“Adventurous art lovers cherish the curated performance program at Arts House. It is replete with curious delights from around Australia and the world." – The Age
Who we are
Arts House is Melbourne’s home for contemporary performance.
With a year-round program of dance, theatre, music, sound, new technologies and community projects, Arts House is one of the major forces shaping Melbourne’s cultural and social landscape. We cultivate diverse new audiences for independent artists’ ambitious new work, and we build relationships at both local and international levels.
This is a house where change happens. From the crisis of extinction to the rapid transformations of technology, we know that the futures of humanity and art are entwined. We want to be hopeful.
As part of Melbourne’s cultural landscape, Arts House expresses the deep forces that shape that terrain. Our programming pays respect to Traditional Owners and the land on which our work takes place, and reflects Australia’s ongoing history of migration and displacement.
Arts House also seeks to ask questions about power: who has the power to speak, and what is the power of listening? We explore new ways of distributing curatorial power, and commit to an artistic vision that is transparent and connected.

Image: Aeon, Lz Dunn.
Photo by Bryony Jackson
Image at top: Trilogy, Nic Green. Photo by Bryony Jackson
What we do
What goes on in here falls into three areas: Investigation, Development and Presentation.
Investigation is our laboratory stream: artists conduct experiments and explore new ideas. The outcomes are open, and what matters is that artists have the freedom and confidence to go wherever their investigations lead them. They’re often surprising to everyone involved.
Development is where ideas are transformed into practice. Our CultureLAB program helps independent artists and companies fashion the strongest work they can with the best support available. Some art is born quickly, and some takes years to gestate. Time is one of the most potent assets we can offer artists.
Presentation is the visible face of Arts House, with around 25 new works presented to audiences each year. Our reach is broad, and we have a particular commitment to making sure that the people who walk through our doors are as diverse as the city itself.
Arts House is a key project for the City of Melbourne, complementing programming at sister venues Artplay and SIGNAL, at the city’s First Nations festival YIRRAMBOI and in our libraries and hubs. At the core of our vision is partnership: we collaborate with individuals, festivals, co-commissioners and other groups both in and outside the arts world. An Arts House work might feature artists from five continents, or it might be hyper-local in scale.

Image: 1234 (get on the dance floor) by Raina Peterson
Photo by Bryony Jackson
Arts House Team
Sophie Travers
General Manager
Emily Sexton
Artistic Director
Olivia Anderson
Producer
Sarah Rowbottam
Producer
Tara Prowse
Producer
Kalyani Mumtaz
Associate Producer
Samira Farah
Associate Producer
Jackie Johnston
Marketing Manager
Ian McAnally
Public Engagement and Front of House Operations Manager
Michelle Tseng
Audience Engagement Coordinator
Tony MacDonald
Production Manager
Luke Gleeson
Production Coordinator
Richard Chandler
Venue Technician
Brian Horder
Business Manager
Will Box
Business Administrator
Leah Pavlidis
Business Support Officer
Trudy Hayter
Business Support Officer
Arts House Advisory Group
Raag Bhatia
Sarah Scott
Caroline Martin
Boonwurrung
Hannah Morphy-Walsh
Taungurung
Stephen Nicolazzo
Shian Law
Kalinda (Gal) Palmer
Nyikina/Jabbirr Jabbirr
Arts House Disability and Inclusion Advisory Group
Fayen d’Evie
Kath Duncan
Tom Middleditch
Hannah Morphy-Walsh
Taungurung
Luke Duncan King
Leisa Prowd
The Disability and Inclusion Advisory Group has been facilitated in collaboration with Arts Access Victoria.
Contact Us
Box Office
Arts House Box Office is open from 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, and 90 minutes prior to performances.
(03) 9322 3720
Contact the box office via email
To contact Arts House staff, please call or email reception on:
(03) 9322 3720
Contact us via email
Media
Ben Starick, Starling Communications
(+61) 411 029 393
Email Ben for all media enquiries
Sustainability
“Set out from the very beginning of a project to articulate some environmental guiding principles with your team, so everyone understands that these considerations are tantamount to the art, or indeed, that an environmental thinking can co-exist with art-making.’ Nicola Gunn, SANS HOTEL
At Arts House, we strive to be a leader in sustainability. We consider environmental sustainability in the making, administration and delivery of works. We have adopted greener alternatives across Arts House and promote sustainable practice across our activities and business practices.
Some of our key sustainability initiatives include the Greenie-In-Residence Program, which saw Matt Wicking from Tipping Point spend time with us to facilitate a year-long program of workshops, consultation and networking events based on greening the arts; we have implemented a paperless ticketing system; we have a healthy compost for all staff and Arts House artists, and an edible garden on the Arts House terrace. For more information on Arts House’s approach to sustainability, read our Sustainability Action Plan, or get in touch. We’d love to chat.

Image: Tales of an Afronaut by wāni Le Frère
Photo by Bryony Jackson
Our Partners
