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?

Ochre Paintings

12 June – 12 July 2026

Lorraine Daylight learned her painting skills from senior artists Jack Britten and Hector Jandany, and from her father Gordon Barney. Much of Lorraine’s stories and inspiration comes from her family’s country on Texas Downs Station, on country called Ngarrgooroon. These stories are creation accounts from Ngarranggarni, the Dreaming creation time.

Lorraine also paints Birnoo, on Alice Downs Station, country that belonged to Lorraine’s paternal grandmother. Lorraine was taught to paint this Country by her father, Warmun artist Gordon Barney. Gordon was a skilled stockman, and spent much of his early adulthood mustering cattle through this area. As a result he was familiar with Birnoo and would take his family, including Lorraine, out on to Country during holidays from station work. So Lorraine learned about her father and grandmother’s Country and gradually began to paint it herself. This area is rich in ochre, so these trips could double as ochre collection trips, returning to Warmun with a fresh connection to Country and a renewed batch of ochre. The exhibition of Lorraine Daylight paintings is presented in association with Warmun Art Centre and all works are open to view at Japingka Gallery from 12 June – 12 July 2026.

Also featured at the gallery are paintings by senior artists of the East Kimberley including Freddie Timms, Queenie McKenzie, Jack Britten, Rover Thomas, Gordon Barney and Hector Jandanay.

Japingka Art Gallery 47 High Street, Fremantle

https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/lorraine-daylight-ochre-paintings/

HOLDFAST Art Exhibition

Friday 26 June – 12 July 2026

HOLDFAST exhibition is an artistic response to states of seaweed; seaweed becomes pigment, sculpture, brush, paper and paint.

HOLDFAST is a collection of contemporary paintings, sculptures, paper and digital installation works created with the input of Fremantle seaweed innovators and scientists. 

Presented by artists @lezahowie_art, @nicolesteenhof.art @josephinejohnson_art 

The Details 

Opening night 26 June from 6pm. 

Exhibition is running daily 27 June – 12 July 10am-3pm. 

Artist Talks at 11 am on Saturday June 27 

Children’s art activities over the school holidays (see @nicolesteenhof.art for details closer to the date). 

Moore’s Building Art Space, 46 Henry Street, Fremantle

https://www.visitfremantle.com.au/arts-culture/holdfast-art-exhibition

Cul de Sac

Friday 3 July 2026 6pm – 10pm

A collaborative exhibition curated by Fault.

Cul de Sac takes its name from a piece of ordinary suburban infrastructure: a street closed at one end. You arrive, you turn around, and you leave the way you came. Not a wrong turn. Not a failure of navigation. Just a place that asks you to pause before moving on. A place that makes turning-back feel, for a moment, intentional.

The exhibition asks: what does it feel like to stand at the boundary of something: a relationship, a chapter, a version of yourself, and realise that only now, here, do you finally understand it? Each contributing work takes the Cul de Sac not as a failure of navigation, but as a natural feature of the landscape, an invitation to pause and to reckon. To make meaning out of what came before, even as life insists on moving forward.

17 artists spanning geographies with one shared human experience. 

Reuben Black, Basim Boulos, Melody Crouch, Bianca De Ritis, Thomas Earnshaw, Joshua Foti, Sarah Hasselerharm, Heritier Kasanda, Jordan Nesic, Victoria Ondrusek-Roy, Ahmed Ragab, Yuxian Seow, Yuliang Seow, Tajevir Singh, Nikki Singh, Cedric Tang, and Lilybelle Tarr.

Join for opening night and be part of the beginning.

Cul de Sac is curated by Fault and made possible by friends at Cheap Tongue Gallery / Case Frames, with special thanks to Wise Child.

Cnr James Street and Beach Street, Fremantle

https://www.visitfremantle.com.au/arts-culture/cul-de-sac-opening-night

Chilli Jam Open Mic #17

Friday 3 July 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Chilli Jam Open Mic is back on the first Friday of Jul 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!

Express your interest in performing at this link by 19 Jun 2026, and we’ll let you know if you’re up. Performers who are selected don’t need to buy tickets.

Two open mic slots for poets and storytellers will also be available on the door for attendees with tickets.

The Fibonacci Centre is wheelchair accessible and has a wheelchair accessible toilet. Refreshments (including alcohol and soft drinks) will be available for purchase at the bar.

Notes:

• This event is 13+. All under-18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

• Please be aware that due to the nature of this event, performances may include confronting topics.

Fremantle Fibonacci Centre 19 Blinco Street

https://events.humanitix.com/chilli-jam-open-mic-17?hxchl=hex-pfl

New Arrivals

Friday 3 July – 30 July 2026

Found and Sorted Real Estate Gallery 138 South Terrace, Fremantle

Yarns by the Fire

Sunday 5 July 2026 6:30pm – 8pm

This year in honour of NAIDOC week, Gage Roads Freo celebrates the tradition of storytelling.

