“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 produces and presents a year-round program of contemporary art and performance. We create space for audiences and communities to gather, discuss and experience new ideas, new people and new worlds. Working purposefully to support independent artists and the small-medium sector, we believe the arts are for everyone.
Our program is developed with guidance from our Creative Advisory Group, and informed by the commitments of our Equity—Builder and Disability and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).
We are a key program for the City of Melbourne, complimenting programming at sibling venues ArtPlay and SIGNAL, at the city’s First Nation’s festival YIRRAMBOI and alongside the council’s libraries and hubs.
Our work is underpinned by calls for sovereignty and self-determination by all First Nations peoples, including traditional custodians on the lands on which Arts House stands: the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and close neighbours, the Boon Wurrung peoples.
To see what’s on and coming soon at Arts House, please click here.
If you’re an artist who’d like to get involved, please click here.
Image: Jagad, Monica Lim, Rianto and Melanie Lane, 2022, Photo by Tiffany Garvie
Image description: Two dancers are on the floor beneath a large screen depicting a performer sitting cross-legged.
Image at top: Running Machine, Yuiko Masukawa, Sam Mcgilp, Harrison Hall, Makoto Uemura and Kazuhiko Hiwa, BLEED 2022, Photo by Tiffany Garvie
Image description: Performers in yellow and green costumes walk across the stage. In the background, another performer holds a brown cardboard box.
Our Artistic Vision
Arts House is a place of artistic inquiry, adventure and social change. For artists, audiences and the sector, we support the new and bold to thrive.
Our program supports the investigation, creation and presentation of performance, exhibitions, digital practices, talks and community gatherings.
We believe experimental approaches, led by artists and embedded across institutions, can solve the great issues of our time: questions of our history, economy, ecology and technology.
Our vision sees us:
- Honour the place where we live, work and play: Wurundjeri country, and commit to First Nations, First
- Work in partnership to co-create and present new work, supporting artists to realise ambition
- Collaborate in the Asia Pacific region
- Seek structural change, co-designing plans that shift who is part of the arts, who can create, and who can lead
To learn more about what drives our programming and curatorial decisions, read about our commitments to inclusion via our Equity—Builder and Disability and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).
Image: The Dan Daw Show, Dan Daw, RISING 2023, Photo by Shannyn Higgins
Image description: Performer Dan Daw stands in front of a sculptural work.
Ticketing Information
How to buy tickets
Tickets can be purchased online anytime or by phone 11am – 4pm, Monday to Friday on 03 9322 3720.
Our Box Office also opens 60 minutes before performance start times for in person bookings. Please check ticket availability ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
Please note there is a $2.50 transaction fee for paid events.
Our full ticketing Terms & Conditions can be found here.
Ticket types
We have three ticket types: BLAKTIX, Standard and Reduced. Please note that all our tickets are general admission, and every seat offers an uninterrupted view of the performance. The theatre doors usually open 15 minutes prior to performance start times.
BLAKTIX
For every ticketed event, Arts House ensures discounted tickets are available for First Nations people. You can book BLAKTIX when purchasing tickets to any event.
Selecting BLAKTIX may indicate Race or Ethnic Origin which is considered sensitive information (Privacy and Data Protection Act, 2014). This data is only used to provide a discount for First Nations attendees. Please read the Terms and Conditions on the payment page when booking your tickets on how we store and protect this data.
REDUCED
Our Reduced ticket type is equivalent to Concession pricing. This ticket type is open to anyone who may be facing barriers to attend the arts. We do not ask for any proof or verification.
Scanning tickets
Please have your ticket ready to scan on your phone upon arrival. Our ushers will also have a door list of attendees on hand for those who are not able to show their ticket on their phone.
We encourage you not to print your tickets.
Visit Us
Arts House is located in the North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin nation.
North Melbourne Town Hall was built in 1876 and repurposed for its current use as a contemporary arts space after a long campaign from key leaders in the North Melbourne community.
Our main entrance is on Queensberry Street (step access).
Our accessible entrances are at 80 Errol Street (next to the doors of the North Melbourne Post Office) or via George Johnson Lane (on Errol Street between the Post Office and North Melbourne Library).
Image: Memeza, Nontsikelelo Mutiti Curated as part of And she was wearing trousers: a call to our heroines 2022, Photo by Jody Haines
Getting here
Tram
The closest tram stop is on Route 57 (high floor trams only), Stop 12, North Melbourne Town Hall.
Please note, this is not a wheelchair accessible tram.
Walk
We are 2.5km from Flinders St Station (approximately 35 minutes walking) and 850m from Queen Victoria Market (approximately 11 minutes walking).
Train
We are 1.1km from North Melbourne Train Station (approximately 16 minutes walking) and 1.2km from Flagstaff Station (approximately 18 minutes walking).
Car
There is both paid and free on-street parking on Queensberry and Errol Streets. There are two accessible on-street parking spaces on Queensberry Street (150m from our accessible Errol Street entrance) for holders of a Parking Permit for people with Disabilities.
Video Directions
This video shows how to get to Arts House by tram, train, bus, car and bike.
To read the transcript of this video, please click here.
Inside Arts House
To familiarise yourself with the space before you arrive, explore Arts House virtually through a 3D scan of the building by clicking here.
To download a verbal map to help with navigation throughout the building, please click here.
To download a building document that outlines detailed information on amenities, access, navigation, parking and drop-off, please click here.
