Opening celebrations

Perth Cultural Centre

Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 November

All WA Museum Boola Bardip entry tickets for 21 – 29 November have now been allocated to the successful ballot entrants.

However, there is still a lot to see and do in the Perth Cultural Centre during the opening celebrations – no ticket required!

View map of Perth Cultural Centre

 

 

A young woman looking up at a light display on the ceiling.

ART GALLERY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (AGWA)

Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 November | Various times

To celebrate the opening of the Museum, the Art Gallery – including the Shop and Frank Café – will extend their opening hours until 7pm on the following days:

  • Saturday 21 November
  • Sunday 22 November
  • Friday 27 November
  • Saturday 28 November
  • Sunday 29 November

FREE

 

Guided Tours

21, 22, 28 & 29 November | 11am, 12pm, 1pm & 2pm

Explore some of the works on display from the State Art Collection with one of our Voluntary Gallery Guides, offering that extra insight and revealing glimpse into the artwork, the era and the artist.

FREE

 

Kindling Creative Screen Printing: An image speaks 1,000 words | $10

Saturday 28 & 29 November | 10am3pm

Join Kindling Creative for screen printing fun outside the Art Gallery's main entrance.

Screen printing using hand cut paper stencils is a traditional process that masks some areas and reveals a design using negative space. The result is a bold image which tells a visual story where an image speaks a thousand words. What's your story? How will you share it with the world?

Grab a tote bag and print your own souvenir of the historic opening of the new WA Museum Boola Bardip!

Suits all ages and abilities. Drop in only, no bookings required. $10 per bag.

Learn more

FAMILY ACTIVITY

 


BARKING GECKO THEATRE

HOUSE-making Workshop | Family art workshop

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 November | 5 x 45-minute workshops

State Theatre Centre Courtyard

Session 1: 10am – 10.45am

Session 2: 11am – 11.45am

Session 3: 12pm – 12.45pm

Session 4: 2pm – 2.45pm

Session 5: 3pm – 3.45pm

Perfect for children big and small, create your very own house-shaped work of art.

Led by teaching artists, your house will then be left with the Barking Gecko Theatre team to form part of their upcoming theatre experience, HOUSE, in early 2021!

To guarantee a place, register through Barking Gecko’s website.

FREE | TICKETED | FAMILY ACTIVITY

 


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CITY OF PERTH – CHRISTMAS LIGHT TRAIL

Friday 20 November – Monday 28 December | 6pm – 11pm

James Street Mall, Perth Cultural Centre

The Perth Cultural Centre kicks off the Northbridge leg of the 2020 Christmas Lights Trail.

At stop one, you will find the Rusty Holden Ute – right out of the classic Aussie Christmas jingle – parked outside the Museum. Meanwhile at stop two, take a photo with the Cheeky Cockatoo perched on a branch in the heart of the Cultural Centre.

View the full trail online on Visit Perth's website.

FREE

 

 


PERTH INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS (PICA)

Forest of Voices by Olga Cironis | Exhibition

PICA opening hours

Forest of Voices by leading West Australian artist Olga Cironis is a sound installation work composed of fragments of private intimate conversations – whisperings of desires, love, pain, loss and fear.

Cironis invited people from diverse communities to anonymously share their personal experiences and stories of love. Forest of Voices presents a timely reflection on shared vulnerability and the possibilities contained in social acts. These collective voices encourage us to listen to ‘others’ and urges us to stop, breathe and connect.

FREE

 

Refracted Reality | Exhibition

PICA opening hours

Refracted Reality, curated by Perth-based curator and artist Anna Louise Richardson, offers a selection of ten artists and collaborations whose works are the medium through which ideas pass and bend, echoing questions of privacy, representational fictions in a post-truth era and a renewed interest in both the intimacy and constrictions of interior space in the wake of mass self-isolation.

FREE

 

SMASH IT by Brook Andrew | Video

PICA opening hours

SMASH IT draws its title from the artist’s practice of agitating colonial archives in order to subvert and rewrite dominant narratives of the past. In its polyphony of voices and materials, SMASH IT draws attention to historical events that have occurred in different places and times and their contemporary legacies, connecting traumatic histories in Australia with international experiences and discourse.

FREE

 

Guided Exhibition Tours

21, 26, 27 & 28 November | 6pm – 6.30pm

Engage in lively and thought-provoking conversation about contemporary art, in special 30-minute guided tours of Refracted Reality and Forest of Voices.

FREE

 


PERTH MESS HALL

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Museum Street Social – Urban Beer Garden and Family Fun in a DINO-hall!

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 November | 11am – midnight

Dinosaurs have taken over the Perth Mess Hall for the Museum's final opening celebration weekend!

Perth Mess Hall is being transformed into a dinosaur haven and urban garden serving local craft beer and cider from Gage Roads.

This family-friendly event will have plenty of space for the kids to play, with children's entertainment featuring Freedom Fairies, games and much more.

Plus, learn about the history of our building with a temporary installation from the Army Museum of Western Australia and catch a glimpse of our ferocious T-Rex guards!

FREE | FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

 


PICABAR

Daily | 11am – midnight

Tuesday $5 schooners

Thursday $25 burger & pint

Enjoy some of Western Australia's finest beer and wine, Museum-inspired cocktails and one of the best steak sandwiches in town.

