Arts House will throw open its doors in April with Housewarming

From April, community members can rediscover the North Melbourne Town Hall as well as the local neighbourhood with a series of interactive exhibitions and performances. 

For the reopening, Arts House has commissioned 11 Victorian artists to create Housewarming. Emily Sexton, Arts House Artistic Director, said, “our artists have the most original minds. We gave them free rein to transform some of our spaces throughout Arts House. We cannot wait to have people back in the building and show off what they’ve done to the place.”

The programming of Housewarming also reflects a wide range of diverse artists and experiences. In the meditative video installation Deep Clean, artist and writer Andy Butler explores the chasm that exists between discussions of decolonisation and diversity and the lived experiences of people from minoritised communities.  

Meanwhile, artist Chelle Destefano has created a gentle space with textiles and performance poetry that will immerse people in the deaf experience. This piece titled LISTEN invites audiences into a deeper understanding of being excluded from a hearing world.  

For As We Bloom which is a collaboration between artists and performers Irihipeti Waretini and Bella Waru, audiences will be able to witness portraits celebrating queer and First Nations families as well as create their own unconventional family portraits. 

Artists Amaara Raheem and Zoe Scolgio will host The Re-enactors: The Walking Reading Group presenting an opportunity for community members to journey through the North Melbourne streets with a passionate group of strangers and reflect on a series of articles about care while walking.

Housewarming will also feature a room of lasers exploding from a multitude of crystal balls. a small sonic encounter inside the Arts House elevator and an opportunity for a straight-to-the-point palm reading.

Tailored for small groups, Housewarming is a chance to chart multiple experiences across seven boundary-breaking works throughout the entire Arts House building and beyond. 

Arts House officially reopens to the public on April 8 •