Museums mark 50 years of NAIDOC Week with nationwide program of events, July 2026
Museums across Australia are marking NAIDOC Week 2026 with a diverse program of exhibitions, workshops, tours and community events celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, culture and resilience.
Held from 5–12 July, this year’s theme, “50 Years of Deadly,” commemorates half a century of NAIDOC Week.
NEW SOUTH WALES
The Australian National Maritime Museum hosted a free community open day on Sunday 5 July with performances from Marra-Wanggan Dance Group, workshops from Dunghutti/Gomeroi artist Nioka Lowe-Brenna and Dunghutti Biripi artist and educator Wanita Lowe. The Australian Museum‘s Waranara Tours are running every day at 1pm between the 5-12 July, also visit the First Nations Gallery to experience a monumental collaborative artwork celebrating stone fish traps, sea knowledge and living culture from the Wellesley Islands – Ngurruwarra/Derndernyin.
Museums of History NSW will present a series of First Nations-led events across several historic sites throughout July. Highlights include a ceramics workshop with Wailwan artist Kevin “Sooty” Welsh at the Western Sydney Records Centre, children’s illustration workshops with First Nations illustrator Jade Goodwin at Hyde Park Barracks, the family-focused Dharug Day Out at Rouse Hill Estate in partnership with Muru Mittigar Cultural Centre, and a weaving workshop led by Malima, a family business from the La Perouse Aboriginal community, at Vaucluse House.
VICTORIA
Melbourne Museum celebrated the commencement of NAIDOC Week with Welcome to Country on the Museum Plaza, market stalls, performance, and family activities on the 5 July alongside daily exhibitions and displays during the week at the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, while ACMI is presenting NAIDOC 2026: 50 Years of Deadly through film, micro-talks and a beautiful moving image artwork celebrating the water, land and sky from First Nations artist Mick Harding.
ACT
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House is highlighting First Nations experiences of democracy through guided tours and hear stories of how First Nations Australians have created change, while the National Museum of Australia is presenting a week of family-friendly activities celebrating NAIDOC Week with Yorta Yorta artist Dr Jandamarra Cadd, and the From Little Things, Big Things GROW multimedia exhibition.
Questacon will be inviting visitors to learn more about the significance of the special ochre plant to First Nations communities.
TASMANIA
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is offering a special cartooning workshop with Tony Thorne.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Perth’s Scitech is exploring Indigenous knowledge through its Djinda Kaatijin program.
At WA Museum Boola Bardip, visitors can join an Aboriginal Tour of the Museum, watch Nyumbi (a free dance performance), or bring kids along to Aboriginal Storytime. WA Maritime Museum hosts a Family Fun Day featuring a theatrical performance from Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, stick doll workshops with artist Geri Hayden, and craft activities including friendship bracelets, yarn turtles and Aboriginal flag thaumatropes.
Celebrations for NAIDOC Week 2026 continues across the WA Museum’s regional sites at the Museum of Geraldton marks the opening of Cosmic Echoes: A Shared Sky Indigenous Art Exhibition with workshops by Wajarri Yamaji artists. Museum of the Goldfields celebrates Fifty Years of Deadly with drop-in activities, Bush Secrets: Exploring Bush Food and Medicine, and a talk by Sue Hanson on First Nations language revitalisation. Museum of the Great Southern, alongside its new exhibition Kalyagul: Connections to Menang Country, offers Sea Country-inspired crafts like dot painting and rainmaker-making.
NORTHEN TERRITORY
Join Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory with Wakka Wakka, Butchulla, Gurang Gurang artist, educator and 2026 Telstra NATSIAA Curator, Dr Shannon Brett, for an insightful lecture about the history of National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observances Committee (NAIDOC) on 5 July.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The South Australian Museum is marking the milestone with its free exhibition, 50 Years Deadly, featuring every official NAIDOC Week poster produced since 1975. Visitors can also participate in a range of complementary activities, including: Posters and Power, a school holiday workshop for teenagers exploring the history of political posters and social action in partnership with the Centre of Democracy, NAIDOC Chatterbox, a free drop-in activity for school-aged children, the Museum’s Family Learning Area, offering storytelling, music, dance and First Nations educational resources. The Museum has also partnered with the Women’s and Children’s Hospital to present a video installation featuring Aboriginal voices reflecting on what NAIDOC Week and the “50 Years Deadly” milestone means to them.
QUEENSLAND
The Queensland Museum network is delivering programs across multiple sites. At Queensland Museum Kurilpa in Brisbane, visitors can experience immersive First Nations sensory tours led by First Nations Project Officer Erin Healey. The museum is also launching Hearth, a new exhibition by inaugural First Nations Fellow Cheryl Leavy, which combines poetry and film to reconnect language, memory and Country.
In Townsville, Queensland Museum Tropics will host Deadly Day Out in partnership with Wulgurukaba Walkabouts, meanwhile, Queensland Museum Cobb+Co in Toowoomba will once again present its popular school program, Have Another Look Captain Cook!, inviting students to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives through storytelling, demonstrations and interactive cultural activities.
For more information on NAIDOC week visit: https://www.naidoc.org.au