30 June 2026
Celebrating NAIDOC Week in the Melbourne Arts Precinct
30 June 2026
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There is so much to do around the Melbourne Arts Precinct for NAIDOC Week (5 – 12 July), where people come together to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The theme for 2026 is 50 Years of Deadly, marking a milestone and paying tribute to the people who built this movement: the Elders who stood firm, the organisers who made space, the artists who turned resistance into expression, and the communities who keep showing up, year after year.
Check out what’s on offer across the precinct for NAIDOC Week:
Fed Square
NAIDOC Week 2026 Flag Raising
Monday 6 July
8.30 – 9.30am
Fed Square
The annual Flag Raising Ceremony marks the official beginning of NAIDOC Week in Victoria, bringing together community members to honour the strength, survival, and ongoing cultural legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This year, the morning will begin with a cultural ceremony at Camp Sovereignty from 7am. All are warmly invited to attend and to accompany the flame from Camp Sovereignty to Federation Square – the walk will begin at 8am.
Learn more: https://fedsquare.com/events/naidoc-week-2026-flag-raising
Koorie Youth Flick Fest 2026
7 – 10 July 2026
12pm – 12:30pm
Big Screen, Fed Square
Watch the winners of the Koorie Youth Flick Fest, an annual short filmmaking competition for First Nations young people, on Fed Square’s Big Screen.
The Koorie Youth Flick Fest is an opportunity to showcase the storytelling, creativity, originality and local stories of First Nations youth. In 2026, entries had to meet this year’s theme of ‘Deadly’ and what ‘Deadly’ means to them.
All of the filmmakers live in Bendigo on Dja Dja Wurrung Country.
Learn more: https://fedsquare.com/events/koorie-youth-flick-fest-2026
NAIDOC in the City 2026, featuring Christine Anu
Friday 10 July
12pm – 6pm
Fed Square
This year’s NAIDOC in the City free concert features a powerhouse line-up of First Peoples talent, including the incredible Christine Anu, Bumpy, Zipporah, Benny Walker and more.
KHT NAIDOC Week First Peoples Art and Design Market
Friday 10 July
12pm – 5.30pm
Fed Square
Explore the vibrant market featuring 28 First Nations stallholders with art, craft, design, fashion, jewellery and more. Alongside the market, KHT will host a variety of free workshops and activities for all ages, as well as a welcoming Elders Lounge and quiet space.
Learn more: https://fedsquare.com/events/naidoc-in-the-city
Koorie Heritage Trust
NGV X KHT tour: Preserving Legacy
Saturday, 11 July
1pm – 2:30pm
Koorie Heritage Trust
Join the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) for a cross gallery tour that explores how First Nations artworks are cared for and preserved. Led by Genevieve Sullivan, NGV Conservator of Indigenous Art and Katherine Giesen White, KHT Collections Coordinator, this all ages experience offers insight into conservation practices across both institutions. Bookings are recommended.
Learn more: https://kht.org.au/whats-on/events/naidoc-2026ngv-x-kht-tour-preserving-legacy
Anniversary of the Aboriginal Flag with Haus of Dizzy
Thursday, 9 July
11am – 1pm
Koorie Heritage Trust
Celebrate the Anniversary of the Aboriginal Flag with Kristy Dickinson from Haus of Dizzy. Join this School Holiday Workshop to learn about the history of the flag and its significance to community and culture and make your own keychain in the Haus of Dizzy style for NAIDOC Week. Sessions are free but bookings are essential.
Learn more: https://kht.org.au/whats-on/events/naidoc-2026anniversary-of-the-aboriginal-flag-with-haus-of-dizzy
Birrarung Wilam (River Camp) Walk
Weekdays
Koorie Heritage Trust
NAIDOC Week is the perfect time to join a Birrarung Wilam Walk through Fed Square and down to the Birrarung Wilam (Common Ground) Aboriginal art installations, experiencing the Aboriginal history of the Birrarung Marr (Beside the river of mists) and Aboriginal Peoples of the Kulin Nation.
Tickets are also available on the day, visit the KHT reception/retail desk on the ground floor, Yarra Building (availability may be limited).
Learn more: https://fedsquare.com/events/birrarung-wilam-river-camp-walk-with-koorie-heritage-trust
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
NAIDOC Week Celebration
Saturday 11 July
10am – 5pm
Head to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia for a day of free festivities honouring the rich history, culture, and accomplishments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Throughout the day, explore First Nations art and design in free exhibitions, enjoy live music and performances by local First Nations creatives, meet artists and curators through engaging talks and guided tours, join in drop-by drawing activities and let the little ones have fun on the children’s activity trail. Everyone is welcome!
Learn more: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/naidoc-week-celebration
ACMI
50 Years of Deadly
Celebrate and honour the history, culture and achievements of First Nations peoples at ACMI across NAIDOC week with short film programs, micro talks from artists and a special screening of Top End Bub.
Mick Harding artist talks
Tuesday 7 July
10.30am & 2.30pm
Join Taungurung artist Mick Harding for two intimate free talks exploring Baan Biik Woora Woora (Water, Land and Sky) — his striking five screen animated welcome artwork currently installed in the ACMI Fed Square foyer.
