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If you want to emerge from your winter hibernation with a bang, Brisbane Festival has you covered. From Friday, September 2–Saturday, September 24, the city will be reignited with colour, light, art and music in a three-week celebration of arts and culture.
This year, the festival kicks off with the annual Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust firework display, a distinct shift away from its usual position at the festival's end. Then, boundary-pushing new art will converge on Brisbane, turning The River City itself into a giant gallery and theatre at once.
Expect international and homegrown curations, installations and performances, and art that challenges and enlightens. Highlights include a trilingual reworking of Shakespeare's Othello, a human-sized kaleidoscope that you can walk through, a giant floating moon, the return of Brisbane's Art Boat for cruises down the river surrounded by Lindy Lee's artwork, and six parties on six rooftops on one night.
The jam-packed full program also spans the stage adaptation of Shannon Molloy's coming-of-age memoir Fourteen, huge bubbles popping up in South Bank, evening strolls with teenagers, a queer dance party at The Tivoli, and a showcase of First Nations artists and performers — and that's just a taste of the complete lineup.
Brisbane Festival will run from Friday, September 2—Saturday, September 24. For further details and to book, head to the festival's website.
Updated July 21.