Gold Coast’s premier arts festival has a spring in its step
The Gold Coast’s BLEACH* arts and culture festival has a new artistic director and a new time slot in spring.
BLEACH* – the Gold Coast’s annual flagship celebration of contemporary arts and culture – has revealed its highly anticipated 2026 dates and will welcome a new artistic director.
For the first time, BLEACH* will take place in October, running October 1 to 11, moving from its previous winter dates to embrace the Gold Coast’s vibrant spring energy.
The much-loved festival has also announced Felix Preval as its new artistic director, who is promising to deliver a fresh take on the long-running festival to go with its seasonal change.
With longer days and balmy nights, October provides the perfect backdrop for a program brimming with performance, music, dance and spectacle for a true spring awakening for the city. The festival will capture the feeling of spring by inviting audiences to step outside, explore and be surprised.
Felix Preval brings two decades of experience in the performing arts to his new role as director, creative programming at HOTA and incoming artistic director of BLEACH*. Internationally recognised as a festival director, programmer, producer and arts leader, Preval was the artistic director of Darwin Festival from 2017 to 2022, festival producer at Melbourne Fringe from 2012 to 2016 and most recently spent two years as senior international advisor for Creative New Zealand.
With a background in theatre as an actor, writer and director, he is passionate about theatre, music, dance and contemporary performance. His career has been driven by a desire to bring world-class performance to eager audiences while supporting and celebrating local creatives and their communities.
“BLEACH* has always been a place where art, music and community meet in bold, beautiful and unexpected ways,” Preval says. “I’m excited to lead BLEACH* into its next chapter as artistic director.
“Over the festival’s 15-year history it has evolved into an iconic annual celebration of contemporary arts and performance for the Gold Coast, with growing national attention. As BLEACH* undergoes a spring awakening, audiences can anticipate a festival program bursting with bold and innovative works that celebrate the spirit of the Gold Coast – young, playful and ready to bloom.”
BLEACH* will feature a range of local, national and international artists presenting performances, new installations and community-engaged works that celebrate the city’s natural environment and transform the HOTA precinct for the duration of the festival.
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Visitors can expect an array of new commissions, partnerships and experiences that reflect the spring feeling.
Head of arts and culture at Experience Gold Coast Yarmila Alfonzetti says Preval “brings a wealth of experience and an exciting creative vision to BLEACH*.
“His deep passion for performance and his ability to create programs that speak to both local communities and national audiences make him the perfect artistic visionary to lead BLEACH* into this vibrant new spring season,” she says. “We can’t wait to see the next few years of the festival flourish under his direction.”
The full program for BLEACH* 2026 will be announced in mid-2026.