Brisbane Festival 2025 honours First Nations culture and storytelling

Brisbane Festival 2025 is offering a diverse and moving program that honour connection to Country, ancestral knowledge, cultural pride, and resilience. From bold dance theatre to intimate storytelling, community festivals to dazzling sky displays, the First Nations program features new commissions, returning favourites, and captivating experiences for all ages.

Brisbane Festival Indigenous Advisory Group Chair Aunty Bridget Garay (Kemer Kemer Meriam Nation) noted “I am so pleased to see the program for 2025. It reflects a genuine and ongoing commitment to embedding First Nations voices across every part of the festival. The Reconciliation Action Plan is not just symbolic, it’s a call to action, and this program shows that in real time. There is so much to see and be a part of."

In one of the most anticipated events of the festival, acclaimed creative visionary Stephen Page returns to his hometown of Brisbane with his first major commission since leaving Bangarra. Inspired by a story from Page’s grandmother from the Ngugi/Nunukul/Moondjan people of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island), Baleen Moondjan (18th–21st September) is a monumental outdoor ceremony set among giant floating whale bones on the Brisbane River. A celebration of totemic systems and whale songlines, this original work fuses contemporary dance, language, and storytelling with an all-star creative team including Jacob Nash and Alana Valentine.

Garay added “Baleen Moondjan is such a significant moment. To have Stephen Page bring us an incredible work, grounded in a local story from his grandmother’s Country, is deeply powerful and reflects the festival’s commitment to platforming cultural knowledge with care and respect.”

Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina shared “I am so proud of this year’s First Nations program. It’s rich with talent, vision, and extraordinary storytelling. I have long admired Stephen Page, and to welcome him home with such an epic spectacle in Baleen Moondjan (pictured above) is a true privilege. From the luminous magic of Skylore – Nieergoo: Spirit of the Whale to the joyful cabaret of TINA – A Tropical Love Story and the intergenerational wonder of The Bogong’s Song, this program spans the epic to the intimate.

“We also welcome Adam James to St Lucia Serenades with The Great First Nations Songbook, a feel-good celebration of iconic First Nations music reimagined in joyful big-band style, and it’s an honour to champion the full choreographic and performance debut of rising star Josh Taliani, the face of last year’s festival and a powerful new voice in contemporary dance, with Unveiling Shadows.”

Opening the festival is the world premiere of Preparing Ground (5th–7th September), a deeply resonant dance work created over six years in close collaboration with community. Kukuyalanji/Waanyi woman Marilyn Miller, Tagalaka/Kurtitjar woman Jasmin Sheppard, and Wakka Wakka/Kombumerri woman Katina Olsen share the stage, carrying stories of displacement and reclamation in a performance that is both a call to action and an invitation to witness the living strength of Country. Together they create a powerful new language that dances with the weight of history and the fire of resistance.

Garay reflected “Preparing Ground has been six years in the making, led by community and grounded in lived experience. The festival has walked alongside that process, and the result is a work that speaks directly to truth, strength and continuity.”

Justin Welfare, First Nations Affairs Lead, QIC shared "as the inaugural Reconciliation Partner of the Brisbane Festival, QIC is incredibly proud to be supporting First Nations employment opportunities that help celebrate the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. This year’s program once again places our Country’s very first storytellers at its heart. Reconciliation starts with listening, learning and deep respect, and Brisbane Festival invites everyone to do exactly that.”

Returning for its third year, Skylore – Nieergoo: Spirit of the Whale (25th–27th September) will once again fill the sky with hundreds of drones in a breathtaking retelling of creation stories by Yuggera and Toorabul man Shannon Ruska. This spectacular annual event merges ancient storytelling with modern technology in a bold celebration of culture and place.

The Star Brisbane Chief Executive Daniel Finch added “we are proud to be a platinum partner of Brisbane Festival, presenting partner of the highly anticipated Baleen Moondjan and supporting partner of the iconic Skylore event. This September, Queen’s Wharf precinct will come alive in a sea of pink, inviting both locals and visitors to celebrate the vibrant talent, creativity, and culture that defines Brisbane Festival.”

From 10th–13th September, Unveiling Shadows takes audiences on a raw and vulnerable journey through trauma, identity, and transformation. This debut solo work from First Nations (Bidjara/Kullali/Wakka Wakka) Italian artist and performer Joshua Taliani, co-created with collaborator Wanida Serce, blends hip-hop, the artform of vogue, and dance theatre in a fearless confrontation of silence and healing.

Set against the island paradise backdrop of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke), Quandamooka Festival (13th–14th September) brings two days of cultural celebration, connection and community to life. Through cultural activities including tours, Kunjiel (corroborees), music performances, food, weaving, arts, crafts, panel discussions, First Nations’ film, and more, audiences are welcomed to share in the continuing Culture of the Nughi, Nunukul, and Goenpul clans of the Quandamooka People firsthand.

Brisbane Powerhouse will see a fusion of the contemporary and classical, as renowned violinist, Véronique Serret, uses her voice for the first time in a live performance of her ARIA-nominated album, Migrating Bird on 14th September. She will be joined by special guest William Barton, bringing the haunting sounds of the yidaki/didgeridoo. Then from 18th–20th September is TINA – A Tropical Love Story, a joyful, heartwarming tribute from drag performer Miss Ellaneous (Ben Graetz) to the indomitable spirit of rock icon Tina Turner. Through a dazzling fusion of storytelling and cabaret, this love letter to Darwin, drag, and identity will uplift and inspire.

On 20th September, The Great First Nations Songbook at St Lucia Serenades brings the rhythm outdoors in a free, all-ages celebration of First Nations music. Led by Adam James and The Dreamtime Swing, audiences will be serenaded by jazz legends and cultural trailblazers at The University of Queensland's scenic Dr Mary Mahoney AO Amphitheatre.

Then from 20th September – 5th October, audiences can dive into Sea of Light at Queensland Museum Kurilpa. Featuring luminous artworks by Aboriginal artist Elizabeth Close, this interactive installation invites children and families to create their own glowing sea journeys while connecting to stories of land and water.

For younger audiences and families, Bangarra’s The Bogong’s Song: A Call to Country (25th September – 4th October) invites children into a dreamworld of shadow puppetry, dance, and song. Created by Yolande Brown and Chenoa Deemal, this enchanting new work explores connection to Country through the eyes of a brother and sister guided by their Nan’s stories.

Brisbane Festival is also proud to offer Mobtix for a variety of productions in their program to help lower the barriers of entry for First Nations people to engage with art. First Nations community members can join the First Nations Network and register to receive information about Mobtix offers via www.brisbanefestival.com.au/mobtix

Image. Brisbane Festival 2025 Baleen Moondjan Credit: Daniel Boud