There’s a dedicated Quiet Space located on the ground level opposite the Accessible Bathroom. It is suitable as a chill out space, prayer or parenting space and features a range of seating options, dimmable lights, sensory and stimming objects. Anyone is welcome to access the Quiet Space during venue operating hours and events.
For information on our COVID-19 Safety Measures, please click here.
Accessibility Services
We are committed to making the arts accessible to everyone.
For a list of accessible events and services in Season 2, 2023, please click here.
When purchasing tickets for access services, please either (1) select the required service at checkout, (2) email us at artshouse@melbourne.vic.gov.au or (3) call our Box Office on 03 9322 3720 during opening hours.
For more information on our Disability and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), please click here.
We recognise that the experience of disability and accessibility is diverse and unique to individuals, and people still face barriers. We strive to remove as many of these barriers as possible, but understand we won’t always get it right. We welcome feedback to ensure our continued improvement.
Assistance Animals
Guide dogs and assistance animals are welcome at Arts House.
Companion Card
We support the Companion Card program. You can book your companion ticket online or via phone when purchasing tickets to any show.
Meet & Assist
If you require a meet and assist service, please email or call Arts House and we can arrange this for you.
National Relay Service
If you need to, you can reach the Box Office team through the National Relay Service (NRS) at no additional charge.
TTY users: phone 13 36 77 – then ask for – 03 9322 3720
Speak and Listen users: phone 1300 555 727 – then ask for – 03 9322 3720
Internet relay users: connect to the NRS (internet-relay.nrscall.gov.au) – then type in – 03 9322 3720
Wheelchair Access
Arts House is a wheelchair accessible venue. If you are attending an event or have an appointment to meet us at the venue, you can enter via our step-free entrance at 80 Errol Street (next to the North Melbourne Post Office) during business and event hours or George Johnson Lane (between Post Office and Library) 1 hour prior to events.
There are wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral toilets on each floor and you can access all levels via a lift. There is step-free access between studios, bathrooms and kitchenettes.
Access Symbols
Check the ‘Accessibility’ section of each event page for ratings and access services.
Assistance Animal – Guide dogs and assistance animals are welcome at Arts House
Assistive Listening – Assistive listening system available to help amplify or enhance the sound quality of an event. There is no additional charge for this service, simply ask theatre staff for assistance on arrival.
Audio description – Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of actions, costumes, scenery and other visual elements of talks, events and performance between gaps in the dialogue via personal headsets.
Aural Rating 50% – contains both sound and visual components, but sight is not essential to be able to engage with the event.
Aural Rating 75% – mainly sound-based with visuals only incidental to the work, so blind or low vision audiences can have close to the full experience of the event.
Aural Rating 100% – Entirely sound-based with no visual elements and can be fully experienced by blind or low vision audiences.
Auslan Interpreting – an interpreter stands to one side of the stage or speaker and live translates the text and dialogue into Auslan.
Closed Captioning – captions are displayed on a screen enabling the audience to read what is being said. Closed Captioning can be activated or deactivated by the viewer.
Companion Card – Arts House supports the Companion Card program. You can book your companion ticket online when purchasing tickets to any show or contact our box office team for more information.
Open Captioning – for these events, Open Captioning is always in view and cannot be turned off.
Quiet Space Available – A space to facilitate the calming or alerting of senses as needed. Quiet spaces are used to avoid or recover from sensory overload or to provide sensory input to meet a sensory need.
Relaxed Performances – Relaxed Performances focus on adapting sensory elements like lighting and sound, making a show more accessible for a range of audiences. These are judgement-free zones and there is a relaxed attitude to audiences – everyone is free to respond, move, speak, or self-soothe in whatever way they need to enjoy and experience a performance.
Tactile Tours – this allows patrons who are blind or have low vision and their companions to explore the set, props and costumes prior to the performance.
Visual Rating 50% – May have music or sounds in the background, or may be partly open captioned or scripts and descriptions are given to the audience before the event on request.
Visual Rating 75% – Fully open captioned providing access to spoken word but no background music or sounds.
Visual Rating 100% – No music or dialogue or all dialogue is open captioned.
Wheelchair Accessible – physical accessibility varies from event to event, and if a show includes the symbol, this indicates the performance is fully wheelchair accessible. If there is no wheelchair symbol, access may be partial – get in touch if you’d like more info.
Our Team
Creative Program Lead
Amrit Gill
(Acting) Artistic Director
Olivia Anderson
Creative Producers
Sarah Rowbottam
Louana Sainsbury
Associate Producer
Varsha Ramesh
Business Manager
Brian Horder
Business Administrator
Bas van de Kraats
Business Support Officer
Trudy Hayter
Production Manager
Tony MacDonald
Technical Coordinator
Bart Mangan
Venue Technician
Taran Ablitt
Marketing Manager
Jake Davies
Audience Engagement Coordinator
Lucy Crossett
Public Engagement and Front of House Operations Manager
Adam Seymour
Ticketing and House Supervisor
Charlie Major
In addition to our core staff, we engage a range of advisory groups, contractors and casual staff to realise and deliver our work.
For the many ways these groups enrich what we do, we remain grateful.
Arts House Disability and Inclusion Advisory Group
Contact Us
Address
North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry Street
North Melbourne VIC 3051
Phone (03) 9322 3720
Box Office
Arts House Box Office is open from 60 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
Work with us
Careers at Arts House please check the City of Melbourne careers page.
Arts House and the City of Melbourne is committed to equity and inclusion. We strongly encourage d/Deaf and Disabled, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTIQ+ and/or CALD people to get in touch.