Learn more: https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/mick-harding-micro-talks
NAIDOC Week Shorts 2026
Thursday 9 July
7pm
A short film program spanning five decades of First Nations filmmaking. Featuring works by David Gulpilil, Tracey Moffatt, Beck Cole, Ivan Sen and Richard J. Frankland, these are stories of identity, resilience and resistance, told with power and without compromise.
Learn more: https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/new-voices-australian-in-cinemas/naidoc-week-shorts-2026
Top End Bub
Friday 10 July 1.30pm
Saturday 11 July, 11am
Sunday 12 July, 11am
Top End Wedding won hearts with its charm and big laughs. Now the sequel series is here. Top End Bub picks up five years on, with Lauren, Ned and a new addition to their family. ACMI is screening the first three episodes.
More info: https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/matinees/top-end-bub
Sweet As - NAIDOC Week Student Screening
Tuesday 14 July
10.15am – 12.20pm
Join us for a special NAIDOC Week screening of Sweet As, followed by a facilitated film talk designed for First Nations secondary students.
Arts Centre Melbourne
Clothing the Gaps x Arts Centre Melbourne
5 July – 12 July
Theatres Building Forecourt
This photography series by Joshua Scott (Wiradjuri) was created in collaboration with Arts Centre Melbourne and Clothing The Gaps to mark 50 years of NAIDOC and celebrate the Aborigines Advancement League.
For nearly seven decades, the League has advocated for the rights, wellbeing and self-determination of Aboriginal people. These portraits were taken within the League's walls, surrounded by murals that honour the Elders, activists and community members whose advocacy and leadership has shaped its history.
Learn more: https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2026/festivals-and-series/naidoc-week-2026
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Emma Donovan x MSO: Take Me to the River
Friday 10 July
7.30pm
Hamer Hall
Over a celebrated career, Emma Donovan has enchanted audiences with her mesmerising voice and commanding stage presence. This NAIDOC Week, Emma reunites with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to bring Take Me to the River to life – a tribute to the timeless soul classics that shaped her music and scored the memories of an entire generation.
With orchestral arrangements by Alex Turley, this night is a powerful tribute to the soul music that continues to flow through generations. Don’t just follow Emma to the river – dive in as the vocal powerhouse reimagines enduring songs on an epic symphonic scale.
More info: https://www.mso.com.au/performance/2026-naidoc-week-celebration
Catch a 2026 First Peoples Art Tram
The 2026 First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams launched earlier this month as part of the RISING festival with six giant public artworks now on the tracks and travelling across the city.
Curated by Taungurung woman Kate ten Buuren, the 2026 Melbourne Art Trams program celebrates the power of Blak imagination, showcasing works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists with connections to Victoria.
Learn more: https://2026.rising.melbourne/program/first-peoples-melbourne-art-trams-2026
ILBIJERRI Theatre Company at Melbourne Theatre Company
Gunawarra Re-Creation
8 – 11 July
Southbank Theatre
Gunawarra Re-Creation by Isobel Morphy-Walsh returns in 2026, coinciding with NAIDOC Week. Originally conceived as part of Blak in the Room, a collaboration between ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company, celebrating emerging female First Peoples playwrights. Gunawarra Re-Creation adapts its narrative from the traditional Kulin Nations story of Gunawarra; the black swan, and how they came to have black feathers.
Set on Taun Wurrung country, the play traverses Blak women’s strength, survival and healing in a profoundly emotive production, with the remounted season directed by Artistic Director of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, Andrea James.
More information: https://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/whats-on/other-companies/gunawarra-re-creation
Melbourne Recital Centre
Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky
Thursday 9 July
3pm
Melbourne Recital Centre Foyer
A quintet of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra string players will present a musical retelling of Tylissa Elisara’s charming story of Wurrtoo the wombat on his daring quest to marry the sky. The performance will include an abridged narration of Elisara’s novel, which takes inspiration from such classic children’s books as Winnie the Pooh and Blinky Bill, as well as stories from the author’s own Narungga, Kaurna and Adnyamathanha heritage. This performance will feature music composed by esteemed Noongar, Yamatji and Wongi composer, Aaron Wyatt.
Learn more: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/whats-on/current-productions/mco-wurrtoo
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Image credits
- NAIDOC Flag Raising 2024. Photo: James Henry
- NAIDOC in the City 2024. Photo: Tiffany Garvie
- NAIDOC in the City 2024. Photo: Tiffany Garvie
- Photo courtesy of Koorie Heritage Trust
- Photo: James Henry
- Installation view of Wurrdha Marra First Nations art galleries, The Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia at Fed Square. Photo: Deshani Berhardt, Wildhart Photography
- Paralpi by Zaachariaha Fielding
- Top End Bub. Courtesy of ACMI
- Photo: Joshua Scott, Wiradjuri
- Emma Donovan
- ‘Happy Families – time when we all lived together’ by Marlene Gilson OAM. PHOTO: James Morgan/RISING
- Gunnawarra Re-Creation. Photo: Tiffany Garvie
- Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky by Tylissa Elisara. Illustration by Dylan Finney
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There is so much to do around the Melbourne Arts Precinct for NAIDOC Week (5 – 12 July), where people come together to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
