Marking the final chapter of Albany 2026, Carrying the Fire calls on locals and visitors across the Great Southern and beyond to create lanterns inspired by Menang Country. This large-scale public artwork will culminate on Saturday, 7 November 2026 in a mass light procession, supported by free community workshops and hundreds of volunteer Lantern Leader roles.
ALBANY, WA – Thousands of lanterns will light the Albany-Kinjarling coastline on Saturday, 7 November 2026, as Carrying the Fire brings residents and visitors together in a large-scale community participatory artwork stretching along the shores from Emu Point to Binalup/Middleton Beach.
Initiated, produced, and presented by FORM in collaboration with Creative Producer Southern Edge Arts, Carrying the Fire bridges social practice, site-specific installation, and community engagement. Posing the central inquiry: What do you carry into our shared future? – The project invites the public to become co-creators in a living ribbon of light on Menang Country, exploring themes of resilience, shared responsibility, and connection to place as part of the City of Albany’s Albany 2026 program, proudly supported by Lotterywest.
A major highlight in the final chapter of Albany 2026, Carrying the Fire belongs directly to the community that makes it. Every light in the procession will be built by hand in kitchens, classrooms, sheds, and workshops across the region in the weeks leading up to the night.
“At its heart, Carrying the Fire reflects our fundamental human need to gather, honour place, and articulate shared hope through creative form,” says FORM CEO Tabitha McMullan. “As the final chapter of Balgang Albany, this project turns artmaking into a collective experience. It demonstrates how relational, community-led practice can elevate public art beyond aesthetics, transforming a shared coastline into an enduring testament to unity and cultural continuity”.
The FORM-conceived project is delivered under the artistic direction of Annette Carmichael alongside Menang cultural consultant Penny Williams and the Albany 2026 Cultural Sub-committee. The artwork’s material symbolism is grounded in deep ecological and cultural consultation. The lantern sculptures interpret four vital botanical and marine motifs endemic to Menang Country:
Biyarra (Banksia)
Symbolic of resilience, adaptation, and an honouring of one traditional way to carry fire.
Sea Star
Chosen as a symbol of regeneration and intertidal movement.
Kwornt
Representing shelter, and the warmth of belonging.
Moodjar Flower
The native Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda), deeply embedded in local First Nations spiritual practice and ancestral continuity.
Three pathways to participation
The journey to event night relies on collective participation, offering three main ways for the public to shape the artwork: Details at southernedge.org.au/carryingthefire
Make a lantern.
Join free community workshops hosted by Southern Edge Arts with all materials provided or build at home using step-by-step DIY guides. Open to all ages and skill levels, participants will craft lanterns inspired by Menang Country.
Become a Lantern Leader.
150 volunteer Lantern Leaders (ages 15+) to act as stewards on event night to guide procession groups, choreograph foreshore movement, and manage light elements.
Join the Procession:
Line the shores at sunset on 7 November to take part in the illuminated procession. Pre-registration is encouraged for all participants to access vital site maps, safety briefings, and the mobile light-syncing app.
“This project promises to be deeply moving. Led by regional artists in collaboration with local communities, it celebrates our collective power to create beauty,” says Annette Carmichael, Artistic Director at Southern Edge Arts. “When thousands of people walk side-by-side bearing lights shaped by their own hands, the coastline becomes a canvas for belonging, place-making, and social connection.”
The evening closes with a symbolic handover. Specially trained fire artists will light the stage as the Mayor walks along an honour guard of Moodjar flowers. Local Menang performers with Elders will raise the Biyarra/Banksia fire lantern, specially designed by local sculptor Kevin Draper. They then pass the fire lantern to state representatives, carrying the flame from Albany toward Perth 2029.
Event Details
Event: Carrying the Fire Date & Time: Saturday, 7 November 2026, 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Location: Emu Point to Binalup/Middleton Beach, Albany (Kinjarling), WA Cost: Free Registrations: southernedge.org.au/carryingthefire Official Website: form.net.au/carrying-the-fire
