Chris Orr Motherboard 23 April - 4 May 2024 hours: Tuesday - Friday: 12pm - 7pm Saturdays: 12pm - 4pm admission: Free Every feature is a straight line, a toxic slurry of motherboards creating a colonising infestation over the human form Humanity has an inherent need for validation, manifested in the creation of reflective images…
Written and performed by Sally McKenzie ('Mortified', Nine Network), directed by Sean Mee ('Box the Pony', Sydney Opera House), with sound design by J. David Franzke, 'WAY' (included on the 2024 VCE Drama Playlist) uses filmed sequences and live performance to interweave the fictional journey of a documentary filmmaker with the lived experiences of four homeless women. “If you love theatre, see this” (Stage Whispers).
Thanks to our generous friends, neighbours, and colleagues, fortyfivedownstairs is excited to launch a fundraising raffle for our 2024 EOFY campaign. Scroll through the list of $9,000 worth of prizes below and support fortyfivedownstairs by purchasing a $30 ticket (or two or more tickets for $25 each) which will put you in the running to…
A first exhibition from Victoria McGinness, ‘NOTHING TO SEE HERE’, features a collection of vivid embroideries, typographic studies and paintings made from second-hand materials.
Stranglehold: Colonial Heat presents uncanny landscapes by Glover Prize and Hadley Prize shortlistee Amanda Johnson.
Ten years after the MUST production that launched the Bloomshed ensemble ('Animal Farm', Darebin Speakeasy), these award-winning theatre companies return to create a world class pyramid scheme with this reprised corruption of Gogol’s 'The Government Inspector'. A live theatrical seminar for the savvy entrepreneur, this is the only show that promises to double your investment (disclaimers abound)!
Two plays, one cast, a gorilla, and a dozen or so sheep. Presented by Calamity Practice, directed by Green Room Award winner Bob Pavlich ('The Winter’s Tale', La Mama), and performed by a cast of eight, this double bill of Australian plays blends the dramatic and the absurd in a search for truth and reason within the chaos. Both plays will be performed back-to-back on Saturdays and Sundays.
'Prescription windows and magic beans' presents paintings by prominent Australian painter and designer Katrina Rhodes. “Prescription Windows” implies a specific perspective or framework through which one perceives reality, while “Magic beans” represent the potential for growth and transformation through unconventional means.
This exhibition delves into the raw and introspective world of Stephen (Stefano) Ives, a seasoned sculptor grappling with the complexities of aging, desire, and the ever-present shadow of mortality. Through a captivating blend of bricolaged plastics, toys, and found objects Stefano embarks on a personal odyssey, exploring a lifetime of captivation with the female form.
A celebration of performer Natalie Gamsu’s ('A Very Jewish Christmas Carol', MTC) strange and fearless life journey as she searches for meaning through diabolically funny and deeply personal anecdotes of tsuris, the yiddish word for pain. An evening of touching and highly entertaining storytelling directed by Stephen Nicolazzo ('Vampire Lesbians of Sodom') and featuring songs performed in Yiddish, Spanish, and English.
fortyfivedownstairs presents 'more than this' by artist Clive Jones. Episodes from History and from observation and memory rearranged in a Realist painterly way.
'Aboreal' presents a series of pastel and paper embossed drawings by artist Michael Pearce. The series developed from the artist's first visit to Wilson’s Promontory in late 2019 where he was fascinated by the twisting, textures and creature like shapes of the windswept coastal tea trees.
Olivia, a mother, pieces her late teenage daughter Molly’s life into a perfume. Directed by Cathy Hunt ('What Every Girl Should Know', Brunswick Mechanics), this surprising new queer work offers a sensory experience for audiences, employing scent to capture the play’s delicate interpretation of grief, decay, and blooming.
The exhibition explores the concept of creating something 'Brand New' through a series of six NH Architecture projects, most notably the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market and Arts Centre Melbourne. These endeavours engage the challenges of respecting Naarm’s ecologies, geographies and multiple histories whilst foregrounding each project’s onward journey.
Featuring five celebrated performers - Nadine Garner (The Blake Mysteries), Kerrie Anne Greenland (Miss Saigon), Marty Alix (Hamilton), Anton Berezin (The Phantom of the Opera), and Glenn Hill (Matilda) - 'Elegies: A Song Cycle' takes audiences on a musical journey that explores the modern world that we live in and life’s infinite joys.
It is our pleasure to host the finalists for the ninth annual fortyfivedownstairs Emerging Artist Award! The Prize is a proven catalyst for ongoing recognition and professional development and allows audiences the privilege of accessing early-career works by exciting emerging artists.
Based on the true stories of Holocaust survivors Krystyna Zywulska, a Polish dissident, and Gad Beck, a Jewish gay man, this Australian premiere production of renowned composer Jake Heggie’s 'Two Remain' is an exciting collaboration with Nightingale Opera in the USA, and an important reminder of the enduring power of love and humanity.
