Meet Artistic Director Anna Reece
'A Festival of truth tellers, mischief makers, sand dunes and salty air.'
I am beyond excited to take you on a journey that only an international arts festival on Noongar Boodjar can.
Over the next four years you will have experiences that could only be found here, in this place of ancient cultures, big skies, vast horizons and endless possibility.
This is a festival of surprise and delight. We will take risks, push boundaries and strive to reflect this wonderful and complicated world we live in together. We will transform spaces and create unforgettable experiences, encouraging Western Australians to look at our city and state with pride and be reminded of its geographical beauty and cultural resonance.
Combining new work, fresh ideas, profound engagement with landscape, Indigenous culture and our place within the Indian Ocean rim, we’re re-imagining what a festival can and should be. These are lofty ambitions so we’ll also make sure to bring you plenty of unashamedly nostalgic feel-good fun.
Expect art in all its forms, from all corners of the world and from right here in Western Australia. Our eternal summer, eclectic neighbourhoods, glittering bilya and vibrant communities will come together in a crazy kaleidoscope of art. You’ll taste the salty air, feel the sand dunes under your feet, be challenged by truth tellers and play with mischief makers.
For a precious moment in time, we celebrate Western Australia in summer and welcome the world to revel in its unique delight.
West Coast, Best Coast
Anna Reece, Artistic Director 2025 – 2028
More about Anna
Born in Fremantle | Walyalup, the daughter of a historian and a children’s literature dynamo, Anna is a self-confessed festival animal, raised in the festival playgrounds of Australia.
A motivated, fearless and innovative individual, Anna proudly represents the future of the arts in Australia: part of a new wave of creative thinkers and risk-takers. She is engaged, ambitious, embedded in community, committed to best practice and strongly connected to First Nations voices both here on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar and across the country.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Art in Production from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She is a member of the Atelier European Festivals Association alumni, a recipient of the Chief Executive Women Australia Scholarship for Emerging Leaders and is a graduate of the Australia Council for the Arts Leadership Program.
Her previous roles include Executive Producer at Perth Festival, Executive Producer of The Giants and Co-CEO of Darwin Festival.
As Executive Producer at Perth Festival, Anna played a key role in nurturing its artistic vision and creating the strategy for its implementation since joining the Festival in 2014 to produce Perth’s most successful and memorable event The Giants in 2015. Upon her departure in 2021 she had overseen the artistic and operational delivery of seven festivals, including the production of unique large-scale public events Home, Boorna Waanginy, Siren Song and Highway to Hell.
One of her most significant achievements was implementing Perth Festival’s unrivalled Connect program which works with communities, artists, teachers and organisations to contribute to a flourishing local cultural sector, for which she is a passionate advocate.
Darwin Festival was forever changed due to Anna’s creative leadership. As Co-CEO she was instrumental in developing the iconic Lighthouse venue and Festival Park – the Festival hub that transforms the city centre each dry season.
Anna has a notable track record for commissioning Western Australian works and is a highly skilled producer, most recently delivering Buŋgul, the spectacular celebration of Yolŋu culture and Gurrumul Yunupingu.
Banner image: Duncan Wright