Arts Scene Around Freo

Welcome to our 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?

Roger Leevers: Retrospective

8 – 24 May

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

Essex Street Gallery

The Paper Bird Illustration Exhibition

9 – 23 May 2026

Visit the inaugural Paper Bird Illustration Exhibition to wander hundreds of storied artworks from over fifty local, national and international Illustrators, both emerging and established.

Prints, originals and a limited edition 2026 Exhibition Catalogue will be available for sale.

Entry is free.

Moores Building Art Space 46 Henry Street, Fremantle

https://paperbird.com.au/illustration-exhibition-award/

A Bag of Rice for a Saturday Child

Friday 15 May 6pm – 8pm

Step into a world where myth meets migration, grief meets resilience, and the stories of our elders continue to breathe through us.

A Bag of Rice for a Saturday Child, traces the tender, mythic, and sometimes mischievous stories that have helped shape the cultural identity of Burmese‑Australian artist, Natalie de Rozario.

Sparked by a childhood moment beside a Naga statue and a grandmother’s tale of ‘buying’ her Saturday‑born grandchild for a bag of rice, the work unravels how memory, ritual, and ancestral intention migrate across generations. Through charcoal drawings, paintings, installation, family archives, songs, oral histories, and heirlooms gathered across decades, the exhibition explores what survives, what transforms, and how belonging is often found in the spaces between.

Exhibition continues until June 12

DADAA Gallery 92 Adelaide Street, Fremantle

https://www.dadaa.org.au/gallery/

Backyard Truth Dwelling Series

Saturday 16 & 23 May 2026 4:30pm – 7:30pm

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

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

https://events.humanitix.com/backyard-truth-telling-series-ranwick-stables-x8k7d6wc

Fremantle Chamber Orchestra

Saturday 16 May 2026 2:30pm

FCO with Ellie Malonzo: Fremantle Chamber Orchestra celebrates 21 years of making music to love, performed by musicians we love.

Amazing violinist AND composer Ellie Malonzo (16) will present her newest composition (a WORLD PREMIERE): Concerto for Violin and Viola No. 2. She is joined by her teacher, Paul Wright, on the viola. Ellie is also soloist in the heartwarming Romance by Svendsen.

Works by Corelli, Gesualdo, Bottesini and Mozart will complement the rich program beautifully.

Basilica of St Patrick 47 Adelaide Street, Fremantle

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1547672

Ecoburbia House Concerts

Saturday 16 May 6pm – 9pm

Elias Bartholomeo and Ray Jones – a private musical evening

A Private Musical Evening (yup back to the evening) with Ray Jones and Elias Bartholomeo May 16th 6pm at Ecoburbia

If you saw these guys last year you will probably just want to book again. Several people have thanked us for bringing Elias back. Our last musical event booked out so book early for this one!

https://events.humanitix.com/elias-bartholomeo-and-ray-jones-a-private-musical-evening

Sign of Four

Monday 18 May 6pm – 9pm

Join Sign of Four at Sue’s charming Fremantle home for an unforgettable house concert experience.

6pm doors for a 6:30pm show with an intermission.

Sign of Four are so excited to reunite in WA for a new season of musical adventures. Join us for the ride!

This show will also feature guest drummer and long-time collaborator Joel Drieberg.

BYO drinks and snacks.

Sign of Four are a genre-blurring string quartet pushing the edges of folk, classical, and jazz. With mandolin, guitar, octave viola, violin, percussion and lush vocals, they reimagine everything from Piazzolla to Sting with flair, fire, and finesse. Formed in 2022, their ever-shifting sets feature bold improvisation, intricate textures, and mad-scientist invention. With deep classical chops and global grooves, they’re as comfortable in concert halls as living rooms, pulling strings and expectations in thrilling, unexpected directions.

A local house in Fremantle, location revealed upon booking

https://events.humanitix.com/sign-of-four-house-concert-in-south-fremantle-3y3ju4he

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:

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
Saturday 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

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.co

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.

~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE –