Enlighten, Canberra’s annual art and cultural festival, will return next year with two weeks of projections, live performances, and after-dark events in the National Triangle and beyond.
From Friday 27 February to Monday 9 March, the 2026 Illuminations will light up the façades of the city’s cultural institutions with work by a dynamic line-up of Australian artists.
Projections include:
- Australian Parliament House: Philip Bunting’s playful designs
- Museum of Australian Democracy: the evocative Department of Memories
- National Gallery of Australia: Yarrenyty Arltere Artists and Grace Kemarre Robinya’s powerful Kukawarra kwatja, pmara nhanhanama marra inthurra, soft rain, strong Country
- National Library of Australia: Elanor and Giovani, blending the themes of science and art
- National Portrait Gallery: Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey’s Queens of the Desert
- Questacon: Illuminate
Beyond the National Triangle, the festival’s “Enlighten Beyond” program will include Marco Brambilla’s Heaven’s Gate at the National Film and Sound Archive.
Major events will round out the program. Rock singer-songwriter Mark Seymour (Hunters & Collectors) will join the Canberra Symphony Orchestra for Symphony in the Park (8 March), combining orchestral arrangements with Australian rock classics.
The short-film competition Lights! Canberra! Action! will celebrate local filmmaking talent (Senate Rose Garden, 6 March). A touring exhibition Leonardo Da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius will bring the brilliance of history’s greatest mind to Canberra for the first time.
“The festival is a showcase of creativity with the National Triangle, the centrepiece for architectural projections and immersive experiences,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
“Each year Enlighten gives locals and visitors the opportunity to see Canberra differently. Our institutions open up in new ways, and artists help us reimagine the places and attractions we know well. It’s also a chance for visitors from across the region, around Australia, and international visitors to experience the creativity and diversity that make Canberra such a special place.”
The full program will be available soon at enlightencanberra.com.
