Globally renowned artist Matthew Aberline set to headline Subi Blooms 2026
The City of Subiaco’s award-winning floral festival Subi Blooms is set to reach new heights in 2026, with acclaimed Australian artist Matthew Aberline announced as its headline artist.
Aberline’s installation, titled “The Light Within”, features a colourful landscape of giant, inflatable, floral-patterned lanterns, which illuminate at night. Originally showcased at Singapore’s iLight Festival and the Glow Festival in Shenzhen, China, this will be its first display in Western Australia. It will be exhibited ahead of Subi Blooms from Friday 17 April at Market Square Park, concluding on Mother’s Day, Sunday 10 May.
Aberline is renowned for his exuberant, large-format inflatables, and has built a national and international reputation for transforming public spaces into vivid, dreamlike environments.
Aberline says the installation is designed to reconnect audiences with their inner sense of wonder; “The work is about drawing people away from their screens and devices and inviting them into this genuinely beautiful, vibrant space - filled with the most gorgeous colours and patterns.”
Returning with its boldest program yet, Subi Blooms x Gather will once again transform Subiaco into a vibrant destination of large-scale botanical artistry across the Mother’s Day weekend, from Friday 8 May to Sunday 10 May 2026.
Curated by Gather, led by renowned florists Rebecca Const and Lara Rose, the 2026 festival will present more than 14 installations across the town centre - each responding to this year’s compelling artistic theme, Flora Aurora.
Following a record 37,000 visitors in 2025, the festival has fast become one of Western Australia’s most celebrated cultural events, recently taking Gold at the Perth Airport Western Australian Tourism Awards and Silver at the Australian Tourism Awards.
This year’s theme is an artistic representation of light, an essential life source, inviting artists to explore brilliance, refraction, glow, and colour in both literal and metaphorical ways. Visitors can expect expressive, sculptural florals that play with shadow, illumination, and light.
Inspired by this year’s theme, the festival expands beyond its traditional daytime format, extending into the evening with select installations illuminated at night, providing an after-dark experience and adding a new layer of atmosphere and discovery to Subiaco’s town centre.
Mayor David McMullen said, “Subi Blooms is an annual highlight for tens of thousands of visitors each year, and Matthew Aberline’s installation will bring a brand-new floral spectacle to the 2026 program. The festival is a celebration of art, nature, and community, and this year, we’re inviting everyone to come and experience Subiaco in a whole new light.”
To find out more, head to seesubiaco.com.au. Subi Blooms is presented by See Subiaco, a City of Subiaco initiative.