Brisbane Festival’s theme this September is “Brightly Brisbane”, after new Artistic Director Louise Bezzina named her first festival last year “Boldly Brisbane” – since it was one of the few festivals in the world able to proceed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a wonderful festival last year but extremely challenging to not have massive gatherings or invite people to really come together,” Bezzina tells Limelight.

“We’re still living and breathing with the pandemic, but the great thing is we can come back together again in a really bright, shimmery way, with a sense of celebration.”

Sky Castle, Brisbane Festival, 2021. Image © Zhu Rui

Over 23 days, Brisbane Festival will premiere 18 new works, deliver 130 productions – 18 of which are First Nations-led – and present events in 222 locations across the city. The spine of the city is the Brisbane River, and thus the festival has created an “art boat” in 2021, as a blank canvas and a new way of experiencing visual art: a large barge that will transport visitors from Northshore Brisbane to South Bank and back each...