Arts House spoke with co-creator of WE ARE LIGHTNING!, JOF, about the role of live music and public spaces in society and why they are so important.

S. J. Norman and Georgia Banks

Arts House is Melbourne’s home for contemporary performance.

With a year-round program of dance, theatre, music, sound, new technologies and community projects, Arts House is one of the major forces shaping Melbourne’s cultural and social landscape. We cultivate diverse new audiences for independent artists’ ambitious new work, and we build relationships at both local and international levels.

This is a house where change happens. From the crisis of extinction to the rapid transformations of technology, we know that the futures of humanity and art are entwined. We want to be hopeful.

As part of Melbourne’s cultural landscape, Arts House expresses the deep forces that shape that terrain. Our programming pays respect to Traditional Owners and the land on which our work takes place, and reflects Australia’s ongoing history of migration and displacement.

Arts House also seeks to ask questions about power: who has the power to speak, and what is the power of listening? We explore new ways of distributing curatorial power, and commit to an artistic vision that is transparent and connected.