After ten years of presenting new work, supporting emerging artists and building a unique community around new ideas, Scene + Heard: The Festival of New Work will not take place in 2027.

This is a decision we have not taken lightly. Scene + Heard has always been committed to giving artists the time, care and support they need to develop and present their work. Following a period of careful consideration around the support and resources required to deliver the 2027 festival, we have made the decision that, with the funds and time currently available to us, it would not be possible to deliver the festival to the standard that our artists, audiences and partners have come to expect. And we don't want to compromise that. After ten years, Scene + Heard means too much to too many people to simply try to squeeze a festival into an impossible timeframe with a limited budget. 

Since 2016, Scene + Heard has supported thousands of artists and helped bring more than 1,000 new works to 80,000+ audience members. The festival has become an important platform for artists at the beginning of their show development — a place to take risks, test ideas, find audiences, meet collaborators and make connections.

We are incredibly proud of what has been built. And while we are disappointed that there won't be a festival in 2027, this is not the end of Scene + Heard. We are taking the time now to look at what the next chapter can be — how we can continue to support artists, develop new work, build opportunities and bring the Scene + Heard spirit to even more people and places. There is a lot to work on, and a lot to look forward to. We will have more to share soon. 

In the meantime, we want to thank every artist, ally, audience member, volunteer, partner, venue, funder and friend who has been part of Scene + Heard over the past ten years.

This isn't goodbye. Stay tuned.