Make/shift Festival 2026

4th to 18th September

A two-week festival of future-making in and around Walyalup Fremantle.

A diverse public program of 20 events across two weeks featuring workshops, screenings, time travel, immersive theatre, a curated exhibition, a storytelling night, a pub quiz, and more - all offering a taste of the futures we could make together.

Make/shift Festival 2026 included:

Talking Shift, our large-scale public conversation series inviting our brightest minds to help us tackle taking some of the biggest questions of our times: Can ordinary people save democracy? How much AI do we really want? And is the answer to tough times taking back the economy?

The Make/shift Summit as the festival’s grand finale: more than 150 people at the Fremantle Town Hall for a one-day assembly on future-making strategy and practice, featuring Katherine Trebeck, Jon Alexander, Indy Johar, Erinch Sahan, Michael Woodley, and Max Barton.

20 events over two weeks.

More than 50 speakers and facilitators.

30 partner organisations and 60 volunteers.

Over 1,000 tickets sold.

Countless new conversations and connections.

One festival about the futures we really want.

Here’s what it looked like

Not satisfied to wait for someone else’s answers, Make/shift invited ordinary people to grapple with some big questions about where we’re headed. Can ordinary people save democracy? How much AI do we really want? How will we live together in hotter, denser cities? Can we build an economy that works for everyone? What’s art for, and can it guide us towards better futures? How do we live well in difficult times?

We don’t have the answers, but we firmly believe that everyone should have a say in responding to questions like these. Make/shift made space for people to learn, imagine, and take action together in more creative and ambitious ways.

Opening up conversations

We wanted Make/shift to connect big ideas with things people could actually do. So we deliberately partnered with organisations already working on the ground - bringing their practical experience into the festival and creating opportunities for people to get involved.

Across the program, people didn't just talk about ideas - we supported them to develop change strategies, plan the next stage of their work, and find ways to bring big ideas to life in their own lives and communities.

Combining exciting formats

Make/shift deliberately used a wide range of formats: conversations, workshops, games, simulations, screenings, performances, storytelling, creative making, and hands-on experiments. That diversity was part of the strategy.

Creative experiences can open up possibilities that ordinary discussion can't, while practical formats let us rehearse new ways of deciding, collaborating, and acting. We need both: ways to imagine futures that feel genuinely different, and ways to start figuring out how we might get there.

Unlocking people’s agency

The shifts we made

Make/shift Festival was designed to help people make some big shifts in how they feel about the future, and how they see their role in making it.

Clarity might be too much to promise in fast-moving and confusing times, and we won’t ever have a full, clear picture of the challenges and what needs to be done. But we wanted to move you towards resolve: just enough clarity to take action together.
It’s beyond time to let go of the naive hope that we can keep everything running as it is now - but the doom spiral doesn’t help either. We were looking for a grittier hope, grounded in our belief that more just, sustainable, joyful futures are possible even in challenging times.
We quite literally can’t do any of this alone. We hope you left Make/shift with new connections not just to specific people you can pick up the phone to or collaborate with, but also to a shared identity: you’re one of the make/shifters now.
All these big ideas are no good to anyone if they remain just ideas. Make/shift was designed help you to take your future-making practice to the next level in your own contexts and communities, giving you a real sense of the work to be done next and your place in it.

88

Net Promoter Score (almost all would strongly recommend Make/shift to a friend.)

96%

Say the festival left them feeling more connected.

61%

Feel clearly more confident in what they can contribute.

What shifted for people?

“There are so many people doing good things, having great ideas and finding innovative ways to create change. I sensed a lot of hope across the event, which felt really important: it's exactly what I need right now, and I suspect many of us do too.”
“I'm not alone! There's so many amazing things happening already in the emergent space. There is hope we'll be ok!”
“There’s a need for ongoing connection and collaboration without judgment. We are each coming from different backgrounds, ideas, and levels of knowledge around different topics. We need to listen without judgment and share generously."
"I have more influence than I thought."
"We need to think creatively about how to deepen our sense of 'democracy'. Our culture tends to diminish it to elections, rather than incorporating deliberative, direct and/or participative democracy."
“What became clearer was the importance of storytelling, the power of re-mything."
"We need to become more literate and articulate about what to 'call' for in relation to laws and regulation."
"It gave me a renewed sense of community and possibility: a reminder that we're not doing this alone, and that change is possible when people come together."
"It doesn't have to be big. Start with little seeds of change."
"It was inspiring to see so much passion, and willingness to lean into the wonky unknown and still keep showing up."
"I loved the one-on-one conversations and the plethora of events that showcase what's possible."
"Being human is what connects us all (regardless of opinions). We can connect with people, even if they are completely unaligned with our opinion, on a human level."
"We've done this before, and we can do this again."
"It felt like I'd found home. People wanting to engage in real, thoughtful dialogue; who want to wonder together, rather than to be right."
"Setting aside time to branch off and talk to other attendees about their thoughts and ideas was a really beautiful way to help encourage forming connections with strangers - especially as someone who attended the event alone."
“It was such a refreshing, activating, and fulfilling feeling to be surrounded by people who care, are curious, and are actively creating possibility together."
"I feel less of an imposter in conversations on topics I am not a technical expert in."
"Hopelessness is something I let go of. Because new things will come, and some of them will be good."
“I think I need to be a little more interested in who makes decisions on my behalf. I am not a political person, but I do care about the world we leave to our children."
"I'm not sure we can know what changes we need, as our thinking is limited by our histories. We can, however, be in warm relationship and feel our way along together."
"Be brave - makeshift is good enough."
"I want to talk about what I've heard with people in my life who wouldn't have ever attended the event. But I also am feeling the need to connect with other people who went to the event to talk about ideas and what kind of collaboration or action might be possible..."
“I want to do something small, invite a neighbour over for coffee, progress that relationship from a wave and kerbside chat.”
“I’m going to keep thinking, researching, reaching out; distil ideas; map a plan for action; take a leap.”
“I’ll keep attending events and reaching out to people; learning and thinking. I want to make something happen, I'm just not sure what it is yet.”
"Thank you for Make/shift. It's great, timely, important, relevant, engaging, really well-considered and framed. It has a personality that resonates - smart; reflective; grounded; engaging; welcoming."
"I came to three events and all were exceptional - deeply thought provoking, thoughtfully designed, and inspiring. Thank you for all that you have done to make this nourishing festival happen - it is needed."

What’s next?

We hope to bring Make/shift back in the next few years - and we’ve got a whole lot of great ideas for other projects between now and then, so watch this space.

More importantly, though… what’s next for you? What did Make/shift spark for you, and where are you going to take it?

Maybe you’ll kick off a new collaboration. Revise a strategy. Start a new project, community event, or for-purpose business. Quit your job and rethink your life. Whatever it is, the real mark of success for us is that you feel empowered to take action in your life, work, and community. Consider this your permission slip, in case you need it: you have our go-ahead to get out there and start making better futures. Let us know how you get on.