Now or Never Returns This Winter

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sleep over at the Royal Exhibition Building, a series of large-scale light installations along the Yarra River, and a homage to world-renowned American composer Philip Glass are at the heart of this year’s Now or Never program.

From Wednesday 19 to Sunday 30 August, the City of Melbourne’s multi-award-winning festival of art, ideas, sound and technology returns for its 4th year to light up the city from the inside out.

Across 12 days, more than 250 local and international artists and creatives will take over iconic Melbourne venues and public spaces for a city-wide program of over 150 events – with 20 premiere works and festival exclusives.

Highlights include:

● Reimagination of the Royal Exhibition Building as we know it, including:

o SOMNIA: William Basinski (US) / Bendik Giske (NO) – an overnight, durational sleep concert under the architectural Dome, featuring a performance of genre-defining ambient music.

o Philip Glass: In the Upper Room performed by Orchestra Victoria / Piano Etudes performed by Maki Namekawa (JPN) – a unique classical music concert experience celebrating the legacy of visionary composer Philip Glass.

o The Breath Haus x Now or Never – a live breathwork and sound bath ritual, featuring the magnetic sounds of First Nations artists David and Daniel Wilfred from narrm-based ensemble Hand to Earth.

● A captivating collection of free large-scale light installations along the Yarra River – Birrarung, including:

o Multimmersion 浸 漬 的 ( ) 線 Upside Down V2 – a monumental laser light installation reflecting on the water, by light artist AKA Chang (TW).

o The Falls Before Us – an illusionary piece where Evan Walker Bridge vanishes into mist, by local artist Emily Parsons-Lord.

o XYZZY REDUX in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne – an immersive digital hallucination piece projected onto the lower façade of Hamer Hall, by leading contemporary artist Jess Johnson and video director Simon Ward.

● Transformation of Melbourne Town Hall (MTH), with:

o Time Remaining – a world premiere piece from beloved Melbourne contemporary dance company Chunky Move, featuring a hypnotic dance of bodies, lasers and light.

o PRESENCE – a takeover of the Main Hall with a totalising encounter of lasers and sound, from Australian audio-visual artist Robin Fox.

o Revivification – a groundbreaking sound and sculptural exhibition that attempts to posthumously extend the life of experimental composer Alvin Lucier, using his biological material.

o Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jung Haejung (KR) and Knot Protocol by HKASON (KR) – a takeover of the MTH forecourt with a thought-provoking video installation and hypnotic kinetic sculpture, in partnership with Arts Korea Lab.

● Headline late night music program at Melbourne Town Hall featuring diverse music shows across 3 nights from local and international artists including: A.Chal, Slim Soledad, LIZZ, Dinamarca and Zalina; Octave One, Sleep D x Hybrid Man, JNETT and Baby G; and Robin Fox, MY DISCO, and Jeho Yun + Kyoungjin So.

● Thought-provoking series of talks, including:

o A SEXUAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET – a lecture performance from sexual historian Mindy Seu at the State Library Victoria.

o Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour – a live edition of Gee’s hugely popular show where music, stories and conversations unfold as a shared listening experience, with special guests Julia Jacklin and cult record label founder Michael Kucyk.

o Enshittification – an exploration of the creeping decay of online platforms from technology critic Cory Doctorow.

o First Nations Futures – looking at how new worlds are imagined into being through storytelling, visual language and acts of creative resistance, with Axel Garay, April Philips and Allara Briggs Pattison.

An ongoing collaboration with ACMI continues with the presentation of Feng Mengbo’s canonical videogame installation Long March: Restart. Other returning festival favourites include the XR headliner collaboration with MIFF, Library Up Late at State Library Victoria, Friday Night Social at Science Gallery Melbourne and Queer PowerPoint at Fed Square.

Centred around the theme A Whole New World, this year’s festival explores cultural shifts driven by immersive technologies, AI and digital storytelling – blurring the lines between installation, performance, reality and imagination.

Now or Never thanks its valued partners including Foundation Partner: Museums Victoria; Event Partners: Arts Korea Lab, Chuleo Club and Finding Figaro; Media Partners, Beat, Broadsheet and PBS 106.7 FM; and Program Partners: ACMI, Arts Centre Melbourne, Arts House, The Breath Haus, Chunky Move, Fed Square, Heavy Machinery, Melbourne Conversations, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne International Film Festival, Orchestra Victoria, RMIT Culture, Science Gallery Melbourne, State Library Victoria, The Wheeler Centre and The University of Melbourne.

Images can be found here.

Tickets for Now or Never are on sale from 9am Thursday 18 June 2026. To purchase tickets or explore the full program, visit Now or Never.

Quotes attributable to Acting Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell

“Now or Never embraces Melbourne’s cool, grey winter atmosphere and turns it into something extraordinary – using light, sound and technology to completely reimagine the city.”

“Our programming team continues to create experiences you simply won’t find anywhere else – from the rare chance to sleep beneath the Dome at the Royal Exhibition Building to a trail of large-scale light installations along the Yarra River.”

“Last year’s festival generated more than $19 million for our economy and supported around 1,000 jobs, making Now or Never not just a cultural highlight, but a major economic driver for our city.”

Quotes attributable to Tourism and Events portfolio head Councillor Mark Scott

“Events like Now or Never are a powerful example of how arts and culture can energise our city, support local jobs and bring people together during the winter months.”

“Whether its world premieres, international artists or free public installations along the river – this year’s program offers something for everyone. This event is for every music lover, a curious thinker or art lover to experience the city in a new way.”

For more information visit Now or Never Melbourne