Over 10 days in November, the capital’s bubbling creative scene will spill over into more than 130 activations across the city for Craft + Design Canberra.

If you’re not well-acquainted with Canberra, you may not be aware of the city’s creative prowess. With 25,000 people working in the creative sector, approximately 11 percent of the population is involved – more than any other state or territory in the country. The ACT Government has even committed to apply for Canberra to be a designated UNESCO Creative City of Design.

It’s no surprise then that Craft + Design Canberra has a bumper line-up. Showcasing over 500 artists, this year’s program includes exhibitions, events, markets, open studios, performances, public artwork, talks, tours and more.

With a theme of ‘Dissent’, the 2026 festival explores how design and creative practice can question and reshape the world through six categories spanning craftivism and making by hand through to the act of buying local and the politics of who gets to be seen through performance. The artists collectively engage with environmental and social impact, wellbeing, accessibility and the future of the city.

As a celebration of the handmade and local skills, the festival is an opportunity for creative communities to connect and share knowledge.

“This year’s program, responding to the theme of ‘Dissent’, asks audiences to consider the capacity of design and making by hand to improve our world,” says Craft + Design Canberra CEO and artistic director Jodie Cunningham.

“At its best, dissent is an act of care. You dissent because you believe something better is possible. Every work in this year’s program carries a proposition inside it: the world could be otherwise, and here is a small proof. A repaired garment is an act of dissent. A house designed to need less energy is an act of dissent. A quilt stitched by a hundred hands is an act of dissent.”

Craft + Design Canberra will run from 5 to 15 November 2026. The full program is available on the event website.

Top image: Increments by Matt Curtis. Photo: Rob Little.