-Topia Festival makes its second appearance at Abbotsford Convent on 26 September with 11 hours of multidisciplinary chaos.
Building on a sold-out debut that drew over 800 punters, -Topia Festival continues Tessellate Club’s mission to blur boundaries between art forms and create something genuinely different in Melbourne’s festival landscape.
This year’s iteration promises an even more ambitious take on their immersive arts concept, spreading across four distinct zones within the historic convent grounds. It’s been designed as a cyclical experience that mirrors life stages, guiding attendees through intensity, softness, play and reflection across 11 vibrant hours. Each of the four spaces – Garden of Earthly Delights, Sensoria, Psycho Slow-Burn and Sirens – offers a different sonic and visual environment, encouraging exploration rather than passive consumption.
-Topia Festival
- Where: Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford
- When: 26 September, 12pm-11pm
- Find all the info here
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The massive full -Topia lineup
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Sound:
- Andy Garvey
- DJ Scorpion
- Chuleo Club X Kiki House Of Furia
- Colette
- DJ PGZ
- DJ Possum
- Myles Mac
- Eric Spanner
- Ewan Sutardy
- EXEK
- Genevieve Fry
- Steeplejack
- Harriet Ripley
- KHYA
- No News
- OMOLOKO
- Orange Moon
- Richard Sen
- SEN
- Simona Castricum
- Spike Fuck
- Takeo.K
- Tilly Vickers Willis
- Zanzibar Chanel
- Zobs Palace
Arts:
- 2 Dual
- Aarti Jadu
- Dance Remedy X Beatrice
- ELTEX
- Emil LP
- Endless Prowl
- Erika Beiza
- Felise Lyon
- Felix
- Iris Elgar
- Golden Scissor Puppets
- Heather Lee
- Hitahhchi
- Lava Brain
- Love Lulu Makeup
- Maya Grkow
- Maya Irving
- Soma Practice
- Nick Marriot
- Niph
- Nissassa Bacci
- Peta Treble
- Pat Flanagan Design
- The Cult
- WINGNUT™
- Zev Tropp
- Prad Sen
- ZWRFLWR
Introducing Tessellate Club
-Topia Festival is the eighth instalment of Tessellate Club’s ongoing series – it’s an established platform for Melbourne’s most adventurous artists. Festival director James Benjamin’s vision centres on uniting community, collaboration and creativity while ensuring equal representation of arts and creators – a philosophy that translates into programming choices that prioritise a massive amount of diversity over big names.
“The purpose of the festival is to unite community, collaboration & creativity,” Benjamin says, “with the representation of the arts and its creators being equally important.”
“The openness and curiosity present on the day… affirmed that we’re not just hosting a festival—we’re nurturing an evolving culture,” visual director Alana Leptos added. “As we expand in scale and ambition, our guiding principles remain unchanged: to foster a space where art, technology, and human connection converge meaningfully.”
Expect participatory experiences that blur lines between performer and audience. Whether you’re looking at the workshops, the roving performers or the sound and art-focused sessions, there is so much going on here that’s designed to turn attendees into active creators rather than passive consumers.
Programming highlights across genres
The Garden of Earthly Delights occupies the Mercator Lawn as an outdoor oasis featuring world music, afro-latin rhythms, jazz and psych-rock alongside welcome ceremonies and sound workshops. Sensoria transforms the Industrial School into an experimental maze where RnB, downtempo and ambient sounds accompany labyrinth installations and aromatherapy experiences.
Psycho Slow-Burn takes over the Magdalen Laundry for high-energy techno and prog, while the new Sirens stage in the Oratory provides ambient listening space with vocal performances and movement workshops. Musical programming spans from UK artist Richard Sen’s mysterious electronics to DJ PGZ closing with bass-driven club sounds that spotlight Blak futurism.
Simona Castricum opens the main stage with new material, while Spike Fuck presents an intimate choir-accompanied set on Sirens. Andy Garvey and DJ Scorpion bring their subterranean kaleidoscope sounds from Sydney, and rising neo-soul artist KHYA explores power and femininity through performance.
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A stunning arts and workshop program
Visual arts programming includes Golden Scissor Puppets’ giant puppetry installations, 2dual’s glitch aesthetic environments, and performance artist Felise Lyon’s site-responsive movement activation. Lucy Eidelson returns with an evolved version of her roaming Cult performance, while Endless Prowl presents multifaceted work fusing embroidery, digital painting and VR sculpture.
Workshop programming includes Dance Remedy sessions led by Zoee Marsh – guided dance experiences inviting participants to shed inhibition and reconnect with their bodies through soundscapes in mirrorless, choreography-free spaces.
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Aromatherapy experiences, meditation spaces and relaxation areas provide counterbalance to the more intense programming, reflecting -Topia Festival’s cyclical approach to energy management and community care throughout the 11-hour experience.
Access includes Victoria Park train station within 15 minutes’ walk, plus bus routes 200 and 207 stopping nearby. On-site parking operates through Abbotsford Convent with proceeds supporting venue restoration and operations.
You couldn’t pick a more beautiful space for a festival than Abbotsford Convent. Converting these heritage buildings into sensory mazes and high-energy dance floors creates an interesting tension between sacred and profane that runs through the entire festival experience.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with -Topia.
