This August, the City of Fremantle’s much-loved winter arts festival, 10 Nights in Port, returns, inviting audiences to huddle together across ten nights of art, story and shared experience.
Running between 20–30 August, the 2026 festival will see intimate performances through to large-scale installations unfold across Walyalup | Fremantle, transforming the city into a trail of creative encounters.
At Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre, the festival begins with an opening night celebration of food, fire and art in the grounds and galleries, before building towards a spectacular penultimate night gathering around fire, music and shared tables.
Born from the original Fremantle Festival, 10 Nights in Port has evolved into a celebration of the city’s creative energy, bringing together a program that is immersive, thoughtful and distinctly local in character.
In 2026, the festival centres on the theme of ‘huddle’, drawing people into Walyalup | Fremantle to experience warmth, light and connection, and creating spaces that invite moments of pause, reflection and togetherness.
Creative Programs Lead at City of Fremantle, ‘Ofa Fotu, said the 2026 programme explores how people come together through shared experiences of place, story and creativity.
“At a time when so much of life happens online or in passing, shared experiences feel more important than ever,” said Fotu.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for audiences to be immersed in Fremantle’s creative pulse and to light up winter with moments of wonder, connection and shared experience.
“10 Nights in Port offers a chance to step into something together. To gather, reflect and connect through art and storytelling.
“And this year’s theme of ‘huddle’ is about creating those moments, whether around fire, inside an artwork, or simply enjoying our port city together.”
The festival opens at Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre with two compelling exhibitions. Nullians by Australian First Nations artist Kambarni presents a bold series of political cartoons that trace Australia’s history, challenge its narratives and invite reflection with wit and honesty.
Opening alongside it, In Our Hands, We Hold, curated by Zali Morgan and Abigail Moncrieff, is a major exhibition led by First Nations women, bringing together works that explore weaving, vessels and ancestral knowledge as acts of connection and truth-telling.
Across the festival, acclaimed ceramic artist Stewart Scambler will build a large-scale Train Kiln/Dragon Kiln in the grounds of Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre.
The kiln will be ignited on the penultimate night of the festival as part of Feast & Fire, a winter gathering of soul-warming, fire-cooked food, installations and live music from Red Earth Sound System. As night falls, effigies and sculptures will blaze to life alongside the firing of the dragon kiln, bringing audiences together around fire.
The full 2026 programme spans visual art, performance, storytelling, music and installation, with events taking place across Walyalup | Fremantle, including Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre, Victoria Hall, Fremantle Town Hall and WA Shipwrecks Museum.
10 Nights in Port is proudly presented by the City of Fremantle with the support of Lotterywest.
Explore the full programme and start planning your festival at 10nightsinport.com.au.
For information, images, & interviews, please contact:
Alice Hamilton
Detail Marketing Communications
alice@detail.com.au
0415 576 577
