FUSE: Darebin's multiarts festival
Darebin FUSE Festival is Darebin’s contemporary, multi-arts festival. Every year the festival offers signature events presented by the Darebin Arts Festival and Events unit, FUSE Funded, artist-led events supported by a Community Grants program, and a platform to share events by local artists and creatives as part of the FUSE Open Access initiative.
Darebin FUSE Festival reflects Darebin’s uniqueness as a vibrant, inclusive, creative and forward-thinking city. During the festival, we invite the community to enjoy our streets, parks, venues, theatres and galleries as transformative zones, infusing Darebin with the power of art, culture and creativity.
Image:Performance by Djirri Djirri Dancers at Ganbu Gulin in Spring 2022, image by Wild Hardt.
Darebin FUSE Festival 2026
Darebin FUSE Festival 2026 brought our city to life with 53 events across 10 days from 5 - 13 September. Celebrating arts, culture, creativity and community connection across Darebin, the festival featured everything from performances and exhibitions to workshops, family activities and cultural celebrations. The program included 19 community-led, FUSE Funded events supported through the Community Grants program, enabling local artists, creatives and community groups to share their stories, talents and traditions with the wider community.
Festival highlights included THE CUBE by Born in a Taxi, which welcomed more than 4000 people across a weekend, presented in partnership with Preston Market; Ganbu Gulin, presented in partnership with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, which attracted approximately 650 attendees for a vibrant celebration of First Nations culture, creativity and community; and Rock-a-Bye Baby, presented in partnership with PBS 106.7FM, which welcomed 210 parents, carers and young children to enjoy live music and creative experiences together.
Together, these events formed part of a diverse program that encouraged people to connect, explore new experiences and celebrate the creativity that makes Darebin unique. We thank Traditional Owners, artists, performers, community organisations, volunteers, partners, venues, presenters and audiences who helped make this year's festival such a success. As one attendee reflected, "Such a beautiful community event, it had such a lovely warm feel to it!"
Darebin Arts and Darebin FUSE Festival acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the Traditional Owners, custodians and cultural leaders of this land. We pay respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge the continuing connection to Land, Water and Culture of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.