 


SPARE PARTS PUPPET THEATRE

The Last Numbat

The Last Numbat | Interactive performance

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 November | 5 x 30-minute performances

Amphitheatre

Set 1: 10am – 10.30am

Set 2: 10.50am – 11.20am

Set 3: 11.40am – 12.10pm

Set 4: 1.10pm – 1.40pm

Set 5: 2pm – 2.30pm

What if you thought you were the last of your kind?

The Last Numbat is a large-scale, interactive performance installation that uses puppetry to explore connection with each other and the sustainability of our natural environment.

Suspended from a five-metre high truss, the large-scale numbat marionette is controlled by ropes by twelve participants. Audience participants learn how to manipulate the puppet together to tell the story of The Last Numbat.

FREE | FAMILY ACTIVITY

 

 


STATE LIBRARY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (SLWA)

Futurescape | Activity-based installations

SLWA opening hours

What will our future city look like? Where will people live? How will they get around and what will they do for fun?

Futurescape is a series of activity-based installations encouraging you to imagine Perth’s future. Designed in collaboration with Elliot Langdon and Tom McKendrick, creators of the book Built Perth, these activities are especially designed for children.

FREE | FAMILY ACTIVITIES

 

Creating Perth | Exhibition

SLWA opening hours

This exhibition reveals the many layers of our city’s history, exploring the ways visions of Perth – both compatible and contested – have shaped this landscape.

Created with photos, paintings, maps, videos and stories from the State Library, State Records Office and community loans.

FREE

 


STATE THEATRE CENTRE COURTYARD

Chill out area

Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 November | 10am – 5.30pm

Located behind Chi Cho Gelato, this open space has seating and a universal access bathroom for those looking to recharge.

FREE

 

The Courtyard Club – Perth Theatre Trust & RTRFM

Friday 27 November | 5pm – late

The perfect place to start your weekend. An all-ages event, experience live radio and local music for free.

On Friday 27 November, Little Lord Street Band & Lincoln McKinnon and the Wrecking Train – DJ Rhian Todhunter (Out To Lunch) take over the stage.

FREE

 


WAM TUNES

 
WAM Tunes

Kick back and relax as West Australian Music (WAM) showcase live, local music from the Cultural Centre’s Wetlands.

SET TIMES

Friday 20 November

5pm – 5.45pm: Sarah Strahan

6.15pm – 7pm: Alex Hardy

Saturday 21 November

12pm – 12.45pm: Tess Dwyer-Long

1.15pm – 2pm: Michael Dunstan

Sunday 22 November

12pm – 12.45pm: Minky G

1.15pm – 2pm: Ben Catley

Friday 27 November

5pm – 5.45pm: Henry McInnes

6.15pm – 7pm: Ornella

Saturday 28 November

3pm – 3.45pm: Michael Day

4.15pm – 5pm: Siobhan Cotchin

Sunday 29 November

3pm – 3.45pm: Kaidan Penny

4.15pm – 5pm: Queency

FREE

 

 

 

 

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ART GALLERY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (AGWA)

Long Table | Discussion

Saturday 21 November | 12pm – 2pm

Join a special Long Table discussion presented as part of the I want a future that lives up to my past: David McDiarmid and local queer stories display for PrideFEST.

The discussion format borrows from the idea of a dinner table as a way of generating public conversation. The Long Table allows voices to be heard equally and invites members of the public to join in.

Focusing on epidemics, hardships, community, strength and survival of the local queer community, the invited panellists will discuss the context of 1980s and 1990s Perth.

FREE

 

 


ETSY MADE LOCAL MARKETS

Saturday 21 – 22 November | 10am – 4pm

Central Plaza, Amphitheatre & Museum Plaza

With over 50 independent stallholders, Etsy Made Local is an annual market event that promotes WA-based artists and designers.

FREE

 


PERTH MESS HALL

Urban Beer Garden & Family Fun – Museum Street Social

Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 November | 11am – midnight

Perth Mess Hall is being transformed into an urban beer garden with pop-up bars serving local craft beer and cider from Gage Roads. This family-friendly event will have plenty of space for the kids to play, with children's entertainment, games and much more.

Have you ever wondered why there's a limestone fortress on Francis Street? Perth Mess Hall will also be teaming up with the Army Museum of Western Australia to offer you a glimpse into the military past of their iconic building.

FREE | FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

 

 


PERTH INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS (PICA)

 

Many Voices: Stories of Love and Connection | Event

Saturday 21 November | 2pm – 4pm

To celebrate the opening of the new WA Museum Boola Bardip (Many Stories), project participants whose voices are included in the Forest of Voices exhibition are invited to share their stories with the public in conversation with artist Olga Cironis.

FREE

 

PICA After Dark Special Edition | Event

Thursday 26 November | 5pm – 8pm

This special edition of PICA After Dark will feature A Window into Love – a conversation with exhibiting artists Max Pam, Bruce and Nicole Slatter, and Olga Cironis, with guest curator Anna Louise Richardson and PICA Curator Sarah Wall.

Hear about their work and art practices through the lens of love, connection and memory, then stay for drinks, live music and a reveal of PICA’s exciting program of exhibitions, performances and events for 2021.

FREE

 

 


START FRESH MARKETS

Wednesday 25 November | 11am – 6pm

Central Plaza

A collaboration between North Metropolitan TAFE and Perth Theatre Trust, this is a new kind of farmers market.

Convenient and accessible, this market celebrates WA's rich resources and shopping locally.

FREE