Now or Never returns 21-31 August and brings with it an arts program that stretches beyond your wildest imagination.
When it comes to interpreting this year’s Now or Never program, rest assured that no two artworks, performances, installations or events are the same. From immersive theatrical experiences that blend fiction with reality, to icon-consuming visual installations that will change the face of the city as we know it, 2025’s Now or Never is the boldest year of the festival yet.
Take a journey into the unknown and detour past the future – one of possibility or otherworldly vision. With a program brimming with genre-bending, medium-blending and convention-breaking art and discussion, the festival invites you to get lost in the later.
Now or Never 2025
- When: 21-31 August
- Where: various venues across Melbourne
- Find out more info here
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
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There’s something for everyone, too, including a range of free events and even a family-friendly artistic exploration. Read on to discover the art, performance and presentation events on the program below.
DISTRACTION
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- Saturday 26 July to Saturday 20 December
- Science Gallery Melbourne
- Free entry
- Tickets here
The festivities are beginning early with this free installation that reinterprets doom-scrolling into a cacophony of content. The experimental project transplants you into a world of distractions and creativity. You won’t be distracted from this distraction.
Alcove LTD
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- Thursday 14 August to Sunday 31 August
- Melbourne Town Hall Forecourt
- Free entry
- More info here
Melbourne Town Hall’s forecourt will be transformed into a portal of light, sound and image that immerses the viewer into the fabric of the art. If you’re strolling past the Town Hall this August, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for Alcove LTD, created by Encor Studio.
MATRIA
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- Thurs 21 August to Sunday 24 August
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Free entry
- More info here
There are no shortage of free experiences across the Now or Never program, and MATRIA is one of the best. Created by Barcelona-based collective Penique Production, the Royal Exhibition Building will become a sanctuary of pink inflatable experimentation as this artwork explores ideas of memory, refuge and care.
Einder
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- Thursday 21 August, Saturday 23 August and Sunday 24 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Free entry
- Tickets here
This free artwork invites viewers to step into the storm. Created by Dutch artist and composer Boris Acket, Einder brings a thunderstorm to life – light, sound and sensations falling from the ceiling-cum-sky of Melbourne Town Hall. Fear not – you can leave your umbrella at home.
The World Came Flooding In
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- Thursday 21 August to Sunday 24 August
- ACMI
- Tickets here
Like a match made in heaven, Now or Never is teaming up with Melbourne International Film Festival for an exclusive world premiere of this immersive installation and VR documentary. When a natural disaster strikes, what stories are at the centre? The World Came Flooding In seeks to find an answer.
Sonic Labyrinth
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- Thursday 21 August to Sunday 24 August, Thursday 28 August to Sunday 31 August
- ArtPlay
- Free entry
- More info here
Now or Never isn’t letting the kids miss out on the fun, either. This sonic playground invites children aged 5 to 13 years old to explore an interactive space that transforms body movement into music. It’ll be guaranteed fun for both little kids and big kids alike.
DELIRI
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- Thursday 21 August to Sunday 31 August
- State Library Victoria
- Free entry
- More info here
Another free art installation, DELIRI will take over the exterior of State Library Victoria. Created by Barcelona-based artistic duo Hamill Industries, DELIRI is a whirlwind of sound, movement and texture.
Burdi Burdi
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- Thursday 21 August to Sunday 31 August
- Evan Walker Bridge
- Free entry
- More info here
This free installation will see sound come to life across one of Melbourne’s most travelled pedestrian bridges, connecting Southbank to Flinders Street in an exploration of fire, gold and the cultural histories that are intertwined in our personal stories.
Ostro x Einder
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- Friday 22 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
If you’re looking to take the thunderstorm experience of Einder up a notch, acclaimed cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura has just the Now or Never event for you. This multi-sensory experience will see Julia cooking up a storm in an event of food, sound and sensory explosions.
Listening Acts | Installations
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- Friday 22 August to Sunday 24 August
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- Free entry
- More info here
This series of free installations journey through the weeds of memory, belonging and identity as Chamber Made take the helm. Personal histories rise to the surface as the simple act of listening is explored with technology.
Amber McCartney x Shapednoise x MATRIA
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- Saturday 23 August
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Tickets here
MATRIA is partnering up with dancer and choreographer Amber McCartney and Sicilian producer DJ Shapednoise for a performance of abject beauty. Lines between the body and mind intertwine with this sensory journey of music, movement and art.
