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?

Uncommon Threads Art Exhibition

July 25 – August 21 2026 (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

Between Suns

Friday 7 August – 20 September

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/

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/

Never Clock Off

Friday 21 August 6pm

CERAMIC TIMEPIECES AND SCULPTURES BY RUBY JAY WATERS FT SOPHIA OF HOUND CERAMICS

SPONSORED BY IDLE HANDS DRINKS & OTHERSIDE BREWING COMPANY

South Terrace Fremantle Piazza Gallery

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

Floodland Doco with panel discussion

Tuesday 25 August 5:45pm – 9pm

Sydney Film Festival award winning documentary FLOODLAND captures the 2022 Lismore floods through the eyes of the residents who lived through them.

It moves beyond the news cycle to highlight the First Nations healing practices and community-led solutions that are so vital for Australia’s future.

Join us on Tuesday 25th August for a special event screening and panel discussion at Patio Bar with local community organisations who will discuss disaster response and community resilience in Fremantle. The panel will include:

Amy Warner – North Freo Social Farm
Shani Graham – Ecoburbia
Claire Vanderplank – Water Alliance WA

This is a story about the strength found in recovery, the ability for communities to pull together in the face of disaster, and the urgent conversations being prompted by the reality of our changing climate.

We are pleased that money from every ticket sold will be donated to Resilient Lismore, a community-based charity works to support community-based disaster preparedness, recovery and and resilience in Lismore.

Watch the trailer: https://www.floodland.com.au/trailer

A big thanks to David Keogh for supporting this film to come to WA.

EVENT DETAILS

Tuesday 25th August

Please Arrive: 5.45pm
Film starts: 6.00pm
Panel starts: 7.30pm
Event Ends: 8.00pm

Speakers:

Jemima Williamson-Wong – Freo Councillor
Amy Warne – North Freo Social Farm
Shani Graham – Ecoburbia

Tickets: $10 adult, $5 children/concession (please note that the film is rated M).

Ticket sales all going to support Resilient Lismore.

Floodland was produced by MOFA and is distributed in Australia by Bonsai Films. We are proud to be part of Documentary Australia’s Climate Story Lab.

Patio Bar 4/3-13 Essex Street, Fremantle

https://events.humanitix.com/floodland-doco-with-panel-discussion

Across the Way

Friday 28 August – 14 September 10am – 4pm

Artitja Fine Art Gallery is proud to present ACROSS THE WAY – an exhibition spanning thousands of kilometres and bringing together art from five remote Aboriginal-owned art centres throughout the Pilbara, Kimberley, Western Desert and Ngaanyatjarra Lands

United by a deep connection to Country and distinguished by diverse artistic traditions, the exhibition offers a remarkable journey through some of Australia’s most spectacular landscapes Through colour, pattern and form, the artists share unique perspectives on place, expressing cultural knowledge, lived experience and enduring connections to land.

From the north west to the vast desert regions of the state’s interior, these works reveal the richness and diversity of contemporary First Nations art practice while celebrating the many ways country is known, experienced and represented.

Curators Walk and Talk:

Saturday 29 August 2-3pm RSVP essential

EARLYWORK 330 South Terrace, South Fremantle

https://artitja.com.au/latest-exhibition/

A Musical Evening with Emily Barker (supported by Tim Darby)

Friday 25 September 6pm – 9pm

Emily Barker is an award-winning Australian singer-songwriter. She found early success as the writer and performer of the theme to the hugely successful BBC crime drama Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh and has since gone on to forge an acclaimed catalogue of releases, leading The Guardian to say “Emily Barker has a gift for great melodies”.

After 20 years and a raft of releases and collaborations, Barker recently relocated home to WA and is now based in Fremantle.

Barker’s latest album, Fragile as Humans, was produced at storied English studio The Wool Hall by Luke Potashnick (Gabrielle Aplin, Jack Savoretti). It followed 2020’s A Dark Murmuration of Words, which Uncut called “…a kind of Australian equivalent of PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake” and which NPR’s Ann Powers acclaimed as “One of the most literate and probing folk albums of the year.”

Barker has released music and toured as a solo artist as well as with various bands and collaborations – most notably her long associations with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Frank Turner – and has written for TV and film, including composing the soundtrack for Jake Gavin’s lauded debut feature Hector starring Peter Mullan and Keith Allen.

Ecoburbia

https://events.humanitix.com/a-musical-evening-with-tim-darby-and-emily-barker

Totally Lit

Friday 2 – 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/