After the triumphant exposure of Noongar culture and artistry at Perth Festival from 2020-2024, a new initiative to lure more Indigenous audiences to Australia's longest-running cultural festival has been beefed up for the 2026 event that launched Thursday and runs until March 1.

Iain Grandage's transformative tenure as artistic director during that period celebrated and continued the evolution of Noongar culture, while his replacement Anne Reece has continued the artistic momentum, while aspiring for more Indigenous audiences at the month-long event.

In 2026 the Festival has expanded its Mob Tix initiative across the entire 2026 program, offering $25 tickets to Indigenous festival-goers to boost access and inclusion.

Perth Festival tickets via Mob Tix are now available online.

The initiative was trialled last year after similar success at interstate festivals and developed in consultation with First Nations artists and staff working behind the scenes.

Perth Festival artistic associate Chloe Ogilvie, a Yamaji Nanda woman from the Kalbarri and Murchison River region, said Mob Tix was designed to address financial barriers that often prevent some First Nations audiences from engaging with big-scale festivals.

"Art festivals especially can be expensive, and even when cultural safety and representation are embedded in the program, cost can still be a real barrier," she said. "Mob Tix was about tackling that in a practical way."

Unlike many discount schemes, Mob Tix does not require proof of identity, special codes or private registration. Tickets are available directly through the Perth Festival website, with an allocation for each event. While some venue restrictions apply - such as seating sections at His Majesty's Theatre - the $25 tickets are available across the full program.

Ms Ogilvie said last year's trial was a moderate success but the 2026 Festival-wide expansion was proving fruitful already.

"There's definitely been a much stronger uptake this year," Ms Ogilvie said.

"Shows like Baker Boy and King Stingray have seen really strong engagement, which is great to see."

Promoting Mob Tix was a challenge, with success often relying on word-of-mouth within communities.

"It's actually quite hard to explain what it is and how to access it," Ms Ogilvie said.

"You kind of hope that people start talking about it and it catches on."

Alongside ticketed events, much of the festival's First Nations programming this year is free, outdoor and publicly accessible.

Highlights include Nitja, a free concert presented with the City of Melville at Point Walter, featuring First Nations music, dance and storytelling, and Returns, a large-scale sculpture trail along the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) and Djarlgarro Beelier (Canning River), running nightly.

The Baker Boy concert at East Perth Power Station will also bring together First Nations artists from Australia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand in what organisers describe as a major cultural takeover of the site.

The expansion of Mob Tix builds on work done in previous Festival eras to promote Noongar artistry, but now leans focus on audience access as well as artistic representation.

"If you build it, they will come has been the attitude in the past," Ms Ogilvie said.

"Now it's about making sure the people whose culture and stories are being shared can actually be there to experience it."

They encouraged First Nations audiences to explore the entire program, whether through Mob Tix events or the Festival's extensive free offerings.

"It's all open, it's all free, and it's there for mob," they said. "Come and play, come and see some things."

5 First Nations events to see at Perth Festival 2026

Boorloo Contemporary returns for its second year, transforming the East Perth Power Station with new commissions and solo exhibitions by First Nations artists.

Lance Chadd Tjyllyungoo will turn the building's industrial façade into a large-scale canvas, weaving Noongar spiritual stories into depictions of Country, alongside Kait James' colourful pennant flags critiquing Australian stereotypes.

Karla Bidi returns in 2026, illuminating the Derbarl Yerrigan/Swan River with a large-scale light and sound installation inspired by Noongar fire traditions.

The BhuMeJha Project offers an immersive evening of First Nations ceremony, song, dance and storytelling in the Perth Hills.

Nitja is a free riverfront community event at Point Walter, featuring live music, storytelling, dance and projected animation.