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The Strange Festival art trail reported for Perth in June 2024 brought 35 artists into 20 vacant spaces, with unusual installations and interactive experiences across the CBD. That program is historical, not a confirmed 2026 lineup: current official sources show festival support for 2026/27 but do not establish dates, venues or visitor details.
What Strange Festival offered in June 2024
PerthNow’s 13 June 2024 report described the festival’s third annual edition, which ran from 14 to 23 June. The free, self-guided art trail used 20 vacant spaces and featured work by 35 artists, including sites at Carillon City, the Liberty Theatre, Forrest Chase and Yagan Square. These details refer specifically to the 2024 event.
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Creative director Jess Oakley described the work as visual art engaging visitors through “sculpture, projection, video, soundscapes, performance pieces.” The format was deliberately varied: visitors encountered artworks in unexpected spaces rather than following a conventional gallery exhibition.
Installations and interactive encounters
- At Carillon City, one installation made a forest from donated fabric and clothing inspired by mushrooms.
- At Elizabeth Quay, a 20-metre-long eye installation included an eyeball, a tunnel representing the optic nerve and an inflatable brain.
- A Mad Max-inspired thunderdome staged baton battles.
- A themed market let “clans” trade trinkets.
- Modified robotic vacuum cleaners wrestled.
These examples illustrate the 2024 program’s range, from immersive environments to participatory spectacles; they are not evidence that the same works will return.
Exhumed Cinema
The 2024 report also said Exhumed Cinema returned at Como Theatre with 63 classic and obscure films screened on 35mm and 16mm. That was a separate program element in that year’s coverage, not a current screening schedule.
Was the festival free?
PerthNow characterized the 2024 art trail as free and self-guided. That description should not be extended to every festival activity or edition. A Fiveight account of the 2023 festival distinguished the free-to-see trail from ticketed performances and a pop-up cinema. Check the entry terms for each event rather than assuming the whole festival is free.
What is confirmed about Strange Festival after 2024?
Official records show continuing institutional support, but not the practical details a visitor needs. The City of Perth’s May 2026 council update lists Strange Festival among events approved for multi-year sponsorship in its 2026/27 event round. The Australian Government’s 2025–26 Revive Live recipient list records $64,690 for the Alice Street Trust for Strange Festival 2026, allocated to original Australian artist fees and accessibility costs. Neither record establishes public dates, a lineup, venues, opening hours or ticket rules.
The festival website’s indexed pages include links for its program, map and visitor information and carry a 2026 footer, but the accessible page does not state a confirmed 2026 schedule. For current plans, use the festival’s official website and confirm dates, locations, entry conditions, accessibility and transport information in its live event listings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why vacant spaces matter to the format
Using vacant storefronts and other underused city locations gives artists a setting outside the usual gallery context and brings visitors into overlooked parts of the CBD. In a 2023 company account, Fiveight Development Director Brad Martin described the partnership as a way to bring civic and cultural value to an unused asset. Strange Festival director of operations Glenn Watson said the festival aimed to show unusual work to a broader audience and draw attention to overlooked corners of Boorloo. Those comments describe the 2023 collaboration, not a guarantee about later editions.
Attendance figures need their year attached
PerthNow reported 78,000 attendees for the 2023 festival; this is the article’s reported figure, not an independently audited count. Fiveight estimated 45,000 visitors for the 2022 edition. The figures refer to different years and publishers’ descriptions, so they should not be treated as a like-for-like trend or a current attendance forecast.
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