With one week left to go, Brisbane Festival has proved the city has 'momentum'

Brisbane's annual arts and culture festival is well underway, and the event's artistic director says some of the best is yet to come.

For the past two weeks Brisbane Festival has taken over South Bank, running theatrical, artistic, and musical events and bringing culinary treats to the city.

The festival opened on September 4 and kicked off with the annual Riverfire fireworks display on September 5, and will run through until September 26.

Festival artistic director Ebony Bott is interested in how a city responds to a festival at a particular moment in time.

"It's a city that has momentum — it's on the move, you know?" she said.

Arts minister John-Paul Langbroek said the festival is one of the state's "premier cultural events" and showcases the unique voice of Queensland artists.

"Queenslanders are great supporters of the arts and the role they play in enriching lives, contributing to the state's economy though employment in cultural and creative industries, activating communities and attracting more visitors," he said.

Ms Bott said great festivals are always "particular to the city".

"It has the potential to change the way the inhabitants of that city explore their home, their hometown," she said.

"It has an opportunity to elevate what is happening in the city by injecting those international and national artists into the melting pot and what conversations are being had, what people are seeing, what art forms are being explored … what those conversations are.

"And that's what a festival can offer a city and the artists that live there."

Conversations ahead of the Olympics

Ms Bott said the experiences involved with developing the festival each year would be essential to conversations about the upcoming 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Brisbane Festival's central village at South Bank was planned to pay homage to the concept of the athlete village, Ms Bott said.

"It's making sure that we are looking ahead because work takes time," she said.

"If we want the city to be the stage, how are we thinking about that pipeline of work and continuing to feed that pipeline?"

Mr Langbroek said the government was proud to deliver "extraordinary artists and companies" to Brisbane and said the work was underway to keep enhancing the state's cultural industries.

"With the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, we are working to ensure Queensland's arts, cultural and creative industries are well positioned to deliver unique experiences that drive jobs, tourism and growth," he said.

Despite always thinking "what's next, what's next", Ms Bott said it has been gratifying to watch Queenslanders turn out in numbers for arts and culture.

"I really do believe that a festival is a civic ritual and to see the public come out and support it this way, it's just incredibly humbling and fantastic."

Free events a strong draw

Ms Bott said the festival is on track to hit all its targets — no mean feat in what has become a tricky industry to balance the books.

"Our ticket sales have been really good, they're really solid," Ms Bott said.

"I've been so fascinated to see what [audiences] have gravitated towards."

Some of the productions finding overwhelming success at this year's festival are AFLW play Strong is the New Pretty and the Choir of Man cabaret.

Balancing the cost of large productions with audience spending capacity has been a challenge for Brisbane Festival, as it has been elsewhere in the industry.

Brisbane's independent theatre companies said they are feeling the pinch and have called for more support.

Ms Bott has been particularly impressed by patronage at free events at Brisbane Festival.

"The number that have turned out to our free events will exceed what we projected, which I think is really, really interesting," she said.

"The fact that we have seen such a great response to ticket sales is also fantastic.

"But in terms of that broader art psychology, what are we learning about the cost of the big musicals versus the ticket price versus what it is to bring your whole family to the Fijian Flying Circus and keeping that really affordable. How does it all fit together?"