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  • A crowd of festival attendees dancing inside the dim interior of the Royal Exhibition Building, to a DJ playing music on the stage, against a large backdrop of a white circle.
  • Sculptural art installation of billowing fabric against a ceiling, spot-lit from underneath.
  • A large interior space, with sheer fabric draped along the walls, floor and ceiling, the space bathed in a red light.
  • Round sphere with trees and flames sprouting out of it, against a black background.
21 – 31 Aug

Now or Never

  • Festival
  • Art

Now or Never invites audiences to explore the profound interconnections between past, present, and future under the theme, I Have Seen The Future.

Challenging conventional boundaries, Now or Never asks us to imagine new realities, prompting us to consider the real illusions that define our perceptions of what lies ahead. What do we envision when we think of the future? Is it a utopia, a dystopia, or something entirely unexpected? Does 2025 resemble the visions imagined a century ago? And what, in turn, will 2050 look like?

Through interdisciplinary practices, artists, technologists and creators offer glimpses into possible futures, urging us to confront our hopes and fears, to dream boldly, and to engage with the complexities of our shared existence.

Hours

Date Times
Thu 21 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Fri 22 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Sat 23 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Sun 24 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Mon 25 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Tue 26 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Wed 27 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Thu 28 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Fri 29 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Sat 30 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am
Sun 31 Aug
  • All day 12:00am - 12:00am

Location

Melbourne
Victoria 3000

Open in maps location for

Price and bookings

From free to $200

Book online for Now or Never

Contact details

  • telephone number: 03 9658 9658
  • email address: nowornever@melbourne.vic.gov.au
  • Visit website for Now or Never
Facebook page for Now or Never Instagram page for Now or Never

Part of Now or Never

Ostro x Einder
22 Aug

Ostro x Einder

Julia Busuttil Nishimura crafts a feast beneath the striking installation, Einder by Boris Acket.

  • Art
  • Exhibition
Burdi Burdi
21 – 31 Aug

Burdi Burdi

A sonic installation along Evan Walker Bridge.

  • Free
  • Family and kids
DELIRI
21 – 31 Aug

DELIRI

State Library Victoria morphs with an algorithm-driven audio-visual hallucination.

  • Free
  • Family and kids
Young Marco / Logic1000 / Big Ever / KDV Performance Group
30 Aug

Young Marco / Logic1000 / Big Ever / KDV Performance Group

A night of deep feeling, delirious levels of up-tempo energy and full-sensory release.

  • Music
  • Nightlife
DJ Python / DJ Plead B2B rRoxymore / Yarra
29 Aug

DJ Python / DJ Plead B2B rRoxymore / Yarra

This one’s for the rhythm-obsessed and the dance-floor faithful.

  • Music
  • Entertainment
MATRIA
21 – 24 Aug

MATRIA

Step inside a living, breathing pink bubble grown in the Royal Exhibition Building.

  • Free
  • Family and kids
Ryoji Ikeda ultratronics / CORIN presents DIWA
28 Aug

Ryoji Ikeda ultratronics / CORIN presents DIWA

Two visionaries of live AV bend time and space in one transcendent night of sensory immersion.

  • Music
  • Nightlife
Library Up Late
22 Aug

Library Up Late

Party late into the night at State Library Victoria

  • Music
  • Exhibition
Alcove LTD
14 – 31 Aug

Alcove LTD

An optical illusion of light and sound.

  • Free
  • Family and kids
Marie Davidson / OK EG / KDV Performance Group
31 Aug

Marie Davidson / OK EG / KDV Performance Group

Three singular forces converge for a night of radical artistic expression in sound and movement

  • Music
  • Dance
Einder
21 – 24 Aug

Einder

Look up, the roaring sea meets the sky in an aerial dance in a fabric installation by Boris Acket.

  • Free
  • Music

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Concept store and exhibition space for the sophisticated and quirky Melbourne fashion label.

  • Fashion
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Sophisticated and quirky Melbourne fashion label with artistic roots.

  • Fashion
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The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land we govern, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin and pays respect to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and honour the unbroken spiritual, cultural and political connection they have maintained to this unique place for more than 2000 generations.

We accept the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and are committed to walking together to build a better future. For more information, visit Aboriginal Melbourne.

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