Open Air at the Square has got a spicy January program lined up with free films, kids’ workshops, dance parties and much more.
There’s something for everyone at Open Air at the Square this January. Whether you’re wanting to sit back and relax with a film on the big screen or catch the cutest pups in town at the live dog show, Fed Square has you covered.
There won’t be a day that goes by in all of January without the polygon-shaped hub of activity vibrating with festivities. While free film screenings will light up the city sky most nights, kids and families are spoilt for choice with an array of events around the launch of NGV Kids Summer Festival. Better yet, a selection of curated sounds will be soundtracking the Square for all the moments in between.
Read on to find out which events to check out at Open Air at the Square over January.
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Summer of Tennis live site with Channel 9
January 12-18, 11am until the end
- January 19, 11am until 6pm
- January 20-24, 11am until the end
- January 25-26, 7pm until the end
- Big Screen
For the month of January, Melbourne transforms into a tennis-lovers paradise. If you’re looking to soak in the contagious atmosphere of the crowd and watch the games on the big screen for free, Fed Square is the place to be. Grab a lawn chair, pack a picnic and pull up to the square to watch the world’s best go head-to-head only a few kilometres away. There will be rallies! There will be adrenaline! There will be screaming fans!
Sounds of Summer: Curated Playlists
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- 1 January to 31 March, 12pm to 2pm, 2pm to 5.30pm
- Main Square
- More info here
Is there no event scheduled at the Square on the day you’re thinking of popping past? No worries. On non-event days from the start of January to the end of March, Open Air at the Square is presenting Sounds of Summer: Curated Playlists. Music-makers Mothafunk and Emelyne will be supplying the grooves to soundtrack your afternoons. They’ll be playing every non-event day between 12pm and 2pm, and 2pm and 5.30pm.
Outdoor Cinema: Christopher Nolan x Hans Zimmer
- January 3 to 5, 8.30pm
- Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight
- Big Screen
- More info here
Two of the twenty-first century’s greatest filmmakers and composers are getting a spin at Open Air at the Square this January. Buckle up for a Christopher Nolan and Hans Zimmer takeover with this trio of films that have shaped modern cinema, as well as the scores that have soundtracked it. Catch Inception on January 3, Interstellar on January 4 and The Dark Knight on January 5.
Outdoor Cinema: Wild Westerns
- January 6 to 8, 8.30pm
- Once Upon a Time in the West, Meek’s Cutoff and Seven Samurai
- Big Screen
- More info here
Saddle up for this trifecta of wild westerns at Open Air at the Square as cowboys and sherifs take over the outdoor cinema. There’s a western of every kind to suit all types of gunslingers across these three nights in January. Whether it’s the spaghetti western kind with Once Upon a Time in the West, the stripped-back kind in Meek’s Cutoff, or the masterpiece kind in Seven Samurai, there’s a goldmine of cinematic beauty to be found in each of these movies.
Outdoor Cinema: Techno Thrillers
- January 9, from 6.30pm
- Tron: Legacy and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Big Screen
- More info here
If you’re a fan of a techno thriller, you’re going to be a fan of this double-feature extravaganza. January 9 will see alternative universes takeover Open Air at the Square with Tron: Legacy starting off the festivities from 6.30pm and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse following up the action at 8.45pm. Whether these are favourites you’ve seen a squillion times or films that have been sitting on your to-watch list, this is the perfect way to catch some sci-fi adventure on a balmy summer night.
NGV Kids Summer Festival Launch
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- Saturday 11 January
- Main Square
- More info here
The kids get their very own festival launch party this January at Open Air at the Square. Little kids – and big ones – are all invited to celebrate NGV Kids Summer Festival. In conjunction with the Cats & Dogs exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, the Summer Festival will be hosting one of the most adorable of events: a live dog show. There’ll also be Cats & Dogs face painting, an educational show from Farmer Dave and the Muttley Crew, free ice cream and a free film. Kids will also get free entry into the Cats & Dogs exhibition with every adult ticket purchased.
Outdoor Cinema: Best in Show
- Thursday January 11, 6pm
- Big Screen
- More info here
If you’re looking for a laugh this January, there’s no going past the screening of this cult-classic at Fed Square’s outdoor cinema. Best in Show brings together beloved comedians – including Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Jennifer Coolidge – for an annual dog show circuit. You can bet that canine chaos ensues. Celebrating the launch of NGV Kids Summer Festival, this free film will be one to wag your tail at.
Huddle
- 13 January to 31 March, 7pm–8pm
- Big Screen
- More info here
Every evening at 7pm from January 13 to March 31, you can catch a very special film at the Square. Huddle, a new screen commission that explores the practice of Deaf huddling, will be making a premier. The film takes the viewer on a journey of exploring how huddling – a protected, visual space for sign language that was devised in a game of Deaf gridiron in the 1890s – is a practice of connection, communal protection and agency.
Outdoor Cinema: Celebrating Dolly Parton
- January 19, from 6pm
- Boot Scootin’ Boogie and 9 to 5
- Big Screen
- More info here
A birthday party as flamboyant as the icon herself is coming up this January to celebrate the legendary Dolly Parton’s 79th birthday. Festivities will kick off from 6pm at Fed Square with Country Club Boot Scooting leading the way in a boot scooting class open to anyone wanting to get in on the action. Dolly Parton’s fabulous film 9 to 5 will follow from 8.30pm, also starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in what is a hilarious screwball comedy.
To check out the full program for Open Air at the Square, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Fed Square.
