Now or Never Festival Melbourne

Overview

Who said winter in Melbourne was boring? The city's multi-award-winning arts and ideas festival, Now or Never, is returning for its fourth year from August 19–30.

The festival is set to transform Melbourne's landmark buildings and cultural institutions into art and sound installations, as well as being home to groundbreaking performances and thought-provoking talks. This year's festival theme is 'A Whole New World' and explores the cultural shifts we're experiencing thanks to immersive technologies, artificial intelligence and digital storytelling.

From breathwork under the Royal Exhibition Building Dome to a laser show at Melbourne Town Hall, these are the events to check out during Now or Never.

Philip Glass: Etudes + In The Upper Room

Presented with Museums Victoria, this Now or Never exclusive event brings the work of leading American composer and pianist Philip Glass to life. On Friday, August 21, Japanese pianist Maki Namekawa, who worked closely with the leading composer, will perform Glass' meditative piano studies, Etudes 1–10.

The classical performance will take place inside the stunning Royal Exhibition Building and explore the emotional depth underneath the music's structural form. Orchestra Victoria will also perform a rarely presented live work, In The Upper Room. Together, the performances will span the intimate and the monumental: a hypnotic, ever-shifting reflection of Philip Glass's legacy and revolutionary work.

Purchase your tickets here.

Revivification

What happens to creativity when it is no longer bound to a living body? From Friday, August 21 until Sunday, August 30, Melbourne Town Hall will host a groundbreaking sound installation that posthumously extends the art of Alvin Lucier. The experimental composer passed away in 2021 at age 90 and donated his body to science and art.

In Revivification, Alvin's donated biological material forms the basis of the installation, which explores his work with brain waves, echolocation, and music. Revivification transforms his cells into cerebral organoids (or 'mini-brains') that produce neural activity. Developed over years of collaboration and conversation before his death, this groundbreaking and Now or Never-exclusive installation will challenge your ideas of both science and art.

Purchase your tickets here.

SOMNIA: William Basinski / Bendik Giske

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sleep under the dome of one of Melbourne's most hallowed institutions? In an Australian premiere, SOMNIA: William Basinski / Bendik Giske, presented with Museums Victoria, offers an overnight durational sleep concert inside the Royal Exhibition Building.

On Saturday, August 22, from 10pm until 8.30am on Sunday, August 23, guests are invited to an experimental meditation sleepover that reflects on time and loss. Featuring ambient and experimental music, guests can settle into their individual beds and float between states of rest. The lullaby of American composer, William Basinski will play gently as you move through presence and rest to focused listening and contemplation. All four of William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops albums will be presented continuously in a single concert setting.

Joining the sleepover is Norwegian musician, composer and saxophonist Bendik Giske, who will give a solo avant-garde performance. As morning arrives, a special guest performance will gently stir the room awake and help guests to reflect on this once-in-a-lifetime musical experience.

Purchase your tickets here.

The Breath Haus X Now or Never

Also held in the Dome of the Royal Exhibition Building, The Breath Haus X Now or Never is a collective pause and ritual of breath, sound and stillness. Taking place on Saturday, August 22, from 4.30pm–7pm, guests will undertake guided breathwork, meditation, and hear live music to create a sensory experience.

The event begins with a 90-minute guided breathwork experience by leading modern breathwork studio, The Breath Haus and invites you to reconnect with yourself through the art of conscious breathing. Following this, Yolnu songmen, Daniel and David Wilfred of Hand to Earth, along with musicians Bhairavi Raman, Peter Knight, and Helen Svoboda, will urge listeners to hold space for stillness and connection through a live performance. The Breath Haus X Now or Never exclusive event is your chance to slow down from our chaotic, digital world and pause collectively in a moment of conscious breath.

Purchase your tickets here.

PRESENCE

Get ready for an evening of laser light and sound. In PRESENCE, Australian audio-visual artist Robin Fox creates a piece of work where lasers and sound synchronise in real time. Across one week of the festival, from Friday, August 21, until Thursday, August 27, Melbourne Town Hall will transform into a constantly shifting interplay of audio and light. Light beams will form geometric planes, and three-dimensional environments will dissolve around you in an immersive art experience. This event is free, so be sure to make a visit to Melbourne city and experience the world premiere installation of PRESENCE.

Entry to PRESENCE is free.

Multimmersion 浸 漬 的 ( ) 線 Upside Down V2

During Now or Never, visionary Taiwanese artist AKA Chang explores light and space, transforming the Yarra River, Birrarung. From Thursday, August 20, until Sunday, August 23 and the following weekend of Thursday, August 27, until Sunday, August 30, Birrarung Marr Lower Terrace will become an ever-shifting canvas where laser beams dance across the river, and kaleidoscopic patterns decorate the landscape.

AKA Chang's work is revered for existing on the cusp of reality and blending technology and light to create shifting dimensions of perception. Multimmersion 浸 漬 的 ( ) 線 Upside Down V2 is free to attend and will help you see the Birrarung in a whole new light. There are a range of free experiences held on the Yarra River throughout Now or Never that you can check out here.

Entry to Multimmersion 浸 漬 的 ( ) 線 Upside Down V2 is free.

These are just a handful of the exciting and groundbreaking events taking place during Now or Never. You can take a look at the full program here and get ready to enter a whole new world.

Now or Never 2026 is happening across multiple Melbourne venues and locations from Wednesday, August 19–Sunday, August 30. Head to the website for more information.

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