News

In anticipation of their most ambitious festival to date, YIRRAMBOI has announced a groundbreaking global program deepening international First Nations connections and promoting cross-cultural dialogue. For the 2025 festival, taking place from May 1 to 11 in the heart of Narrm, Northern Turtle Island (Canada) has been invited as the Focus Nation, marking a significant step toward global cultural unity and collaboration.

Returning for its fifth festival from 1–11 May 2025, YIRRAMBOI reclaims centre stage in Narrm’s arts precinct with a dedicated festival hub, the Uncle Jack Charles – named as a tribute to the late Uncle Jack Charles, a trailblazer of First Nations storytelling. Taking over Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move, the Uncle Jack Charles will transform the space with striking installations and performances, including five world premieres, two international works, and up-late gatherings activated by First Nations DJs.

400+ FIRST NATIONS CREATIVES, 10 DAYS, ONE CITY. A 10-day feast of mediums spanning the breadth of artistic expression, YIRRAMBOI returns for its fifth iteration, breaking new ground as it takes centre stage in Narrm’s arts precinct. This year’s festival explores four powerful anchors—Legacy, Joy, Reclamation, and Akin—that form the foundation of its most ambitious program to date. Deeply rooted in purpose, YIRRAMBOI platforms expressions of culture, identity, unity, and truth through evolutionary and experimental practices, breaking away from preconceived ideas of First Nations ‘art’. YIRRAMBOI provides a stage for First Nations voices to be heard, for stories to reverberate through generations, to drive change and create a future where First Peoples are rightly celebrated.

YIRRAMBOI is set to close out their 2025 festival with Barring Yanabul (‘We all walk the path’) and The Uncle Archie Roach Block Party, transforming the heart of narrm/Melbourne with live music, DJs, voguing, performance art and installation - breaking away from colonial spaces and returning stories to Country that have held them for over 80,000 years.