Festival Commons: Expressions of Interest

We are no longer receiving Expressions of Interest.

Look out for news on Festival Commons' inaugural season on our channels; we'd love to receive your application next year.

Festival Commons is a new initiative from Sydney Festival that supports the next generation of IBPoC (Indigenous, Black and People of Colour) festival-makers, curators and cultural conveners in Greater Sydney and the Asia Pacific.

We’re assembling community leaders who are already shaping gatherings across artist-led spaces, skate parks, community kitchens, drag houses, garage parties, club nights, Discords, TikToks and more.

Our goal is to connect and empower participants to expand the influence of their work in festivals and beyond. Festival Commons is a structural intervention, offering mentorship and resourcing to deepen existing practices among peers, alongside opportunities for skills development, sector leadership and international exchange.

Program details

Festival Immersion: A 10-day in-person lab from 8 – 18 January 2026, embedded within Sydney Festival’s 50th anniversary program. Dive into masterclasses, roundtables, workshops and provocations with leading artistic and curatorial voices from across Australia and around the world.

Indulge in specially crafted itineraries of informal gatherings and site visits that bring the group together in the height of Sydney’s summer. Engage with headline shows through complimentary tickets and behind-the-scenes access, offering a rare peek into how a major international festival comes together.

Pre and post-Festival online sessions: Digital gatherings shaped around urgent sector conversations, designed to connect the cohort across time zones and extend the learning beyond the lab.

Peer-to-peer exchange: Festival Commons is designed to honour the expertise in the room. The cohort will spark provocations, collaborate on ideas and learn from each other’s ways of hosting, gathering and making with community.

Four participants from Greater Sydney and two participants from the Asia Pacific will be selected for the inaugural cohort. Together, they will form the first Festival Commons: a collective of cultural disruptors reshaping what festivals can be.

Support and accessibility

Honorarium: Each participant receives $2,400 AUD for their time. Australian participants will also receive superannuation.
Travel and accommodation: Flights, accommodation and per diems will be covered for international participants.
Accessibility: Auslan interpreters, captioning, mobility support, cultural protocols and other access requirements will be shaped with and for you.

Eligibility

We invite applications from:

Curators, producers, cultural organisers and creative workers who identify as IBPoC.
People based in Greater Sydney (with a specific emphasis on Western Sydney), including those working in or alongside community.
People based anywhere in the Asia Pacific. International participants are funded by Creative Australia, whose strategic priorities are Japan, Korea, Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India and New Zealand. If you are based elsewhere in the Asia Pacific, you can still apply, but get in touch if you have any questions.
Those who may not identify as “leaders” but are already leading from within the community, in informal or self-determined ways.
People working in ways that are experimental, collective, community-driven and/or interdisciplinary.

We especially welcome those working outside institutions, or who’ve been overlooked by traditional leadership programs.

Important dates

Thursday 21 August: Expressions of Interest (EOI) open.

Thursday 4 September 6pm – 7.15pm (AEST): Online information session.

Wednesday 24 September 11.59pm (AEST): EOI close.

Week commencing 6 October 2025: Participants confirmed.

November 2025: Two 90-minute sessions pending schedules across time zones of participants.

8–18 January 2026: In-person lab (10 days).

March 2026: Two 90-minute sessions pending schedules across time zones of participants.

Festival Commons is designed and delivered by Sydney Festival in partnership with Blacktown Arts, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) and Encounter Theatre, and supported by Creative Australia.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the Festival Commons 2026 are now open

To apply: Complete the form via the button below.

Applications close: Wednesday 24 September 2025, 11.59 AEST.

APPLY NOW

Or download Expression of Interest questions as a Word Document.

View recording of our information session

FAQs

What happens during the 10-day lab?

The lab unfolds within the Festival: ten days of learning, making, sharing and collaborating. Each day runs for six hours, with mornings for big conversations and afternoons for practical sessions and field trips. There is also time to rest, reflect and break bread together.

A day might begin with First Nations curators and Traditional Custodians sharing what it means to practice culture on Country. Later, you might hear field notes from a first-time Artistic Director. Afternoons are for closed-door exercises like mapping your ideal position description, or a masterclass on concept touring with Sydney Festival Director Kris Nelson.

Days at the lab spill into evenings at Festival shows, twilight picnics and informal gatherings. Conversations continue long after the sessions end.

Do I need to be working in a formal arts organisation to apply?

No, we encourage applicants from collectives, community hubs, clubs, DIY scenes, digital platforms or other informal spaces.

Do I need to have curated a festival before?

No, we are looking for people with curatorial instincts – ideating, organising, convening, programming, solidarity-building. You may not use the word ‘curator’, but if you’re shaping cultural space, you’re eligible.

Is this a one-off opportunity?

We hope that we can build from this pilot program to something that grows over the next four years. Therefore, we’d like to co-design how participants can remain connected to the program over four years. You are not just attending a lab –you’re influencing the future of the festival and sector.

If I do not identify as Indigenous, Black and/or PoC, can I still apply to the program?

Festival Commons is a program designed specifically to support emerging curators and producers who identify as Indigenous, Black and/or People of Colour. This focus is intentional. It addresses the historic and ongoing exclusion of IBPoC practitioners from positions of leadership and decision-making in the festivals and cultural institutions. In Australia, we only have 5% diverse leadership of our performing arts organisations, and close to no representation across our major festivals. These statistics reflect a national sector out of step with the communities it serves, and hurt us all.

By centring IBPoC voices, the program seeks to create space for leadership models, curatorial frameworks and sector relationships that emerge from lived experience, community connection, and cultural knowledge systems that have too often been marginalised.

If you do not identify as Indigenous, Black and/or a Person of Colour, you are not eligible to apply. This ensures the program’s resources, networks and opportunities are directed towards those for whom it was specifically created, in line with its purpose of shifting representation and rebalancing power in the arts.

We invite you to stand with us in this purpose, and to support the work by championing IBPoC-led leadership in your own circles, organisations and communities.

Is this for me if I live outside Western Sydney?

Yes, if you are in Greater Sydney and share the values, affinities and aspirations of the program. We are prioritising Western Sydney participants but welcome connections across the whole city. There are two reserved places for participants who live in the Asia Pacific region.

Can I apply via video or audio?

Yes, we welcome alternative formats. If you wish to supply your application in audio, video or otherwise, please contact Sydney Festival Associate Producer Maybelline San Juan via programming@sydneyfestival.org.au or +61 2 8248 6534 .

What is the selection process?

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of all IBPoC artist-curators from Sydney Festival, Blacktown Arts, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) and Encounter Theatre.

A detailed break-down of the selection criteria can be found at the beginning of the EOI form.

Need support?

For access needs, questions about eligibility or support preparing your application, please contact:

Maybelline San Juan, Associate Producer

programming@sydneyfestival.org.au

+61 2 8248 6534   

Submit your EOI