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?

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. [Gayle’s note: hear hear. We just saw The Last Viking and absolutely adore it! I laughed, gasped, and cried. Multiple times! You must not miss it]

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

https://megatix.com.au/events/rove-friends-in-fremantle

Uncommon Threads Art Exhibition

July 25 – August 21 2026 (open for cafe hours)

Textile Art by Ali Biddiscombe. Line Art by Zita Pal. Naïve Wooden Boats by Peter Woodward.

Three Fremantle friends have come together to present Uncommon Threads, an exhibition that showcases very different art mediums.

Following the success of her first textile art solo exhibition in 2025, Ali Biddiscombe asked friends to join her in putting together a mixed media exhibition in the popular Amante Café Fremantle from July 25.

The result is an eclectic and contrasting display of Ali’s textile art, Zita Pal’s colourful line art and Peter Woodward’s naïve boat collection.

Ali Biddiscombe. Textile Art.

This is Ali’s second exhibition of textile art and features a new and vibrant collection. It’s an eclectic display which includes a nod to some favourite iconography and the Artemis Space Mission.

Ali’s passion for Japanese stitching and her own style of slow stitching is also well represented. She uses recycled and repurposed materials from many sources and the occasional new item to create her pieces. She continues to teach one to one and small groups at home to share her passion for stitching and textiles and to pass on her knowledge which spans four decades.

Peter Woodward. Naïve Wooden Boats.

Peter once saw a representation of a Turkish vessel in an Istanbul hotel and instantly liked it. He noticed that the artist had used old electronic components in the piece. Inspired, he pulled a microwave and a television remote apart including parts in his own, unique pieces.

Peter enjoys naïve representations of objects from the real world and this collection is inspired by Indonesian Phinisi sailing vessels at Labuan Bajo on Flores.

Zita Pal. Line Art.

Doodling is something Zita has always done instinctively to sharpen her recall and attention. She uses it in art because she enjoys the process as well as the aesthetic.

Unlike traditional art forms that rely on planning, technique and perfection, doodling thrives on spontaneity. In elevating doodle art from a private act of concentration to a public form of expression, Zita celebrates creativity, curiosity and the beauty of imperfection.

Louise Bower, Amante and Co.

Louise Bower at Amante & Co said the idea for the Art Wall at Amante Cafe began with a simple blank wall that had the potential to become something more meaningful than just part of the café’s interior.

What started as an empty space soon became a dedicated canvas for artistic expression with regularly rotating exhibitions celebrating the creativity of emerging and established artists across a variety of artistic styles and mediums.

She said that as a proud supporter of the local arts community, artists not only improve the café’s aesthetic, but they also gain valuable exposure and create a meaningful connection between art and the people who visit our space.

Amante and Co Café, corner Price Street and South Terrace, Fremantle

Vessel Late Night Party with Peacefender & Local Support

Saturday 8 August 6pm – midnight

Join us for the official late-night celebration and fundraising party for ‘Between Suns’ by Khaled Sabsabi, curated by Mikala Tai at Vessel.

Experience the exhibition and celebrate with live sets from local djs (to be announced soon) , headlined by PEACEFENDER, Khaled Sabsabi himself!

Before becoming one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Khaled Sabsabi was making noise as a teenage hip hop producer and DJ in Western Sydney during the 1980s, performing under the name Peacefender. Mixing unlikely influences into a signature “wall of sound,” he used music to bring together the area’s Turkish and Lebanese youth — a spirit of connection that still runs through his work today. For one night only Peacefender returns to the decks for a rare live set as part of ‘Between Suns’ at Vessel.

Thanks to support from our Community Partner, Freocast we will be broadcasting the sets live on the evening, 7pm-late.

Thanks to our event partners for the ongoing support: City of Fremantle, Otherside Brewing, Willoughby Park and Lightning Minds, Vessel will be running a paid bar for the evening.