Gather around the fire as we sit with Nyoongar Elder Steven Jacobs, to listen as he shares stories of Walyalup and learn about the traditional lives of the Nyoongar people, the social structures, spiritual beliefs, cultural lore and Dreaming stories of the creation beings.

Free entry, however, please register to secure your spot.

Gage Roads, Victoria Quay

https://events.humanitix.com/yarns-by-the-fire-at-gage-roads-freo-2026

Tommaso Girotto ‘All in Twilight’ – Classical Guitar Concert

Wednesday 8 July 6:30pm – 8pm

Tommaso Girotto is an award-winning Australian guitarist whose playing is shaped by a broad musical education.

His studies have taken him from Australia to the UK and Germany, working with many of today’s most respected teachers. He has been recognised in major international competitions and has appeared as a soloist at the Sydney Opera House. Tommaso is also passionate about commissioning new music and has collaborated with some of today’s leading composers.

All in Twilight was borrowed as a title for the program from Torū Takemitsu’s work for solo guitar. Takemitsu’s exploration of colour and texture contrasts and compliments the deliberate use of space between notes – a concept known as “ma” in Japanese.

The program also features J.S Bach’s, Suite in C minor, BWV997, one of his most sophisticated instrumental works, and explores the beauty of the Spanish guitar repertoire.

South Beach Concert, Beaconsfield

https://humanitix.com/au/search/au–wa–perth/Tommaso?dates=all

This Ungodly Hour

Wednesday 8 July 7pm – 8pm

This Ungodly Hour is a variety show in the heart of Fremantle.

Comedy – Music – Drag – Dance – Burlesque – Cabaret

All for $10!

This is an 18+ event.

Interested in performing? Fill out the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqd6uYR4S-j7Io1mLDZH0SsSh9Qb7XaE959HXEZkb6G2g4Bw/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Ode to Sirens, 25 High Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/this-ungodly-hour

Worlds Within a World – Panel Discussion

Thursday 9 July 6:30pm – 8:30pm

How do you inhabit multiple worlds at the same time? Five First Nations women show what it is like to navigate challenges and deprivations while staying connected to Country and the world’s oldest living culture.

They recount memories of growing up – as members of the Stolen Generations, in an adopted family, or within loving families shadowed by adversity. With honesty and courage, these women show how education and cultural connection can transform lives. The reflections in these stories are an invitation to learn from the past. Their contribution to truth-telling will inspire and guide future generations.

Featuring contributions from:

Carol Foley (Yamatji Noongar), Deborah Green (Yamatji), Barb Hostalek (Yawuru Gija / Territorian, Czech and Greek), Lois May (Ballardong Noongar), and Valerie Swift (Minang Ngadju).

Fremantle Library 151 High Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/worlds-within-a-world-panel-discussion

Horatio T Birdbath Day

Sunday 12 July 2026

Celebrate the life and art of local legend Horatio T Birdbath in style.

12:30pm: Dress ups at Art Source

1:30pm: Wail at the Wall Old Market Street Piazza

2:30pm: Main event at the Fremantle Town Hall

5:30pm: After Party at the Buffalo Club

Alexandr Misko – The International Guitar Sensation LIVE at Fremantle Town Hall (Second Show by Popular Demand)

21 & 22 July 7:30pm – 9:30pm

The international guitar sensation brings his groundbreaking stage show to Australian shores for the very first time!

Show #1 SOLD OUT

Show #2 by popular demand!

📍 July 21 & 22 at Fremantle Town Hall

• 7:00pm doors / 7:30pm show

• Seated Concert

• FAMILY FRIENDLY with $25 tickets for under 18s

Hailed as “the future of guitar” (Total Guitar), Misko is a globally renowned virtuoso known for his jaw-dropping technique, emotional depth, and genre-defying style. Fusing classical precision with elements of jazz, rock, and modern fingerstyle, his performances are both technically astonishing and deeply moving.

Misko’s self-taught, boundary-pushing approach has captivated millions online, earning him a massive global following and praise from some of the world’s top music publications. With lightning-fast fingerpicking, percussive tapping, and masterful arrangements, he transforms a single acoustic guitar into an entire musical universe — live and without loops.

A must-see for fans of instrumental brilliance, next-level guitar playing, and world-class musical storytelling!

