Clancestry, Queensland Performing Arts Centre's signature First Nations arts and culture festival, returns this year from 23 July to 10 August with its most ambitious program yet.

Now in its twelfth year, the festival continues to expand, featuring music, theatre, workshops and free community events across QPAC's venues.

Gamilaroi man and Head of First Nations Programming, Bradley Chatfield, said Clancestry is a celebration of connection and creativity.

"My role is to curate all of the shows and events attached to Clancestry," Mr Chatfield told National Indigenous Times.

"This year we're running for two and a half weeks, and each year it keeps growing."

He said highlights in 2025 include The Visitors by Jane Harrison, Bangarra's annual season, and Wata, a collaboration with Yolŋu songmen and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO).

Among the major events is the one-night-only performance of Electric Fields with the QSO, where traditional inma will blend with orchestral arrangements and electronic soul.

Mr Chatfield said the collaboration had been long in the making.

"We've chased QSO around the country and finally have them here with Electric Fields, which is fantastic," he said.

Electric Fields vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding, known as Z, said being part of Clancestry for the first time was deeply meaningful.

"I'm representing Electric Fields, I'm representing my state, South Australia, and I'm contributing to a beautiful moment," Z said.

"We bring our flavours and collaborate, but the spiritual and emotional connection is what makes it powerful."

Z, who sings in Yankunytjatjara, said performing with a symphony orchestra adds a new dimension to their music.

"Just hearing the emotional power of orchestral music is incredible," Z said.

"It feels like going to a retreat - grief, joy, longing - it all comes through.

"And to braid ourselves into that sound is beautiful."

Z said the performance is about more than sound, it's about presence, openness, and shared experience.

"My audience are my co-workers," Z said.

"We're made from the same fabric.

"That breath, that feeling in a live show, that's where I feel most free."

Mr Chatfield said Clancestry isn't just about headline shows.

"We've got our Mob Music Stage out on Melbourne Street Green with four free artists a night, and children's activities on the weekend," he said.

He added that QPAC offers discounted tickets for mob and aims to make the festival accessible.

"We do it for mob, and anyone else who comes is a bonus," he said.

Z said the festival is a reminder that the culture was always there.

"Brisbane already had a foundation. What's happening now is a channel to acknowledge that," he said.

He hopes audiences come with open hearts.

"Don't limit yourself. Let the space do its thing, and then build on it for the next one."

Mr Chatfield said the long-term goal is for Clancestry to remain a permanent fixture leading into the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

"We're already doing the work so if Clancestry becomes part of the cultural Olympiad, we'll be in a strong place," he said.

Clancestry will run from 23 July to 10 August 2025 across various venues at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.