Entertainment
2 August, 2026
Women’s local festival
THE WOW – Women of the World Festival will return to Cairns in September, marking the first time the organisation has brought the festival back to the same city after its inaugural local event in 2022.
The return was previewed with the opening of the ‘In Her Name’ exhibition at NorthSite Contemporary Arts last Saturday, where organisers also unveiled the first details of the 2026 festival. The exhibition celebrates the contributions of women and girls across Queensland and includes portraits of 10 Cairns women nominated by their community following the 2022 festival.
WOW Australia executive producer Joanne Pratt (right) said the festival was part of a global movement that began at London’s Southbank Centre more than 15 years ago before expanding to Australia in 2013.
“Cairns in 2022 was the first one up here, and this is the second,” Ms Pratt said.
She said the festival differs from traditional events because the program is developed with the community rather than brought in from elsewhere.
“So basically, the process is very different from what I guess is any other sort of festival model, where you come with a product and you sell tickets,” she said. “We spend nine months in the community. I do lots of visits. We talk to as many women, men and girls as possible about the gender-related issues that are important to them, and who they want to celebrate in their community.
“Basically, everything you’ll see in the program in September has come out of those conversations.”
Ms Pratt said the In Her Name exhibition had grown from the festival, with local photographers commissioned in each host community to capture portraits of community-nominated women and non-binary people.
She said there were 10 portraits of Cairns women nominated after the 2022 exhibition to join the touring exhibition.
