This month, step inside buildings rarely open to the public in Hobart and Sydney, and visit the work of designers, artists and makers at exhibitions in Canberra and Melbourne.
Bolaji Teniola’s ‘Daedalus’ series.
This month opens up with one of Australia’s most loved annual cultural events set to return on Sunday 1 November.
Sydney Open invites visitors to step behind the scenes and discover the rich history, fascinating stories, and world-leading contemporary design that mould the city.
Rare access is offered to over 40 spaces that are not usually open to the public, from iconic landmarks and treasured heritage sites to award-winning contemporary buildings, bold new developments and hidden gems.
2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival
The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival will celebrate the city’s creativity within design from 5 to 15 November.
Showcasing the work of over 500 artists, makers, designers and performers, the festival will explore how design and creative practice can question and reshape the world around us, presenting work that engages with environmental and social impact, sustainability, wellbeing, and accessibility.
The program entails more than 130 activations over ten days, with exhibitions continuing for a full month, bringing together events, exhibitions, markets, open studios, performances, public artworks, symposiums, talks, tours and workshops.
Open House Hobart returns this year with a fresh lineup of buildings never before seen by the public across the weekend of 7–8 November. This year’s event offers access into MONA’s underground library Phrontisterion and the “hidden spaces” under Princes Park and Alexandra Battery.
Civic buildings featured on the program include the Parliament House, the Supreme Court, Hobart Town Hall and the State Library and Archives. Historic buildings are featured alongside contemporary architecture, with the program further encompassing numerous examples of modernism.
Open House Hobart will also host walking tours, design experiences, conversations and opportunities to discover the stories and history of the spaces that shape Hobart.
JamFactory and Useful Objects are collaborating to present their inaugural exhibition “Momentum,” platforming outstanding recent design alumni in Melbourne.
Open until 28 November in Collingwood, the selected exhibitors include Em Frank, Alexandra Hirst, Melvin Josy, Tom Summers and Bolaji Teniola.
Four finalists have been named for the City of Melbourne’s 2026 City Design Award, which recognises design excellence in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.
New plans have been unveiled for the major urban renewal of Arden precinct in Melbourne’s inner north, led by a team comprising Woods Bagot, Nelson …
