Our pick of the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival
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The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival showcases the work of more than 500 artists, makers, designers and creative thinkers from Thursday 5 to Sunday 15 November. Here’s our pick of what not to miss.
It’s that time of year again when the Craft + Design Canberra Festival transforms the city into a creative playground as it celebrates something locals know well: that Canberra is a creative city of design.
This year’s program will fill the 10 days with more than 130 activations – including events, exhibitions, markets, open studios, performances, public artworks, symposiums, talks, tours and workshops. And with that much happening, it can be hard to decide what to do.
Here we break down the 10 unmissable events that deserve a spot in your calendar.
2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival Launch + Exhibition Openings
What better way to celebrate Canberra as a city of design than attending the formal festival launch? Along with the official kick off for the festival, this event also marks the opening of five exciting exhibitions.
NEST | Design for the Displaced Future is a major public art commission bringing together a series of individual sculptural works exploring the universal instinct to nest, connect and belong. Soft Matter presents ceramic artworks that challenge social and material hierarchies, crossing boundaries between craft, sculpture and still life while EMERGENCY: Signal, Repair, Adapt examines what it means to make objects in a time of disruption.
The National Robert Foster Metal Prize showcases outstanding contemporary metalwork – highlighting how imagination, skilled making, thoughtful design and material exploration can shape the ways we see and engage with the world around us – and Small Rituals | Hand Carved, Handheldis all about the power of slow making.
Thursday 5 November, 6 pm – 9 pm | Civic Square and Craft + Design Canberra, 180 London Circuit, City | Register here.
Stories in the Dark Exhibition
Combining ecological research, design, storytelling, and original sound, you’ve never seen anything like this before.
Stories in the Dark is an animated public art installation created by Eggpicnic and presented in Civic Square. It highlights the refusal to look away from the ecological and societal neglect that allows species and habitats to remain invisible.
During the day, the cube’s digital surfaces will show forests, bushland and wetlands – populated by animals whose survival is under threat and whose protection remains insufficient – while at night, landscapes shift to reveal nocturnal species such as gliders, bats, frogs, moths, and small marsupials.
Highlighting the animals that thrive in the hours we look away, the work aims to expose a world that humans frequently choose not to notice and invites audiences to return at different times to witness life that often goes unseen.
Thursday 5 until Sunday 15 November | Civic Square, 180 London Circuit, City | Find out more here.
Raw and Refined
This exhibition asks what makes jewellery truly precious. Presenting new work created by established contemporary jeweller Phoebe Porter, Raw and Refined explores the dualities of raw and worked, natural and cultural, and material and meaning.
Both jewellery lovers and curious creatives will enjoy this exhibition as Phoebe contrasts unaltered natural specimens – including native gold and uncut gemstones – with precision-made components refined by mining, alloying, cutting and finishing.
Be sure to attend the talk on Thursday 12 November to find out more about the ideas, materials and making processes behind the exhibition!
Thursday 5 until Sunday 29 November | Departures Lounge, Canberra Airport, 21 Terminal Avenue, Canberra Airport | Find out more here.
Open Studios
Credit: 5 Foot Photography
Step inside the studios of Canberra’s makers. Open Studios is a beloved part of the festival program that invites people to discover the creative practices of local craftspeople, designers, artists and arts organisations across the Canberra region.
The weekend offers a rare chance to explore the spaces where creativity happens.
Check out the full program of participants here to see who will be opening their studio.
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November | Various locations | Find out more here.
Clothing the Loop
Clothing the Loop is where fashion meets activism, performance meets purpose, and dissent becomes a work of art,
The vibrant event is presented by Australian Dance Party, Kelli Donovan and Canberra Institute of Technology and takes place across two days, featuring panel talks, clothes swaps, installations, fashion displays and a parade, live performance and practical workshops celebrating sustainable fashion, circular design, and creative activism.
The combination of runway glamour, edgy contemporary dance, sensorial music and stimulating conversations is a joyful rebellion against waste and over-consumption.
Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November | Canberra Institute of Technology, Woden, 36 Bradley Street, Phillip | Book here.
Moonlight Meanders Night Walks
Credit: Jane Duong.
These night walks are created by local artists and inspired by urban play, encouraging participants to reclaim public space and reimagine the city around them.
Part of an international movement of women-led creative tourism and hosted by Localjinni, the experience draws upon the design and history of Civic – exploring utopian and dystopian visions of urban planning as well as asking whose bodies are welcome in public space.
Consider this your invitation to step into a different vision of the city – one that’s more open, inclusive and alive with creative possibility.
Saturday 7 and Saturday 14 November | Various locations | Book here.
Canberra Kinetic Sculpture Race
The Canberra Kinetic Sculpture Race is a thrilling one-day celebration of human-powered inventions, playful engineering, and imaginative design.
Held at the National Carillon, you’ll watch as machines that are part artwork, part vehicle, and entirely powered by human energy race across a unique tri-terrain course –no two machines are alike!
Take the time to talk to the artists that created them and celebrate Canberra’s inventive spirit in an unexpected way.
Saturday 7 November | National Carillon, Lake Burley Griffin, Queen Elizabeth II Island, Parkes | Find out more here.
Digital Dissent Microgames Showcase
Running across two weekends, the Digital Dissent Microgames Showcase is an interactive showcase of innovative microgames from some of Canberra’s best game designers.
All exploring the theme of Dissent, you can play and experience a collection of brand-new games by local designers that have been custom-made for visitors. You can also meet the developer and discuss their work with them, or try your hand at all seven of the games for a truly immersive experience.
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 and Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November | National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton | Register here.
Craft + Design Canberra Undercurrent Design Market
Credit: 5 Foot Photography.
Who doesn’t love a market? Always a local favourite, the Undercurrent Design Market is back for another year.
Bringing together more than 50 accomplished makers from across Australia, you’ll discover one-of-a-kind, handcrafted works as you explore contemporary work in jewellery, glass, ceramics, textiles, wood, metal, fashion, homewares and diverse creative mediums.
As well as offering the perfect opportunity to pick up a unique gift or a statement piece for your home, the Undercurrent Design Market is a great way to support Australian makers.
Friday 13 until Sunday 15 November | Ainslie Arts Centre, 30 Elouera Street, Braddon | Register here.
Clubb Chess at Such and Such
Loved Netflix’s The Queens’s Gambit? This exhibition is all about chess – but not as you know it. For three Sundays in November, Clubb Chess at Such and Such will reshape the experience of a centuries-old game.
The interactive exhibition invites people to touch, feel and experience the artwork and be a part of the story and the creation.
But it’s also so much more. You can also make a day of it by enjoying the live music from Trust Fm and Sonic Business, food by Tukka By the Bush and drinks by Such and Such.
Sunday 15, 22 and 29 November | Such and Such Restaurant, 220 London Circuit, City | Book here.
Feature image: 5 Foot Photography.