About the exhibition:

Vessel presents Khaled Sabsabi’s exhibition ‘Between Suns’ curated by Mikala Tai, showcasing four bodies of work spanning 1998-2025. Offering local audiences to engage with Australia’s representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale

The exhibition invites audiences into Khaled’s long-term process and enquires into mysticism, fate, and coincidence, ideas that inspire and hold us together as humans. Sabsabi brings people together in immersive and engaging experiences, to reflect on arts unique and powerful role in supporting the community through times of uncertainty. Through his work, Sabsabi explores human collectiveness and the quest for coexistence, inviting audiences to do the same.

Naval Store, 141 Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/vessel-late-night-party-with-peacefender-and-local-support

Between Suns

Friday 7 August: Artist Talk + Opening 6-8 pm

Saturday 8 August: Late Night Party with Peacefender 6pm-late

Open: Wed 1pm-7pm Thu-Sun: 11am – 5pm

Vessel Contemporary is proud to announce ‘Between Suns’, a major survey exhibition of work by Khaled Sabsabi, opening 7 August 2026 at the Naval Store in Fremantle.
Curated by Mikala Tai, the exhibition brings together works spanning 1998 to 2026, including new and previously unexhibited works, transforming Vessel into an immersive, multi-sensory experience.

Working across painting, video, sound, installation and performance, Khaled approaches art as a communicative and ethical space: a shared language through which complex ideas of belonging, faith, power and collectively can be encountered. His work frequently draws on mysticism, ritual and everyday gestures, unfolding across cycles rather than fixed narratives, and inviting audiences into moments of reflection, resonance and exchange.

Sabsabi describes the exhibition as ‘an opportunity to further personal artistic and creative expressions of the undefined routines and the ability to distill space, time and symbolism into the narrative of life.’

‘Between Suns’ runs concurrently with Sabsabi’s representation of Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale, offering Western Australian audiences a rare opportunity to engage deeply with an internationally acclaimed artist’s practice on a local scale.

Naval Store, 141 Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle

https://vesselcontemporary.org/

In My Blood It Runs

Friday 14 Aug 2026 1pm – 3pm

An intimate and compassionate observational documentary from the perspective of a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy in Alice Springs, Australia, struggling to balance his traditional Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with a state education of a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy in Alice Springs, Australia, struggling to balance his traditional Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with a state education.

Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre 12 Captains Lane, Fremantle WA 6160

https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/arts-and-culture/whats-on/free-film-day-in-my-blood-it-runs/

WAM Showcase – Australia Music Week

On Saturday 15 August, some of WA’s most exciting acts take over Fremantle for one night only. The WAM Showcase is back, and the lineup is stacked.

Here’s everyone playing:

Birdland, Blush, Boox Kid, Clare Perrott, Claudia Tripp, Figurehead, Georga Raath, heaven // alone, Ivory Dusk, Jack Hamilton, JJ Vacant, Lightnin Jack, Little Guilt, Maatakitj, Oakabella Mae, Odlaw, RATSALAD., Rosalie Chilvers, Soul inSync, STOW, TAIJA, Tanya Ransom, TCHÉGA, The Forever Party and The Gray Brothers.

The WAM Showcase takes over four iconic Fremantle venues: Clancy’s Fremantle, Buffalo Club, Honky Tonk Blues and Wyola Bar. One ticket gets you into all four.

Limited first release tickets are on sale now at only $20.

Once they’re gone, General Admission is $30, and door sales (if available) will be $35. First release won’t last, so get in early.

https://wamusicweek.com.au/

10 Nights in Port

Thursday 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.

Fremantle will come alive with ten nights of music, performance, exhibitions, film, circus, dance, workshops and community gatherings.

Opening night takes over Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre on Thursday 20 August, with the unveiling of two brand-new exhibitions.

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/

Opening Night – 10 Nights in Port, Nullians & In Our Hands, We Hold

Thursday 20 August 2026 6pm – 9pm

Celebrate the opening night of 10 Nights in Port with an evening of food, fire and two new exhibitions at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre.

Gather in the beautiful grounds of WFAC and be among the first to experience the exhibition, alongside music from the Walyalup Kannajil Community Choir and DJ Oniiké!

In our hands, we hold

Presented by WFAC.

