ made up of Fremantle musicians Lucky Oceans, David Hyams, Roy Martinez and Todd Pickett. 

Also featuring the “Strike Band” a special collaboration between David Milroy, Dave Johnson, and David Hyams, the Yurti band from Strelley station in the Pilbara, and Barry ‘Turtle’ Taylor – an up and coming Pilbara singer songwriter, who is also the grandson of Peter Coppin, one of the key figures of the strike.

Freo.Social

OCEAN — Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Sir David Attenborough

Friday 8th May, 2026 5pm

Fremantle will honour the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough with a unique cultural event celebrating his extraordinary legacy and enduring message about the future of our oceans, which is at the heart of his most recent documentary, Ocean with David Attenborough.

Presented by Freo.Social — OCEAN: A Celebration of Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday — is timed to coincide with Attenborough’s centenary on Friday 8 May 2026 and will bring together film, science, live music, and immersive visuals.

“Sir David Attenborough has shaped how generations of people see and understand the natural world,” said James Legge, Director of Freo.Social.  

“We wanted to mark his 100th birthday in a way that felt meaningful — by bringing the community together to celebrate his extraordinary legacy and reflect on the message at the heart of the film. 

“This is a chance for Western Australians who care deeply about the ocean to share this special moment.”

The evening will begin with a free screening of one of the most powerful environmental films of our time Ocean with David Attenborough.

Following the film, respected ocean environmentalist and Prime Minister Award winner, Professor Michael Wear – owner of Tidal Moon and a Mulgana Traditional Custodian of Shark Bay – will discuss the film’s message and highlight the opportunities available to protect and help restore our oceans.

The night will then transform into a vibrant, ocean-inspired celebration featuring live music from Grammy Award-winning artist Lucky Oceans, guitarist and songwriter Rick Webster and the Imperial String Quartet, as well as immersive visuals, special guest appearances, and curated DJ sets throughout the evening. 

Freo.Social

Roger Leevers: Retrospective

Opening 6pm | 8 – 24 May I

Roger Leevers Retrospective is presenting of a broad range of media and experience accumulated over sixty odd years of his career. 

The ocean has featured repeatedly as sailing and fishing are easily accessed in Geraldton. The Abrolhos Islands nearby have a lengthy history.Yachts, historical sailing boats and fishing boats all feature in Acrylic, Watercolours, Linocuts and Drawings. Imperative viewing. 

In Fremantle in the 80’s Roger Leevers drew blackboards for the Matilda Bay Group, in 1996 chosen as ships artist for the Endeavour Replica World Tour

Upstairs, 35 High Street, Fremantle

Opening on Saturday May 9 at 5pm

Essex Street Gallery

Backyard Truth Dwelling Series

Backyard Truth-Telling showcases emerging and established Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian storytellers, sharing their lived experiences in their own voices and in their own way.

Across three weekends in May, audiences are invited into intimate backyard settings in and around Walyalup/Fremantle to listen to stories that speak to the resilience and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, confront difficult truths, hidden histories, and reimagined futures.

*Please note, these events are free but booking is essential 

Samson House: Sat, 9 May, 4:30pm – 7:30pm

Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre Sat, 16 May, 4:30pm – 7:30pm https://events.humanitix.com/backyard-truth-telling-series-walyalup-aboriginal-cultural-centre 

Randwick Stables, Hamilton Hill Sat, 23 May, 4:30pm – 7:30pm

The Unyoung Chronicles Exhibition

24/5/26 – 3/7/26 6:30am to 3pm Mon-Sun + 5pm to 9pm Thurs – Mon (closed 3pm – 5pm)

UnYoung Chronicles is a group of artists exhibiting in a café (only people who go to galleries go to galleries) for six weeks (photos, sculptures, oils, acrylic, vox populi) 23rd May to 3rd July. By holding the exhibition where people eat and drink, we hope the theme surrounding customers will inspire conversations about getting older. 

Unyoung Chronicles celebrates the richness and diversity of these bonus years, showcasing how individuals are embracing ageing in creative, meaningful, and inclusive ways. Through a multi-faceted initiative, we aim to challenge outdated perceptions of ageing and promote the idea of positive ageing as a time for personal growth, connection, and contribution.

South Freo Continental 318 South Terrace, South Fremantle 

theunyoungchronicles.weebly.com

Fremantle Heritage Festival
18 April to 18 May 2026
Something for everyone of all ages, this festival includes a wonderful exploration of Fremantle – Walyalup’s rich and dark history. For those for fancy a walking tour or those who prefer to stand, or sit, in repose. Dip your toes in.  Concerts, Walks, sailing adventures and more during Heritage Festival month, running like Fenians until May 18.
https://visitfremantle.com.au/heritage-festival-2026

Here’s a few of the featured events:

Our Horrible Asylum – the board game

Sat, 9 May, 10am – 12:30pm

Join architect Fiona Giles for an extraordinary morning of board game playing at the Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre during the Heritage Festival 2026!

Experience something truly special as you play Fiona’s unique board game, designed to tell the spatial stories of people who once lived and worked at the former Fremantle Asylum—the building that is now the Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre.

This heritage event brings together architecture, history, and interactive gameplay over light refreshments. You’ll engage in meaningful conversations and discover new perspectives on the historical significance of the heritage WFAC building.

In this intimate gathering, up to eighteen participants will form three supportive groups to experience ‘Our Horrible Asylum’—a game that sensitively honours the difficult and often traumatic stories of those who lived and worked at the asylum. After gameplay, we’ll come together for a gentle, reflective discussion about how “playing history” creates connections with others and contributes to preserving our shared heritage.

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre 

https://events.humanitix.com/heritagefestival2026-boardgame

FREMANTLE’S LOST TREASURE
From Sat 18 April Free | Various Locations | Family Friendly Help a time-travelling professor complete his map and find his hidden stash of gold. Completing the map uncovers the final hidden beacon, returning the professor safely to the present. All players who complete the map go in the draw to win the professor’s hidden chest of gold coins, valued at $1000.
https://visitfremantle.com.au/heritage-festival-2026

REBEL HEARTS: ESCAPE FROM FREMANTLE PRISON
Sat 18 April + Sat 2 May + Sat 16 May | From $13 | Fremantle Prison | Family Friendly
Follow a story that has captured imaginations around the world—the meticulously planned breakout that freed a group of Irish political prisoners and carried them towards hope across the ocean. Trace the Fenians’ journey from incarceration to escape, culminating in their dramatic rendezvous with the American whaler Catalpa, a feat still celebrated for its ingenuity and nerve.
https://visitfremantle.com.au/heritage-festival-2026

ART BEHIND BARS: PRISON ART TOUR
From Sat 18 April | Free | Fremantle Prison | Not recommended for children under 12
Join us on this exclusive tour as we reveal the experiences of prisoners expressed through art. View convict-drawn frescoes and religious works, European landscapes, Aboriginal landscapes in the renowned Carrolup style, dot paintings, graffiti and tattoo art.
https://visitfremantle.com.au/heritage-festival-2026

If there’s any missed local shows and events that are about to open, do make sure to email Gayle so we can include your show, event, gig.

* Arts Scene Around Freo is compiled by our Arts Editor, Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like your community event listed  email Gayle here.

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