Our Artistic Vision

Arts House is where extraordinary artists make life-changing art, for overlapping communities. Our vision is a deep inquiry into:

History: programming at Arts House should reflect an accountability to Traditional Owners, with respect paid to the land on which our work takes place. We should also reflect Australia’s ongoing history of migration and displacement, and our responsibility towards diverse communities. Our architecture is colonial, a civic and political space of ongoing significance in North Melbourne. We commit to creating space and profile for these overlapping communities.

Power: the question of who speaks, to whom, drives our artistic and curatorial enquiries. We aspire to decentralise curatorial practice and commit to an artistic vision that is transparent, connected and adaptive. 

Change: from the deeply embodied, to the crisis of extinction, to the role of technology, our programming is hopeful. It is committed to the idea that humanity and art are interlinked.

Community: we desire our space to hold meaning for multiple and overlapping communities, profiling artists as leaders and facilitators of connection.

It is our priority that Arts House is considered a porous, dynamic space where self-determination is felt, seen and enacted. Our artists are supported to grow their practice, connect with communities, have big conversations, adapt to new technologies and create and share ambitious contemporary art.

Our Values

Partnership: between Arts House, our artists, our audiences and our partners we believe that collaboration relies upon mutually beneficial, meaningful relationships and drives success.

Adaptation: we listen, we consult and we build capacity to respond to a changing environmental, financial and social climate. 

Plurality: we proactively seek and welcome intersectional, multi-versed communities into our programs and spaces through a commitment to devolved leadership structures and transparent decision making.

Deep Inquiry: we create the space for good work to take time and value the process of sharing different knowledges.

Connection: we believe a generous society is a confident one, where new encounters with new experiences and new people create an electricity that is sustaining.

To see some of the ways in which we are enacting our values and learning as we go, take a look at our Disability and Inclusion Action Plan, our long-term research into the intersection between art, climate crisis and emergency in REFUGE or our commitment to accessible tickets for everyone, here.

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 are guided by a deep commitment to sustainability. We consider environmental impact in the creation, administration and delivery of every work you see within these walls and beyond. Over the course of many years we have adopted greener alternatives across the venue and promote sustainable thinking and action in all of our activities and business practices.

Meeting Our Vision

For Artists
A milestone in Arts House’s shift toward sustainability was 2014’s 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. Since then we have there have been ongoing initiatives to maintain a focus on our role within a dynamic ecosystem, be it the compost kept very healthy by staff and Arts House artists, an edible garden on the Arts House terrace, or the care we take in our policies towards waste and recycling.

For Patrons
Some of the key sustainability initiatives visible to Arts House patrons include:

• A paperless ticketing system
• Paper-free show programs, which can all be viewed online

Our latest Environmental Action Plan and the Global Goals

Arts House has committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which provide a roadmap to address the world’s most pressing challenges by 2030, including climate change, inequality and education. This commitment is reflected in our Sustainability Action Plan, which supports global efforts to safeguard our natural environment.

For more information on Arts House’s approach to sustainability, read our plan or get in touch. We’d love to chat.

More information

City of Melbourne Green Our City Strategic Action Plan 2017–2021
City of Melbourne Climate Change Mitigation Strategy to 2050
City Of Melbourne Emissions Reduction Plan
EcoArts Australia

Contact Us

Arts House Team