Curtain Call is a large-scale participatory installation made from discarded clothing, transforming textile waste into a monumental 4-metre-high by 6-metre-wide curtain with pelmet.
Throughout the event, audiences are invited to dig through piles of discarded clothing and create new looks using safety pins, hand sewing and sewing machines. Fast Fashun artists and local facilitators are on hand to help participants experiment, transform and play.
At regular intervals, the curtain becomes a stage. Participants step through the curtain in their creations and take to the runway, turning the installation into a joyful public performance.
Part sculpture, part costume workshop and part fashion spectacle, Curtain Call invites audiences of all ages and abilities to become both artist and performer – transforming unwanted clothing into something strange, extravagant and new.
The work can be presented as a one-day pop-up event or expanded into a multi-day program incorporating workshops, community engagement and dedicated access sessions.
Commissioned by New Annual, Curtain Call will premiere in Newcastle, Australia, as part of the 2026 festival, 25 September – 4 October.
