3 Best Performing Arts in Queensland, Australia

This vibrant arts center is housed in a trio of repurposed World War II–era oil storage tanks in Cairns's lush Flecker Botanic Gardens, 4 km (2 miles) north of the Cairns city center. It has become a vital creative hub for the region, showcasing everything from dance and theater troupes to local folk, blues, jazz, and Indigenous artists. The Centre hosts a colorful arts and food market, with live music and free kids' activities, on the last Sunday of the month from April to November.

Housed in a grand, former coal power station, the Heritage-listed Brisbane Powerhouse hosts frequent, often-free, art exhibitions, live performances, and children's events in its flexible 200- and 400-seat theaters. Cafés, restaurants, bikeways, boardwalks, and picnic areas complement the spacious, contemporary riverside hub, which also adjoins beautiful New Farm Park. A recent renovation added a new café-bar, a roof terrace, and enlarged theater spaces.

This precinct combines two performing arts spaces: the Cairns Performing Arts Centre and the Munro Martin Parklands. Munro Martin Parklands hosts audiences in its open-air amphitheater surrounded by lush tropical gardens, while the CPAC features two indoor theaters. Each showcases local and international talent performing across many genres from dance to theater, ballet, music, and comedy.