An exhibition of lithographs and drawings celebrating the caring role and early married life of Maggie Larritt, wife of the first Surveyor of Bendigo. This body of work acknowledges the singularly European view of the colonial migrants as they lived on Dja Dja Wurrung land.
Fuelled by a passion for ink and paper, and intrigued by the rich visual languages of Chinese brush painting and calligraphy, Living Water is Ella Whateley’s response to full immersion in Taiwanese culture during an inspirational residency at National Taiwan University in Arts (NTUA) in 2018.
Green Room Award winners Jillian Murray and Laurence Strangio re-join forces to present Joan Didion’s remarkable memoir
Renowned contemporary watercolourist Terry Swann’s Wilderness: A Natural Response, is a unique perspective of the contrasting landscapes of remote Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
A series of oil paintings highlighting the artist's passion for the natural environment and horror at seeing the ongoing effects of climate change.
Join us for the first development presentation of AWGIE-winning writer Katy Warner’s REFINED
The second annual community-based small works exhibition at fortyfivedownstairs.
From British power-house playwright, Simon Stephens, Punk Rock is a violent and urgent examination of contemporary adolescence.
A glow-in-the-dark installation commenting on ideas about identity, colonialism and adventure.
Mark Chu embraces the power of fantasy, hollow ambition, and absurdity, in a series of large scale, self-portraits depicting the plural nature of who or what a person can (and cannot) be.
One of the major works of American opera in the 21st century has its Australian premiere as part of the 2020 Midsumma Festival.
An evening of songs and scenes for bushfire relief.
Annie Burns' paintings engage with the sublime natural world and our relationship with it in the face of destruction.
Sensitive Sweethearts is an art exhibition for those who wear their heart on their sleeve.
A performance exploring a world of styles and influences from jazz to Latin, funk, and soul.
From the extravagances of 1950s Paris, to the devastation of New York in the 80s and 90s, composer and diarist Ned Rorem captured the essence of what it meant to be an artist and in love.
Shake ‘n’ Blake - The Sonnets of Innocence and Experience. Blending the Good Works of Williams Shakespeare and Blake into a Lesson in Love in all its aspects.
A group exhibition responding to the challenge of the global community to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. It is about the science of climate change, communicated in diverse and intriguing ways.
An exhibition of screenprints based on landscapes that were noticed, photographed, and forgotten. Memories are captured, but the viewer moves on. Changes that occur to the landscape are out of sight and mind, and missed. But the environment is screaming for us to take notice.
Daniel Keene returns to fortyfivedownstairs with The Curtain, written with his sharp ear for poetry and play.
A collection of new and delightfully peculiar small sculptures. They are fantastical watercraft, knotted, woven, and welded together with materials gathered on the artist's travels around Gippsland.
Microcosmographia brings together five artists working with themes of science and nature, the earth bound and geology, cosmology, mythology and universal/cosmos sciences.
UPDATE 14/3/2020: The producers of Hell Ship have made the decision to cancel their upcoming season at fortyfivedownstairs due to COVID-19. All efforts will be made to reschedule the season, but at this time, all ticket holders will be contacted and refunds will be processed as soon as possible.
The Collide ensemble returns to fortyfivedownstairs with an energetic offering of colourful French delicacies.
Bach's six suites for solo cello performed in one concert by our fortyfivedownstairs musician in residence.
A concert of works for saxophone, piano and mezzo-soprano, including a transcription of Schubert’s late masterpiece, and a selection of beautiful original works.
From 'Pictures at an Exhibition' to 'Java Suite', from 'Islamey' to Piazzolla’s Tango, Chinese born pianist Yiyun Gu brings fantastic gods and demons together in a concert of magic and high imagination.
Gary Abrahams directs Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prizewinning drama of 1966 featuring a stellar cast.
A truly original musical set against the background of a changing world - a story about connections, commitments and the healing of the human heart.
Join us to celebrate the 88th birthday one of Australia’s most remarkable men, Barry Jones AC in an online performance curated and hosted by board member Julian Burnside AO.
David Hirst traps emotions, memories and ideas in his abstracted painting and sculpture, to be shared with or re-interpreted by others.
Peta Cross presents a series of approximately 400 small Pochades created between 2010 – 2020. Pochade painting has been the practice of many painters since the Impressionists. They are quickly executed sketches in oil paint.
Visions of Love by Marisa Mu is the third solo exhibition of fortyfivedownstairs’ online Fragments series, and the final Fragment of 2020. The exhibition is a series of works on paper, all created recently as an act of defiance against the darkness enveloping us during Melbourne’s second lockdown.
What a way to welcome live performance back to the venue! A stunning program, performed by Coady Green and Justin Kenealy, featuring new commissions, Australian premieres and a sneak preview of a special new work.
Join us for an afternoon of summer jazz, exploring a world of styles and influences from jazz to Latin, funk, drum ‘n’ bass and soul.