The Future of Space
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- Saturday 23 August
- Melbourne Museum
- Tickets here
This transcendental presentation will feature Australia’s very own first astronaut – Katherine Bennell-Pegg – alongside astronomer Dr Tania Hill. While we used to look to the stars to see our future, now we’re heading there. This duo of experts will deliver an other-worldly talk alongside an exclusive new short film commissioned by the Australian Space Agency.
The Breath Haus x MATRIA
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- Saturday 23 August and Sunday 24 August
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Tickets here
Another powerful Now or Never collaboration with MATRIA, The Breath Haus will transform the Exhibition Building into a visceral expression of breath work. Prepared to be guided by the immersive sound and breathtaking installation as you breathe this artwork deep into your lungs.
Intraconnection
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- Monday 25 August to Sunday 31 August
- Fed Square – Big Screen
- Free entry
- More info here
Settle in at Fed Square for a journey of human exploration. Intraconnection questions the boundaries of living and artificial beings in a large-scale intervention as the artwork explores coexistence and shared ecologies.
PARA.CINE
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- Tuesday 26 August
- ACMI
- Tickets here
Cinema is expanding beyond the silver screen in this otherworldly experience of hypnotic sound and bodily movement. PARA.CINE features two world premiere works commissioned by SOFT CENTRE – Hearsay and Team Rolfes & The Mustang Speedrun. Hold onto your armrests – this is going to be a wild ride.
Charting the Future: First Nations Knowledges and Artificial Intelligence
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- Tuesday 26 August
- The Wheeler Centre
- Tickets here
The rise of AI brings with it a trail of questions, and, with that, many attempts at answering them. In this talk between Associate Professor Jessica Russ-Smith and Professor Michelle D. Lazarus, the two experts explore the history of Australia’s innovations and how First Nations knowledge systems are as important as ever as we fly into the technological future.
How to Live Forever
- Wednesday 27 August
- The Wheeler Centre
- Tickets here
Immortality may seem unlikely, but neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston is here to posit that it’s not impossible. In this engaging talk with Dr Jen Martin, the two will discuss the meaning of death and how we may be able to avoid the big sleep for longer than we thought.
ASSEMBLY
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- Wednesday 27 August, Friday 29 August and Sunday 31 August
- ACMI
- Tickets here
This kaleidoscope of music, dance, projections, sculpture, holograms and African fractal patterns culminates in more than just a film – it’s a bodily experience. Exploring black and queer futures in a multi-sensory performance piece, ASSEMBLY is the kind of Now or Never event that you have to see to believe.
Crisis Actor
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- Wednesday 27 August to Sunday 31 August
- Arts House
- Tickets here
Immersive theatre is being taken to a whole new level with this interactive performance that invites audience members to dictate the story. Part physical theatre, part simulated reality, Crisis Actor is an absurd comedy of unexpected consequences.
Liz Pelly: Mood Machine
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- Thursday 28 August
- The Wheeler Centre
- Tickets here
A highlight of the program, this talk invites cultural critic and music journalist Liz Pelly and Naarm-based music journalist Lauren Taylor to join in the conversation to discuss the uptick of algorithms in art.
I Have Seen the Future with Tim Flannery
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- Friday 29 August
- The Capitol
- Tickets here
Award-winning scientist and former Australian of the Year Tim Flannery will be joined by BC Radio National’s Hilary Harper in conversation to discuss the role of hope, in the midst of climate catastrophe. Looking into the past in order to change our futures, this discussion promises an optimistic perspective on an issue that is in desperate need of one.
Crown and Country
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- Friday 29 August
- The Capitol
- Tickets here
This groundbreaking First Nations film is an unmissable event on the Now or Never’s calendar. Prepare to be transported into the desert as the film unfolds through intimate encounters of ceremonial knowledge and cultural exchanges.
Queer PowerPoint
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- Friday 29 August
- Fed Square – The Edge
- Free entry
- More info here
It’s sold-out shows around the country, and now Melburnians will be seeing this spectacular presentation for free. Exactly what it sounds like, Queer Powerpoint invites queer artists and everyone else to share their thoughts, feelings and questions through the underrated medium of Microsoft’s PowerPoint. Secure a (free) ticket while you can.
For more information and the full Now or Never program, head here.
Beat is a proud media partner of Now or Never.