Opening in the galleries, In our hands, we hold brings together artists whose practices centre weaving as both physical object and intangible idea. Through portals, baskets, vessels and interwoven forms, the exhibition makes space for ancient, embodied and contemporary stories shaped through knowledge-sharing, truth-telling and moments of coming together.

Foregrounding the work of First Nations women, the exhibition extends to artists who share relationships to ancestral stories and recent family histories. Objects and presented practices speak to generosity, time, artist knowledge and the ways we understand and shape our place in the world.

In our hands, we hold is co-curated by Zali Morgan (Whadjuk Ballardong and Wilman Noongar) and Abigail Moncrieff, and features work by Lorraine Connelly-Northey (Waradgerie), Sharyn Egan (Whadjuk Nyoongar), Brett Nannup (Noongar artist with ancestral ties to the Binjareb and Wilman peoples), James Nyugen, Clare Peake, Mabel Juli (Gija), Chantal Fraser, Beverly Thomson (Yamatji) and Katie West (Yindjibarndi).

NULLIANS

Presented by 10 Nights in Port.

Opening in the Inner Courtyard, Nullians is a satirical exhibition by Noongar artist Kamsani Bin Salleh, also known as Kambarni, examining the ideologies underpinning Australia as an extraction colony. Through comic-style illustrations, Bin Salleh explores histories of colonisation, identity and power with humour, wit and disarming simplicity.

The exhibition centres on the Nullians: formless, expressive characters whose name references the colonial fiction of “land belonging to no one.” Through their conversations, they invite audiences to question inherited narratives and consider the ongoing impacts of colonialism.

Using humour as a vehicle for difficult conversations, Nullians navigates subjects ranging from everyday microaggressions to genocide, weaving together historical events and contemporary popular culture to make challenging ideas accessible while prompting reflection on Australia’s past and present.

Gather as the festival begins, explore both exhibitions and celebrate the opening night of 10 Nights in Port at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre.

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre, cnr Ord Street and Finnerty Street, Fremantle

https://wfac.org.au/whats-on/post/opening-night-in-our-hands-we-hold/

Sign of Four

Saturday 22 August 2026

Show starts 7pm, with meals from 5:30-6:30pm

Drawing inspiration from jazz, folk, classical. Celtic, Latin, and contemporary music/traditions Sign Of Four is a genre-blurring acoustic ensemble

The group’s excited to announce we’ll be performing in August at the Fremantle Workers Club, and again be joined by the brilliant Joel Drieberg on drums.

We’re grateful to the Workers club for hosting this event and look forward to seeing you there, supporting them and us.

The club is offering early bird tickets until July 10 at $35 members/ $40 non members and you can also book online to enjoy dining before the show.

As a reminder of what to expect here’s a compilation video from our season earlier this year.

https://youtu.be/qMOt_8CugX8?si=hor4hfXBPgNdPYIq

On another note, many of our audience members have asked if we have a recording. So, to keep these supporters and ourselves happy, we’re planning on recording a debut CD of up to 10 original compositions on Aug 24 and 25th at Lee Buddle’s Crank Recordings. This will include professional and still photography. We anticipate this will cost $10,000 and have set up an Australian Cultural Fund where supporters can make tax deductible donations. We’re musicians not business people (yet!) and asking for financial assistance doesn’t come naturally; however, we hope this fund may be a mutually appropriate and beneficial way to involve you, our Sign of Four community in this creative project.

Here’s a link to our Australian Cultural Fund where donations can be made.

https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000h8BAP

Thanks so much to you, our audience and supporters, live music doesn’t exist without you!

Fremantle Workers Club, 36 Ellen Street, Fremantle

Totally Lit

Friday 2nd – 16 October 2026

Totally Lit is back to take over Fremantle / Walyalup with two amazing weeks of live literature events. From the Port to the Prison, from the beach to the bars, in the streets and in the sky, Totally Lit is here to prove that stories belong everywhere.

With nearly 60 unique events to choose from, we have something to offer all ages. With many events available free-of-charge we also have something to offer all budgets.

https://totallylit.au/

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 –