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ACMI - Australian Centre for the Moving Image

  • Museums
  • Melbourne
  • price 0 of 4
  1. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, exterior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  2. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  3. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  4. ACMI Foley room reopening 2021
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath/Supplied
  5. Two people on the ACMI staircase, with an ACMI sign in the foreground
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  6. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  7. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  8. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
  9. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, interior
    Photograph: Shannon McGrath
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Time Out says

There's always something eye-opening to find at Australia's national museum of TV, film, games, art and digital culture

ACMI is much more than meets the eye. Sure, it's home to Australia's largest moving image collection and the fascinating and fun The Story of the Moving Image permanent exhibition. But there's also cinemas, student labs and educational spaces, a media preservation lab, plus a hospitality offering from Karen Martini. 

ACMI reopened after a massive facelift in early 2021 and now boasts a swanky new architect-designed space with new and improved exhibitions, facilities, artworks and displays as well as some of the most incredible, cutting-edge technologies we’ve ever seen in a Melbourne museum.

RECOMMENDED: Read our interview with ACMI CEO Katrina Sedgwick following the reopening.

Got a couple of hours to kill? Head to The Story of the Moving Image (which is a revamped version of the old Screen Worlds exhibit) where you can check out a collection of costumes, cameras, TikTok clips, contemporary art and everything in between. It's a brilliant look into different forms of the moving image that span decades, countries and platforms. And yes, you can play video games for free. 

ACMI is free to enter but events and screenings are usually ticketed. Check out the website for current exhibits and film schedules. 

Rebecca Russo
Written by
Rebecca Russo

Details

Address:
Federation Square
Cnr Swanston & Flinders Sts
Melbourne
3000
Transport:
Nearby stations: Flinders Street

What’s on

Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature

  • Digital and interactive

Open your eyes, ears and mind when you visit the Works of Nature exhibition from London-based experimental art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. The world premiere immersive exhibition challenges visitors to see the world from a new standpoint by highlighting the hidden connections between ourselves and nature, beyond our everyday perception.  Pay a visit to Fed Square’s ACMI from November 23 until April 14 to experience Marshmallow Laser Feast’s first major exhibition in Australia, running for a limited season only. Previously, the group has wowed audiences around the globe, from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. The collective has made use of its two creative technology specialties, digital art and virtual reality, to create an experience designed to spark renewed wonder in nature, space, science and even the simple act of breathing.  Works of Nature consists of five awe-inspiring artworks incorporating interactive elements of meditation to add to the mesmerising experience. Marshmallow Laser Feast partner and director Ersin Han Ersin says each artwork is inspired by the collective’s passion for “ecology, astronomy and technology”. “[Our passion has] driven us to collect tree data in the Amazon, explore the sound of black holes, and scan the entirety of the human body in microscopic detail, then transforming these explorations into transcendent, immersive experiences.” Marshmallow Laser Feast is led by artists and directors Ro

Melbourne Women in Film Festival

  • Film festivals

Celebrate all things women with the annual Melbourne Women in Film Festival (MWFF). The festival is back for its eighth celebration of filmmaking by women and gender-diverse people. This year, the festival’s focus is on how filmmakers respond to their physical and sociocultural environments through storytelling.  A mix of live and online screenings, panel discussions and workshops will unpack these elements of storytelling from March 21-25 at ACMI. The climate crisis, sustainability and contemporary social and cultural environments will all be under the spotlight.  The festival’s opening night screening on Thursday, March 21 will be a showing of Winhanganha, by acclaimed Wiradjuri artist Jazz Money. The film is named for the Wiradjuri language word meaning ‘remember, know, think’ and it offers a poetic exploration of storytelling and resistance. After the screening, Jazz Money will host a Q and A session for attendees. Closing night on Monday, March 25 will showcase Memory Film: a Filmmaker’s Diary. This Australian documentary by Jeni Thornley chronicles decades worth of activism, traversing themes including love, the pain and pleasure of motherhood and gender fluidity. Again, there’ll be a Q and A session to round out the night.  In between, catch unorthodox documentary Carbon: the Unauthorised Biography (narrated in first person by Succession’s Sarah Snook), or Outback drama The Royal Hotel. If short films are more your style, book in for the Freshly Squeezed Shorts or Next

Lou Wall: The Bisexual's Lament

  • Comedy festival

Lou Wall is an award-winning comedian, writer and composer, who was one of six 2023 recipients of the prestigious Moosehead Award for new shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  They’re the self-proclaimed “number one advocate for the gay agenda”, and they’re known for their shows tackling themes spanning from depression to ‘internet stuff’. Recently, Wall has worked on the ABC’s WTFAQ as both a writer and a presenter. Time Out Melbourne gave Wall’s 2022 MICF show Bleep Bloop four stars, with our reviewer confidently asserting that “If Lou Wall stood on stage and read Ikea instructions, it would still be unmissable”. Now, they’re back with their new show The Bisexual’s Lament at ACMI as part of this year’s Comedy Festival. There’ll be music, there’ll be a PowerPoint presentation, and we’re sure there’ll be plenty of laughs, too.  Tickets for The Bisexual’s Lament are available now and you can nab yours via the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website. Chasing more laughs? Check out who else is performing at the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Beings

  • Digital and interactive

The colourful creatures that make up ACMI’s latest, world premiere exhibition burst to life from a single drawn line, before growing and changing right before your eyes. The more you move and interact in the space, the more animated these curious characters will get, morphing between forms and textures for a hyperreal experience.   Beings is the name of this innovative exhibition, which will open from May 22 and stick around until September 29. The name refers to the friendly digital critters seemingly ‘living’ in the exhibition’s large-scale digital screens, just waiting for you to come and play. These generative digital artworks are constantly changing, which means no two people will see the same exhibition, and each time you visit will also be unique. So, how do these joyful (and seemingly magical) creatures remain so responsive to their environment? The technology behind Beings is an impressive mix of video game engines, evolving algorithms and visual effects software usually used in film. All these fancy technologies combine to produce what promises to be a bunch of fun lil’ (or not that little) guys who want to hang out and play, becoming more active in response to your presence.  The folks behind this exhibition are a UK-based art and design collective called Universal Everything. They specialise in “soulful technology” and they’ve created 13 brand-new artworks for this premiere curated by ACMI.  Beings is suitable for all ages, so you can bring along the whole fam. Ti

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