The City of Darebin and Darebin Arts’ FUSE Festival is back for 2025. For two unforgettable weeks, creativity across Darebin will be celebrated with live music, cultural celebrations, exhibitions, hands-on workshops, film screenings, and immersive art experiences, with free and ticketed events from 31 August – 14 September 2025.
Darebin FUSE Festival is excited to announce the appointment of Ethan Savage as Curator in Residence for Ganbu Gulin, the annual event that launches the festival, which will be held on Sunday 31 August (1.00pm – 5.00pm) at Darebin Arts Centre and the adjacent Ray Bramham Gardens. This year’s event is titled wudhanu yuwanguth or From Many to the Next and represents a gathering of Voice, Culture and Ceremony.
“Ganbu Gulin 2025 will reflect on how as one mob, we are many – the outcome of our ancestors and the model for the next; from our Elders to the next generation, and to those who are new in our community. It reflects our shared movement – growth and evolution that honours ongoing cultural strength and resilience,” explained Ethan Savage.
Meaning “One Mob” in Woi-Wurrung language, Ganbu Gulin is co-presented in close collaboration with the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. Open to all, Ganbu Gulin welcomes new citizens of Darebin with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, live music, cultural activities, and dance performances.
A great day out with a stellar music line-up in downtown Preston, Ganbu Gulin: wudhanu yuwanguth will be MC’d by FABoriginal drag artist 2joocee, and will feature live performances by Wurundjeri dancers; renowned singer-songwriter and Darebin local Emma Donovan; up-and-coming indie rock band Doe Eyes, fronted by lead guitarist Jordan Clay and Indigenous vocalist Izzy Skye; and hip-hop artist Torres Green. The day will also include a native planting workshop, plus kids’ workshops with crowd favourite Aunty Brenda.
The curatorial team for Ganbu Gulin 2025 includes Curator in Residence Ethan Savage and Cultural and Curatorial Adviser Stacie Piper. Ethan is a Northern Kaantju, Girramay and Badu Islander who works as an academic, music producer and broadcaster with Triple R; hosting Feel the Floor, a celebration of electronic and rave music.
Stacie is a Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, and the former Chairperson of the Victorian NAIDOC Committee. Stacie is a well-regarded curator, academic in the arts, dancer, and cultural adviser.
“Ganbu Gulin ‘One Mob’ is a unique and significant event, which welcomes new citizens and community members of all cultural backgrounds to participate in a Woiwurrung ceremony, fostering meaningful connections,” says Stacie Piper.
Other program highlights for Darebin FUSE Festival 2025 include:
FUSE @ Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre
Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre: 5 – 7 September
For one special weekend, Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre and Civic Square will be transformed into a vibrant festival hub, illuminated by works from some of Australia’s most celebrated puppet companies. The opening night party (Friday 5 September), will be a roaring good time, with performances from glorious First Nations drag artists Cerulean and Stone Motherless Cold.
Take a seat at Civic Square and experience Tarutharu – The Kaurna Skink, the 27-metre luminous puppet. This collaborative artwork, representing the Kaurna Peoples, is the creation of Elizabeth Close Arts (Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara) and Jack Buckskin (Kaurna and Nurungga), developed with Darebin-based puppet company A Blanck Canvas.
The project translates and interprets a traditionally oral history, thanks to Jack Buckskin’s close collaboration with Kaurna Elders: a tale rendered in artwork by acclaimed Contemporary Aboriginal visual artist Elizabeth Close and brought to life by puppeteers A Blanck Canvas.
Visitors can then walk through to the main hall and step into a giant Cochlea by Snuff Puppets, a colossal sculptural body part that shares the experiences of trans and gender-diverse people. Inside the 15-metre Cochlea, real, uplifting and poignant stories of trans, non-binary and gender diverse individuals are shared, at a time when we need more than ever to celebrate the diversity of human experience.
Rock-A-Bye-Baby featuring Wrong Way Up
Darebin Arts Centre Grevillea Room: Thursday 4 September
Co-presented by PBS 107.6FM, this kid-friendly music event will feature a live performance from Afro-disco-psychedelic-boogie duo Wrong Way Up. A kid-friendly show that is for the parents as much as the kids.
A Night Under the Stars with Watty Thompson and Friends
Darebin Arts Centre Theatre: Saturday 6 September
A Night Under the Stars with Watty Thompson and Friends sees the acclaimed storyteller embrace his extensive musical family to recreate a bush side campfire under the stars. A night of uplifting music and deep community spirit, Watty and friends will deliver positive vibrations with music from Watty’s acclaimed debut album, along with recent singles and exclusive glimpses of new music from his awaited follow up.
FUSE Films
Thornbury Picture House: 2 & 10 September
FUSE Films presents six FREE curated film sessions over two days at Thornbury Picture House as part of Darebin FUSE Festival. The program features a diverse selection of films designed to engage a broad audience, celebrating Indigenous voices, multicultural narratives, and family friendly films.
The program includes Mani Ratnam’s Bombay, an Indian Tamil-language bilingual musical-romantic drama; Ang Lee’s Mandarin-language, wuxia martial arts cult classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Robert Connolly’s Australian children’s drama Paper Planes; and a special screening of First Nations films featuring a work by local resident and Ngarabal filmmaker Isaac Winzer (who will speak at the event) and WINHANGANHA by Wiradjuri multidisciplinary artist and poet Jazz Money.
En Masse
Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre (outside): 4 – 10 September
En Masse is a life-sized projection installation featuring the award-winning Rawcus Ensemble. Made in collaboration with First Nations choreographer Amelia J O’Leary (Gamilaroi and Yinarr) and videographer Michael Carmody, En Masse explores the tension between being an individual and being part of a group. Supported by the FUSE Fund.
Enki
Bar 303, Northcote: Saturday 6 September
A fusion of jazz, electronics, Iranian folk music and the sounds of Darebin, Enki is a unique trio of electronic violin, saxophone and percussion that blends Iranian melody and rhythm, jazz harmony and improvisation and electronic field recordings. With Omid Shayan, Jackson Fumberger and Mandy Goldsworthy. Supported by the FUSE Fund.
Darebin FUSE Festival runs 31 August – 14 September 2025. For more information and full program, visit: www.arts.darebin.vic.gov.au for details.
Image: Tarutharu – The Kaurna Skink – photo by Topbunk Pty Ltd