Wesfarmers Arts

Wesfarmers has been a leading supporter of the arts for more than four decades. We partner with a diverse range of arts and cultural organisations in Western Australia and nationally because we believe the arts make a vital contribution to vibrant communities where creativity, social cohesion and innovation can thrive. 

During the year, our support for First Nations arts and culture saw the world premiere of the Wundig wer Wilura – the new Wesfarmers Arts musical theatre commission from award-winning songwriters and storytellers, Gina William AM and Guy Ghouse for West Australian Opera and Perth Festival. Wundig brings Noongar language, history and culture to the operatic stage in an acclaimed follow up to the duo’s first opera collaboration, Koolbardi wer Wardong commissioned by Wesfarmers Arts in 2021. 

We continue to support Yirra Yaakin Aboriginal Theatre through our partnership as the company’s Koondarm Koomba (Dream Big) partner, providing long-term support to commission new works of First Nations theatre by emerging and celebrated Indigenous writers in Western Australia and nationally. 

We are proud that our partnerships with a wide range of premier arts organisations, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Bell Shakespeare, enable regional communities across Australia to enjoy performances and education programs with leading Australian and world artists.

A highlight of the year, and one of three leadership projects underpinning our Elevate RAP was the continuing international tour of the exhibition Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia, developed in partnership with the National Gallery Australia. Featuring 170 works of art drawn from the collections of the National Gallery and Wesfarmers, Ever Present represents the breadth and diversity of First Nations art from 1890 to today, including paintings, drawings, batiks, weavings, moving image, photography, sculpture and textiles.  Since its launch at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2021, Ever Present has travelled to the National Gallery of Singapore, enjoyed record audiences during its presentation at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki in 2023 and been seen by more than 220,000 people. Ever Present will feature at the National Gallery Australia in Canberra from September 2024 to August 2025. 

In addition to supporting our arts and cultural partners, we are proud to have been able to acquire work by leading artists from across Australia for the Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, which we share with the community through exhibitions and loans across Australia, internationally and online: Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art. 

Find out more about Wesfarmers Arts here.

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