Photographs presented, all shot on Ektrachrome 120mm film, in
preference to the Digital format, ensuring a freshness of Image. You, the viewer, are
presented with the best opportunity to experience what Gamvros has been
courageous enough to seek, encounter and record. Fresh and fast, instantaneous,
decisions are made and actioned on site, in double quick time.
In 'Heartscape', abstract artist Melinda Ly explores the intersection of abstract art and meditation. The pieces merge poetry and guided meditation, taking viewers on an introspective journey amd examining a broad array of emotions and states to promote self-awareness and discovery.
This delightfully self-aware adaptation transforms Wilde’s irreverent satire into a salacious display of gross indecency. Welcome to the Wilde side in Bloomshed’s latest take-down of high society. From the collective behind 2023’s acclaimed, high-octane productions of 'Animal Farm' (Darebin Speakeasy) and 'A Dodgeball Named Desire', 'Earnest' is a delicious mix of diatribe, dance breaks, and debauchery.
At the Still Point is an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Michele Burder exploring travel through urbanised nature. It depicts nature alongside roads as seen through bus or car windows, as well as moments when captured on walks through public parks and local reserves. They represent samples of time, fleeting scenes which reflect on the transience of nature - these landscapes even though they are ordinary they presage threats from development, overuse and pollution.
This exhibition is a rare glimpse into the potential that is unlocked when we are able to embrace cultural diversity and share, appreciate, know, collaborate and negotiate cultural divides. At the college, 53 different nationalities express their unique cultural practices and perspectives through the Arts. Sharing and collaborating with their peers, students co-create artworks that are unique within the Melbourne arts diaspora.
Following the success of 'kerosene' and 'SIRENS', Nichol continues his anthology series exploring love and loneliness across Australia with two new works written for and performed by Brigid Gallacher ('In The Club', Theatreworks) and Charles Purcell ('Apokalypsis', The Substation). Milk and Blood both present unflinching examinations of violence and desire, shame and self-sabotage, and the power of redemption.
'Just A Sheila', by sculptor and mixed media artist Josie Lowerson, explores a sculptural narrative of social and domestic situations observed from a female perspective. The exhibition portrays the feminine sensuality and struggle of women, whilst revealing the conflict between necessity and the desire to pursue goals.
Lea Rose is an environmental and ecological, Naarm (Melbourne) based emerging artist who integrates their art practice with scientific field research. Rose is 2024 PhD candidate (Geography and Indigenous Knowledge Institute) Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne. In ‘Unveiling Echoes, Passage to Seeding Hope’ Rose invites the viewer, through muti-dimensional immersive art forms to contemplate the devastating impacts of colonisation on the Australian environment. Through Rose’s photographic works, film, printmaking, painting and installations, the potentiality for environmental recovery is explored by posing questions around land use and conservation in the Australian context. Rose seeks to inspire a sense of reverence for the beauty and resilience of the natural world, encouraging the viewer to play a role in natures preservation.
Following the success of 'Julius Caesar' last year, Melbourne Shakespeare Company returns to fortyfivedownstairs to present Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy 'Hamlet'. Directed by multi-award winning director Iain Sinclair ('A View from a Bridge' at MTC / 'Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at the Ensemble Theatre) and starring Jacob Collins Levy ('The Witcher' / 'Dr Who') in the title role.
This exhibition brings together figure paintings by Naarm based artist Elena Valimberti. From Valimberti's "Shed series" of paintings, she works to transform the mundane into something quietly beautiful through traditional oil painting.
Robert Lee Davis' 'Community Art Card Project' returns to fortyfivedownstairs for the second consecutive year. More details coming soon...
From the team behind the acclaimed production of 'RUNT' – writer Patricia Cornelius ('Do not go gentle…'), director Susie Dee ('Savages'), and performer Nicci Wilks ('SHIT') – comes 'BAD BOY', a searing new work that boldly tackles the enormous issue of misogyny and domestic violence.
fortyfivedownstairs presents 'FORT EARTH PROJECT + EXHIBITION 2024' by FORT HEART.
'Aftermath' is a stunning photographic collection by Justin Ness showcasing the natural beauty of Tyagarah Nature Reserve following the 2023 bushfire. These photographs reveals the profound impact of climate change on this delicate ecosystem.
'Working Memories' is a contemporary textile art exhibition that unites the works of Helvi Apted, Elise Cakebread, Janelle Evans, Rebecca George, Phong Chi Lai, Carolyn Menzies, Tamara Russell, Britt Salt, and Shannon Slee under the theme of memory.
Melbourne based oboist, Jasper Ly, is a versatile and dynamic performer who aims to captivate and transport his audience through musical settings ranging from classical to contemporary. Joined by pianist, Peter Dumsday, the duo proudly presents BLOOM – an evocative and atmospheric performance of modern Australian works inspired by the splendour of nature and bird songs.
fortyfivedownstairs presents 'Across the Top End - Where Land Speaks' by Terry Swann, one of Australia's foremost contemporary watercolourists. Painting on location, she uses her emotional response to capture the essence of the Australian outback- in colour, texture and movement.