Now Or Never Art Trail

17 – 20 August 2023
Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands, Melbourne (map)

Experimenta invited audiences to explore the complexities of imagining and shaping a world of tomorrow. Artists contemplated the relationship between the self and others, technology and humanity, nature and culture, the physical world and the digital realm.

How do we connect with life beyond the immediate, the biological and the artificial?Is it in the listening, feeling, and sensing?

Now or Never Art Trail curated by Experimenta explored the creative possibilities of a new tomorrow. Seven leading Australian and International contemporary artists ignited a 1.2km promenade journey through Melbourne’s Docklands with art and technology

From large-scale generative artworks, to electronic organisms and immersive performance, artists encouraged audiences to listen, see, interact, and imagine. The exhibition brought together ideas and thought-provoking installations that challenge us to contemplate the future and our place within it.

The Now or Never Art Trail curated by Experimenta inspired dialogue about collective futures and the power of connection and relationship in shaping our tomorrow.

Curated by Experimenta in partnership with The City of Melbourne for Now or Never

Curatorial Statement

In our fast-paced lives, it seems essential to pause and reflect on our collective future and the role of connection and relationships in shaping it. As we navigate this rapidly evolving society, observing how our experiences shape our perceptions, identities, and the ways in which we traverse the world around us is important.

In this exhibition, we aim to spark ideas and conversations around the challenges, possibilities, and complexities of imagining and shaping a world of tomorrow and our place in that future. Experimenta invites you to explore the exhibition and contemplate the relationship between the self and others, technology and humanity, the physical world and the digital realm, and nature and culture. How do we connect with life beyond the immediate, the biological and the artificial? Is it in the listening, feeling, and sensing?

The artworks encourage audiences to listen, see, interact, and imagine. The exhibition brings together innovative ideas and thought-provoking installations that challenge and inspire us to contemplate the future and our place within it.

Now or Never Art Trail curated by Experimenta will ignite a dialogue about collective futures and the power of connection and relationship in shaping our tomorrow.

Artists: Universal Everything (UK), Michaela Gleave (Australia), Jarra Karalinar Steel (Boonwurrung, Wemba Wemba, Trawlwoolway, Australia), Jon McCormack (Australia), Justine Emard (France), Georgie Pinn (Australia) and Theatre of Thunder (Australia)

Credits:
Creative Director: Kim de Kretser
Curator-at-Large: Lubi Thomas
Co-Curator & Creative Producer: Kelli Alred
Technical Director: Owen Taylor

The Now or Never Art Trail, curated by Experimenta, is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.