Robyn Rich, Karen Lloyd Jones and Catherine Hull Sinclair are consumed by the minutia of everyday life. Their paintings express their preoccupation and love for things that are seldom seen as being of great value; the familiar, the discarded and…
In Sketches for a Painting, Margaret Gold explores the concept of disability - both external and internal - by way of the psychological portrait. Margaret's abstract/expressionist style blurs the boundaries between painting and drawing; ably communicating aspects of human frailty…
The passionate and exotic lives of gypsies have fired the imagination of composers for hundreds of years. Join Songmakers Australia on a world-tour of songs inspired by a romantic view of Gypsies' spontaneous love of music and singing. Featuring songs…
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of jewellery designer Stefano Canturi’s work with the unveiling of his first exhibition of drawings, paintings and small scale sculpture. Journey offers a rare insight into the world and mind of Stefano Canturi through…
In Souvenir, Peterson examines the activities of finding and collecting, using a visual symbol familiar to us all: the road sign. Peterson collects broken road signs, intervenes with their already scarred surfaces, and re-presents them as intaglio prints on paper…
An exhibition which brings together some of Australia’s most refined tattoo artisans including: Geordie Cole, William Yoneyama, Wade Johnston, Biee SaeTang, Zach Hart, Nicole Drager, Mel Williams, Tashi M Dukanovic, Dean Sacred, Caleb Walmsley, Teniele Sadd, Tebi el Camaron and…
The galleries will be closed from Saturday 22 December 2012 - Tuesday 22 January 2013 when we reopen with an exhibition of ink drawings by visiting Korean artist Park Sung Soo. Our theatre is also closed to the public from…
Sex, art and the search for connection. A young man leaves his family and hometown to broaden his horizons. Nothing unusual in that. But, when the young man is Tennessee Williams and the horizon is the French Quarter of New…
A group exhibition of painting, photography and installation. The artists come from different backgrounds and employ diverse mediums, yet their works and practices repeatedly interconnect. Billinge paints with oils and inks on paper and timber; Chandler's oils on canvas are…
Join us for a special rehearsed reading of There are Trees that are Dancers by Monica Raszewski, a winning script from the R.E. Ross Trust Playwrights’ Script Development Awards 2012. Vera is a writer who became blind in her youth. She visits…
In this special one night only performance, flautist Lina Andonovska presents Lost Compass, Forgotten World, a brutal yet gorgeous program as part of the New Music Network’s 2012 mini-series. Joined by some of Australia’s best interpreters of contemporary music, Andonovska will take…
Sadly, the One World Project is no longer able to go ahead, due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances. For more information please email Abby Storey on [email protected]. Image: lampshade made by Paul Blackman. Part of the commissioned decorations for the…
A rare appearance not to be missed. Legendary Australian blues icon Wendy Saddington returns to the Melbourne stage in a stripped back setting of voice and piano that highlights her astonishing vocal soul power. In 'A Soul Seance' Wendy will…
One Night Only - Monday 22 October Rebetika Performance and Celebration Australian born musician Hector Cosmas became celebrated in Greece as an outstanding exponent of Rebetika, the "Greek blues". The news of his untimely death earlier this year shocked us…
British pianist Ashley Fripp has performed throughout Europe, Asia and the USA at such venues as Carnegie Hall (New York) and the Royal Festival Hall (London). Fripp has won prizes at national and international competitions including the coveted Gold Medal from…
Melbourne artist Graeme Altmann was born at the end of the Great Ocean Road, where the wind and salt have carved out some of Victoria’s most spectacular coastline. This tranquil yet wild landscape continues to inspire his work. Altmann’s paintings…
The twice divided circle is a welcome reference point when we have lost our way. This symbol with its union of the circular and the straight has inspired Allison Jonas Young’s latest body of work. Upon a background of bare…
Young Korean artist Park Sung Soo has brought a very beautiful, contemplative exhibition to fortyfivedownstairs, and has filled both galleries with ease with large scale brush paintings. Park uses brushes as wide as a house painter’s brush, and it’s difficult…
Gallery hours don't fit your lifestyle schedules? fortyfivedownstairs has a solution! Get your culture fix and expand your social life at our Friday night extended hours. a) Unwind after a busy week. b) Enjoy a drink from the bar. c)…
Irrespective of belief, background or current circumstance we can be sure that we were all children once, navigating our way through an unfamiliar world. Kirstin Finlayson explores this precious and at times precarious phase of life in her latest exhibition…
Kitty is an ordinary woman living an extraordinarily complicated life. An early morning surprise visit instigates a series of choices; leading her on a journey to discover a side of herself she doesn’t want to know. Struggling with the consequences,…
Cathy Drummond has become well known for her urban landscapes, gleaning imagery from local Melbourne streets, rural Victoria, Italy and the U.K. In Stilled Life, New Paintings, she continues to find dynamic and at times humorous visual relationships in what…
A love of interesting surfaces and life's rich patina, which only arrives very gradually with age, is central to the making of Bill Hay’s paintings. A deliberate layering and scumbling (pushing the half set paint about) has been employed to…
'Wild extremes in fearless performance shock, fascinate' - The AGE(DasSHOKU Hora!) Butoh Punkess, Yumi Umiumare ignites her next infamous DasSHOKU Cabaret, a culture-crush dementia bursting from the shaking earth. Osaka's legendary Theatre Gumbo and local shock-toy acolytes bring things of darkness out into footlights. Jap-pop…
Fiona Sweet, art director and creative director of Sweet Creative, and Garth Oriander, photographer, present Sweet Oriander, an exhibition of their creative collaboration over five years for Malthouse Theatre. The exhibition is exclusively from the Michael Kantor and Stephen Armstrong…
Rumi Takamoto’s vivid paintings and ceramic sculptures, are influenced by natural forms. They practically writhe with energy, appearing to stretch and twist, echoing unfurling trumpet flowers or crashing waves. Adopting techniques employed by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Takamoto applies…
What do you do when the country you grew up in the country you fought for has no place for you? Michael James Manaia is flooded by memories and images of his life, including the close relationship with his younger…
Melbourne’s freshest crop of fashion mavericks have joined ranks in this exciting and innovative exhibition,offering you an alternative to the traditional runway-style fashion experience. Immerse yourself in the explosion of thoughts and ideas from our highly anticipated emerging designers as…
The Housing Project is a playful and engaging interactive installation about about the challenges, experiences, problems, and delights of urban life. In this work, people can build cities using miniature ceramic trees, houses, factories and high rise buildings. As these…
Meeting at 11.00am we will embark at a leisurely pace through the city's inner East, stopping at significant sites for James' paintings along the way - taking in lush gardens, bustling streets and hidden lane ways. Finding ourselves conveniently at…