Opening Weekend FUSE Festival 2025

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 held 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.

Also check out other Parties in Melbourne, Performances in Melbourne, Festivals in Melbourne.