Bridge project points to the future of arts festivals

Perth Now

11-06-2025

Global art and design duo Craig & Karl are returning to their hometown for the Brisbane Festival, transforming three of the city's bridges with their colourful palette.
Craig Redman and Karl Maier will design artworks for Brisbane's Neville Bonner, Goodwill, and Kangaroo Point bridges as part of a project titled ANZ's Walk This Way.
With naming rights granted to a big four bank, it is one of several attractions on the 2025 slate with prominent corporate backing - another is a fireworks display marking the opening weekend, titled Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust.
It's part of artistic director Louise Bezzina's sixth and final festival, which features a slate of more than 1000 performances.
Of those, 475 are free to the public, even as production costs continue to increase.
With the hunt for the next artistic director underway, Bezzina says corporate support is vital to the future of the festival, along with philanthropic and government backing.
"I don't feel like there's any artistic compromise," she said.
"In fact without it, it simply wouldn't be possible to deliver a program of this scale, and particularly with the amount of free programming."
Corporate partnerships are on brand for Craig & Karl, who are these days based in New York and London, and have worked with companies such as Nike, Apple, Google, Vogue, and LVMH.
The duo is also presenting a citywide art trail and an exhibition at the Griffith University Art Museum.
Over 23 days, the Brisbane Festival will feature the work of 2260 artists.
At the launch of the program on Wednesday, burlesque performer Bettie Bombshell played with fire in a preview of cabaret show Gatsby at the Green Light.
There was also a sneak peek at The Lovers, a pop-music reinterpretation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Brisbane company Shake & Stir's artistic director Nick Skubij.
On the dance slate, renowned French choreographer Benjamin Millepied is staging three works with LA Dance Project, the triptych Gems, commissioned by luxury brand Van Cleef & Arpels.
Bangarra Dance Theatre founder Stephen Page also returns to his hometown with Baleen Moondjan, which will be staged on a barge on the Brisbane River among a set of giant whalebones.
Free offerings also include the mass attractions of a drone display titled Skylore, and a trail of candlelit artworks at the City Botanic Gardens.
Yet in the background, Australian cultural festivals are being staged in an increasingly politicised environment, according to Bezzina.
"Art is inherently political and it's a really difficult and challenging area to navigate," she said.
"I don't have any answers for you, but I hope we can lean into a more compassionate place, that allows us to navigate through this really tumultuous time."
Brisbane Festival runs from September 5-27, with tickets on sale from Wednesday.