RMIT University is proudly a Major Partner of Midsumma Festival, with the partnership secured through to 2028. This multiyear partnership reflects RMIT's longstanding commitment to supporting LGBTIQA+ communities, by increasing visibility, championing change, uplifting LGBTIQA+ voices and celebrating queer creativity. The 2026 festival runs from 18 January to 8 February.
As a Major Partner, RMIT will play a significant and ongoing role in supporting Midsumma’s expansive program, while nurturing the next generation of creative LGBTIQA+ talent from within our RMIT community.
Find out how to get involved, connect with community, and be part of the celebration at Midsumma Festival 2026.
The 2026 theme, Time & Place, invites reflection on lived experience, histories and our shared future. It celebrates connection to land and culture and highlights the spaces where queer communities come together.
Midsumma is Australia’s leading queer arts and culture festival. Across 22 days from 18 January to 8 February 2026, this year’s program spans exhibitions, theatre, cabaret, comedy, live music, parties, talks and community events. It also includes free outdoor celebrations such as the Midsumma Carnival, the annual Pride March and Victoria’s Pride Street part, along with all-ages activities across Melbourne and regional Victoria, showcasing the breadth of queer creativity.
Grab a picnic blanket, friends & sunscreen and come down to the banks of the Yarra river for this day of free music, performances and fun. Pop in and say hello at the RMIT Stall, we’ll be there with some student created creative activations and talking to people about RMIT.
Come together, meet new friends and amplify the power of community and culture at the 30th anniversary of Midsumma Pride March.
Isabella Capezio discusses the public art commission, including their inspirations, artistic processes and thematic concerns and engagements.
Join Isabella Capezio for an experimental collage and zine making workshop! Open to all ages and abilities, no prior experience required.
Drawing inspiration from historic techniques and contemporary materials, you will experiment with physical and digital collage and manipulation. Through guidance working collaboratively, you can use the process of collage to work through ideas, find new links and associations to find and express meaning.
The Idea Gallery wall will feature works from queer students about their queer experiences and creative expression.
RMIT is proud to be a major partner of the Midsumma Festival through to 2028. This partnership strengthens RMIT’s presence across the festival, with prominent visibility and activations at key events such as Carnival and Pride March. It also creates opportunities for staff, students and the broader community to collaborate creatively in areas including design, visual arts, fashion, media and events. By fostering these connections, the partnership deepens community engagement and reinforces RMIT’s commitment to an inclusive and welcoming culture.
Inclusion is central to RMIT’s values. Partnerships like Midsumma help make our campus and city more welcoming, visible and creative. This work supports our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Framework, which sets our goal of being inclusive by design across the University. RMIT is recognised on the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion, and the partnership supports practical opportunities for students and the community.
When you attend RMIT official events or activities you may be photographed or recorded. By attending the event, you agree to RMIT's Terms.
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures
