Midsumma Festival 2025 Launches For A Summer of Collective Identity(s)

Midsumma, Australia’s premier LGBTQIA+ Arts Organisation has announced the 2025 festival program. This Summer Midsumma will present a jam-packed calendar with about 200 events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community across Naarm/Melbourne and regional Victoria. The State will come alive with theatre, music, visual arts, cabaret, public forums and more, celebrating the festival theme COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S).

This year’s theme invites audiences to reflect on how we can foster true connection across all diverse LGBTQIA+ communities and intersections. COLLECTIVE IDENTITY(S) includes all ages, identities, cultures, faiths, geographical locations, and disabilities in an age marked by digital overload, fleeting interactions and emotional separation.

“At Midsumma Festival 2025, we invite our communities to ‘call people in together’ rather than call them out,” said Karen Bryant, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Midsumma Festival. “This is a celebration of diversity, creativity, and collective strength, reminding us of the power of shared stories and experiences regardless of difference. Together, we can dance with many diverse bodies, sing with many diverse voices, and hold space for us all.”

The 2025 festival will include the 30-year celebration of the iconic Pride March in Victoria – a landmark moment in the history of LGBTQIA+ arts and culture. The historical moment is a testament to three decades of resilience, unity, and collective progress. The event will be held on Sunday 2 February as thousands will march through the streets of St Kilda in a sea of colour and pride honouring a shared history and vision of equality and inclusion.

Midsumma signature events will return in 2025. These key events include Midsumma Carnival and Victoria’s Pride with a Street Party and the Regional Activation Program, both in partnership with the Victorian State Government. Midsumma Carnival will present a free, all-day celebration at Alexandra Gardens on Sunday 19 January while Victoria’s Pride Street Party will transform Fitzroy’s Gertrude and Smith Street Precinct into a dynamic celebration of queer arts and culture on Sunday 9 February. 

The partnership will also proudly present the Regional Activation Program with 14 new regionally commissioned projects. Castlemaine, Beechworth and Mildura kicked off the program this November with more works to be presented in Horsham, Bendigo, Goulburn Valley, Geelong, Wangaratta, Murray River, Warragul, Warrnambool and Indigo Shire. These activations will bring vibrant performances, exhibitions, and storytelling to regional communities, ensuring that the spirit of Midsumma resonates statewide whilst amplifying diverse voices. 

Program highlights include the Olivier Award-nominated play Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen presented at Arts Centre Melbourne, Thirty-Six, at fortyfivedownstairs by Bullet Heart Club and directed by Kitan Petkovski, Truth to Power Café the international award-winning performance combining film, poetry and music at Theatre Works, A Body at Work, Frankie Van Kan’sintimate theatrical exploration of queer sex work, motherhood, and creative self-expression at Theatre Works and Small Acts of Resistance, Women’s Circus returning with a new work at Gasworks Arts Park. 

Part of Midsumma Presents, the Queer Imaginings program invites audiences to share space, food, music, and ideas with intergenerational artists and creative leaders through six dynamic projects. Highlights include HONŌUR, a sunset celebration at Fed Square developed with BEAT Entertainment that honors Queer POC Elders through music, storytelling, and visual performance in a ceremony of love and recognition; An Uncertain Time, a sensory theatre experience for babies (0–12 months) and their carers that explores love, loss, and hope while centering rainbow families and their parenting journeys; and Midsumma Matters, a talks and ideas program co-designed by young people featuring events like A Minor Adjustment, an exploration of play and resilience for families, and A Not So Small Talk, where teenagers lead engaging conversations with community leaders. Queer Imaginings has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia.

Melbourne will come alive with the joy of Midsumma Festival from Abbotsford Convent to the NGV to the State Library Victoria to the Immigration Museum. There will be comedy, cabaret, circus arts, talks, tours, awards and more as Victoria comes together to celebrate COLLECTIVE IDENTITIE(S) through the Summer. 

“We’re proud of our commitment to nurturing LGBTQIA+ artists all year round,” said Bryant. “Midsumma is not just a festival—it’s a movement, and 2025 is set to be a milestone year for queer arts and cultural development unique to our region of the world.” 

Midsumma Festival 2025 promises to be a transformative celebration of storytelling, creativity, and community. Join Midsumma Festival 2025 from 19 January to 9 February 2025, for an unforgettable journey of connection and collective strength.

To post a comment, you must register and login.