About Ten Days on the Island

Ten Days on the Island exists to enrich the lives of Tasmanians by connecting people to this island and each other through extraordinary art. We believe art has the power to transform communities, strengthen identity, and create positive change.

Our biennial statewide festival presents Lutruwita/Tasmania in a global exchange of arts and culture, deeply connected to place. We commission bold new works by Tasmanian artists and bring extraordinary art from across the globe, transforming familiar and unexpected places into sites of connection and celebration. Through this work, we foster artistic innovation, empower communities, and invite Tasmanians to explore and celebrate their identity. We cultivate belonging, wellbeing, and cultural confidence across the island.

Tasdance performers in a riot of orange, red, pink and yellow costumes take over Civic Square in Launceston for BEACON at the 2025 Ten Days on the Island festival. A towering yellow swing-set installation, SWING, presides over the scene like the world's most artistic playground. A performer stands boldly on the swing seat itself, arms wide, while dancers of all ages crouch, lunge and reach skyward across the paving, some with the grace of professionals, others with the joyful commitment of people who just got swept up in it. A pink harp and musicians hold court to the left, a shipping container with SWING signage anchors the background, and heritage buildings and leafy trees frame it all under a soft Launceston dusk.
BEACON by Tasdance at SWING by Ian Pidd, Festival 2025. Photo by Nick Hanson.

A Festival Like No Other

Twenty-six years ago, Ten Days on the Island emerged as Lutruwita/Tasmania’s first international arts festival, a visionary initiative to celebrate the island’s unique culture and creative spirit. Since then, we have brought over 1.5 million audience members together, creating moments of joy, reflection, and inspiration across every corner of the state.

As Australia’s only statewide festival, Ten Days on the Island has always been about more than performances and exhibitions. It’s about the adventure, the connection to place, and the shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain falls.

Our Values

  • Globally significant. Locally grounded. We cultivate and celebrate our sense of place.
  • Collaboration is our DNA. Mutually beneficial partnerships achieve more than the sum of their parts.
  • Inclusive and joyful. We create inspiring experiences that welcome everyone.
  • Invested in people. We invest in our artists, our communities, and our island.

Looking Foward

Guided by the vision of our Artistic Director, Marnie Karmelita, and a bold new festival model focused on concentrated excellence, Ten Days on the Island is entering its next chapter. We are commissioning new works, deepening our connection to place, and ensuring that every Tasmanian can experience the transformative power of art.

Artist Nunami Sculthorpe-Green stands in a bush clearing, gently touching a strand of handmade clay discs and natural stone pieces that hang from a eucalyptus branch like the land itself decided to make jewellery. Rows of clay sculptures are carefully arranged on the leaf-littered ground below, forming part of the installation lakapawa lakaratu centring seasonality. A small audience sits cross-legged in the background, completely absorbed. Eucalyptus leaves frame the scene on the left, and soft overcast light filters through the canopy, giving the whole setting a quiet, grounded warmth.
lakapawa lakaratu centring seasonality by Nunami Sculthorpe-Green, Ten Days on the Island 2025. Photo by Loic Le Guilly.