We will be taking a break over the summer, and we hope everyone has a safe and peaceful holiday season while we are away!
This week, we had the pleasure of seeing a spectacular Lucy Culliton exhibition at the South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA) in Bega on the NSW South Coast. It’s well worth a visit if you are in the region over the summer – a very apt picture from the exhibition is included left!
Also, don’t forget to vote for the finalists in the 2025 Limelight Artists of the Year and help decide which artists stood out most for you this year. The good news is that if you vote, you will go into the draw to win one of four Gold Culture Vouchers! Voting is open until Sunday, 4 January 2026, 11:59pm AEDT.
2026
It should be a big year ahead for Giving Culture. In the new year we will be announcing a number of new partners joining our program, including one that we hope to unveil in our January update.
If you’d like more information about Giving Culture, contact us or sign up to our monthly emails at givingculture.com.au/contact. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn for other updates and posts on what’s happening at Giving Culture, and in the arts and culture scene in Australia.
Australian Theatre for Young People
Welcome to the next chapter — ATYP’s 2026 Program is here!
Next year, ATYP is bringing young voices back to its stages with four bold productions: a time-shifting tale of friendship, a national tour (and bold return to the Sydney Opera House after 17 years), a raucous world premiere, and a hit international musical reimagined for the ATYP stage.
- The Last Train to Madeline
- Saplings
- Straight Panic
- Islander
Visit the ATYP website to explore the 2026 Program and book your tickets! Check out your Culture Voucher redemption offers for ATYP here, or you can support ATYP by choosing the Donate Gold or Donate Silver option, select ‘Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP)’ from our list of partners, and click redeem.
The Australian World Orchestra
Following the resounding success of AWO’s 2025 season, Alexander Briger returns with Australia’s finest for an unforgettable 2026 program. The AWO celebrates its 15th anniversary with two 20th-century masterpieces and the world premiere of Songs for a Stranger — a song cycle inspired by the opera Eucalyptus by Jonathan Mills, featuring Australian tenor Michael Petruccelli.
Stravinsky’s Petrushka bursts with colour and vitality, its tragic puppet hero glowing through dazzling orchestration. Mills’s Songs for a Stranger fuses modern textures with emotional immediacy, evoking the Australian soundscape. Finally, Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, written in Stalin’s shadow, surges from darkness to blazing triumph.
The concerts will be held in Melbourne on 19 August and in Sydney on 20 August. Our voucher redemption offers for these concerts should be available in late January. Look out for our updates then!
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody touring to Newcastle, Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, Brisbane and Canberra from 5-18 February 2026. A dazzling musical revelation featuring Rachmaninoff’s Romantic masterpiece, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the world premiere of John Luther Adams’ Horizon.
Discover a spectacle that delivers classical music at its most romantic, and a world premiere from “One of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” (The New Yorker) Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini has had audiences in raptures for almost 100 years, having earned its status as a rich and evocative showstopper.
At once enigmatic and immersive, John Luther Adams’s music envelops you in nature. A special new work commissioned by the ACO as part of its 50th Anniversary, Horizon, is a highly anticipated premiere which explores the beauty and extremes of the Australian landscape.
There are also some fabulous 2026 subscription offers available now from the ACO for Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. Offers valid through to 31 December 2025 or until allocation is exhausted. Find out more here.
You can redeem either an ACO – Gold Voucher or ACO – Silver Voucher to put towards ACO’s Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody or 2026 subscriptions.
Sydney Film Festival
Need a Secret Santa win? For the film buff in your life, an SFF Gift Voucher or Flexipass is the ultimate holiday hack. Make it extra special and add a Premium Gift Voucher to put under the tree. Give the gift of an unforgettable cinematic experience at SFF 2026!
You can also use your Giving Culture voucher towards a 2026 Flexipass, as a Christmas gift for yourself or a loved one.
Incognito Art Show
Incognito’s 2025 show is now over, so keep an eye out for an upcoming announcement with the dates for 2026. In the meantime, you can still redeem your Culture Voucher for Incognito merch, or to donate to the organisation to help them in their 2026 efforts.
Redeem now for an Incognito Art Show – Gold Voucher or an Incognito Art Show – Silver Voucher. To donate, choose the Donate Gold or Donate Silver option, select ‘Incognito Art Show’ from our list of partners, and click redeem.