Australia’s largest multi-arts precinct, Abbotsford Convent, has launched a new approach to programming with Winter LIVE – an ambitious seasonal program that transforms the heritage site’s unexplored interstitial spaces into an immersive after-dark experience – running until Saturday 9 August.
Winter LIVE marks a significant evolution in the Convent’s programming – which is now underpinned by a ‘First Nations First’ approach – that is both site-specific and seasonal. Grounded in the Waring season – Wurundjeri’s deep winter period of reflection, hibernation and renewal – the program celebrates Indigenous understandings of interconnected seasonal rhythms.
For the first time, the program activates the precinct’s ‘between spaces’ – areas that exist outside traditional venues – using ambient light, sound installations and live performance to reveal the hybrid beauty of heritage architecture within the natural landscape.
The program kicked off on Saturday 21 June with SOLSTICE — which celebrated the Winter Solstice with a reflective gathering led by Indigenous elders and artists. The evening featured a smoking ceremony by Wurundjeri elder Aunty Annette Xiberras, ancestral manikay song cycles by David and Daniel Wilfred from Ngukurr in Arnhem Land, a live performance by acclaimed Yorta Yorta artist MINYERRA, and a DJ set by Noongar producer POLI-PEARL. Guests also experienced an immersive mixed-reality journey to the Daintree Rainforest, and mixed media textile and video works from Maningrida and Groote Archipelago.
Key program highlights:
REVERB (21 June – 10 August) casts electro-ambient music across 30 metres of natural landscape in the Heritage precinct, paired with site-specific lighting design by Artbox. The immersive installation showcases works from 18 local and international artists, creating a unique sensory playground celebrating the quiet magic of Abbotsford Convent after dark.
SMÖRGÅSBORD (Saturday 19 July) by Convent Kids serves up a family-friendly feast for the imagination in the Convent’s underground gallery, The Store. Three workshops run simultaneously in one jam-packed morning for kids aged 4-12 years: Murals with Nicky Tsekouras, Print with block-outs with Alice Tsiavos, and Papier mâché with David Booth. Families can table hop between sessions to experience multiple creative activities.
ESCALATOR (5-9 August) returns with Stephanie Lake Company showcasing the humor, depth and sophistication of Melbourne’s most diverse dance voices in the Convent’s stunning Heritage spaces.
The program also features CHROMA by Convent Made (19 June – 13 July), celebrating artworks by the precinct’s vibrant tenant community; and HERE & NOW (11-15 July), an innovative ‘live cinema’ experience where students create and premiere a film in real time.
BAT MASSIVE (Saturday 16 August) presents a unique exploration of interspecies collaboration, beginning as dusk descends and the neighboring colony of grey-headed Flying Foxes return home across the Yarra. This nocturnal assembly celebrates the Convent as part of a larger ecosystem of migration and movement, featuring guided river tours, bat crossings, spoken word, live music,immersive visuals and community feast.
Abbotsford Convent Creative Programming Project Manager Dario Vacirca commented, “We’re reimagining how people experience the Convent after dark. By activating spaces that have never been used this way before, we’re creating something that respects both the deep cultural knowledge and the interconnected life systems that exist here beyond human activity.”
For full program details and bookings, visit abbotsfordconvent.com.au/winterlive
