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Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Carriageworks · Eveleigh

Event Info + Purchase Ticketswhatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
🗓️Mon 24 Aug · +6 more dates
🎟️From $210
Talks & ideasFestivalsFilm

Dates & times

Mon 24 Aug · 12am – 11:59pm
Tue 25 Aug · 12am – 11:59pm
Wed 26 Aug · 12am – 11:59pm
Thu 27 Aug · 12am – 11:59pm
Fri 28 Aug · 12am – 11:59pm
and 2 more

About

Hatred. Belonging. Nationhood. Conspiracy. Morality. Faith. Evil. Pluralism.

Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2026 explodes across 10 days and more Sydney venues than ever — with talks that don't let you off the hook, world-premiere commissioned artworks, taboo films with scholar introductions, and exclusive behind-the-scenes excursions into Sydney's most restricted cultural spaces.

The main Festival weekend lands 22–23 August at Carriageworks, Eveleigh, with the film program and excursions extending across Sydney's major cultural institutions citywide — from the State Library's underground stacks after dark to the ABC's archive cool rooms.

Join us for opening night on 21 August for Tim Minchin: Coward, where the Australian composer, comedian and writer examines his career, tests the consistency of his ideas and is honest about where he fell short.

The Festival line-up includes Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa [PHI], journalist Cory Doctorow [CAN], playwright John Cameron Mitchell [USA], Stan Grant, Hannah Diviney, Richard Flanagan, Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina [RUS] and many more — each with a dangerous idea worth your time.

Tickets are selling fast. Explore the full program now.

Festival of Dangerous Ideas is presented by The Ethics Centre, supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and by Principal Partner JobLink Plus.

Tim Minchin presents the 2026 John Caldon Provocation.

Getting there

Carriageworks, Eveleigh

Directions ↗

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