City of Fremantle Town Hall 151 High Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/alexandr-misko-the-international-guitar-sensation-live-at-fremantle-town-hall-second-show-by-popular-demand/tickets

Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival

Friday 24 July – 16 August 2026

Winter is here and so too is the 2026 Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival, presenting the best new cinema from the Nordic region this July until August at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX. Festival goers are invited to plunge into a unique cultural journey through Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland with this year’s brilliant and diverse line up featuring award-winners, box office hits and thought provoking debuts from a new generation of filmmakers in tandem with the latest new films from the region’s most loved actors and directors.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

The first Special Presentation is Icelandic comedy/drama THE LOVE THAT REMAINS (Ástin sem eftir er) from director Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day, Godland). This brilliant and bittersweet film tenderly captures a year in the life of a family of five, as the parents navigate their separation, exploring love, family and shared memories. It also features a ‘Palm Dog’ winning performance from Pálmason’s own dog Panda, an Icelandic sheep dog.

Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value, Fjord) stars in festival Special Presentation BUTTERFLY, an intriguing drama about a pair of estranged sisters who must reunite after their mother’s sudden passing. The sisters travel to Gran Canaria, where they grew up at a resort, following their mother’s mysterious death at an esoteric retreat in the mountains, plunging them headfirst into a journey of revelations about their childhood and the hidden heart of the tourist island.

HIGHLIGHTS

From debut director Elle Sofe Sara, comes the festival highlight and powerful, music-filled new drama Árru follows a family of Sàmi reindeer herders whose fight to protect their Indigenous lands from a proposed copper mining project exposes long-buried family secrets. 

Winner of six Icelandic Film Awards, a box office hit in Iceland, and adapted from the best-selling novel by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir, THE FIRES is a breathtaking thriller directed and co-written by Ugla Hauksdóttir in her debut feature film that follows a volcanologist facing two simultaneous disasters.

And Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) gives a career-best performance in the humorous, intriguing, and devious tale about identity THE LAST VIKING, starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Department Q) alongside a stellar ensemble.

To close the festival, we are celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Ingmar Bergman’s radical masterpiece PERSONA, on the big screen. Enjoy a Elderflower cocktail on arrival.

Luna SX Fremantle & Luna Leederville

https://www.lunapalace.com.au/festivals/nordic-ff

Rove and Friends in Fremantle!

Saturday 25 July 2026 6pm

National treasure and Dockers supporter ROVE McMANUS is coming to Freo and he’s bringing some friends!

July 25 – catch Rove, Brodi Snook and your host Luke Joseph Ryan in what’ll be the biggest party in Fremantle since the America’s Cup.

Will sell-out, tickets are limited. Be quick!

Federal Hotel 23 William Street, Fremantle 

Storytellers Residency: A Story That Could Be True

Thursday 30 July 6pm – 9pm

Oral Storytelling at Moore and Moore Cafe

Welcome to A Story That Could Be True, as we continue the journey, bringing the art of traditional oral storytelling to a contemporary audience.

In residency this month Leon Cossar joins us from Victoria, bringing the story of Ivan and The Grey Wolf.

An old idea suggests that in times of trouble the directives needed to find a genuine way forward can’t be found at the centre, because the centre can’t be located. 

Myth points to the hero/heroine as the energy that journeys out to the far edge and returns with the regenerative principle that can revivify and reestablish the centre.

We might be living in such times…

So let’s turn to a Russian folktale that speaks to us in an old dream language: of golden apples, firebirds, grey wolves, horses with golden manes and the woman of soul at the edge of the world. 

It’s a story of loss, adventure, sacrifice, trickery, wonder, betrayal and love. It’s a story that could be true…

About the Storyteller:

Leon Cossar M.A is an Australian poet, mythologist, storyteller, and leading teacher in the field of rites of passage. His work centres around the perennial question that has troubled cultures across time: What to do with the men? 

Bringing a multi-disciplinary approach – ranging from anthropology, philosophy, mythology, and history – Leonexplores the question in a manner that is simultaneously captivating and provocative.

Through speaking engagements, online and in-person courses, Leon seeks to educate individuals, communities, and organisations about the importance of meaningful, timely and appropriate rites of passage for boys and men.

Moore and Moore Cafe, Henry Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/story-that-could-be-true

10 Nights in Port

20 – 30 August 2026

Ten nights, one port city

10 Nights in Port | Walyalup Fremantle Festival
is an annual celebration of arts, music,
performance and community.

For ten nights, the port city hosts a vibrant program of events and entertainment for all ages.

Known by several names throughout its long history, 10 Nights in Port is widely recognised as one of Australia’s oldest recorded festivals, reflecting the evolving story of Fremantle and its people.

P.S. photo above taken by yours truly during last year’s 10 Nights in Port, featuring Freak Out. And I am very excited to see what’s in store for this year!

https://10nightsinport.com.au/gallery/

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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