What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 12pm - 6pm Thursday 12pm - 6pm Friday 12pm - 6pm Saturday 12pm - 6pm

http://www.thesubstation.org.au/

The Substation, 1 Market Street, Melbourne (2025)

23/05/2025

CLUB ECSTASY/

Saturday 14 June
6.30 pm – midnight

EMELYNE/

An active force in Naarm’s music scene, Emelyne is known for her deep knowledge, intuitive selections and magnetic presence behind the decks. Her sets span UK-influenced rhythms, broken beat, dub, and experimental bass—drawing from a vast archive of little-heard global sounds and overlooked musical gems.

Co-host of The Blend on PBS FM, and a familiar face behind the counter at Northside Records, Emelyne moves fluidly across dance floors and listening spaces alike. She has supported artists including Loefah, Sully, Yaeji, HTRK, Shackleton and Aya, and performed at iconic stages from the Sydney Opera House to Golden Plains, Inner Varnika and Soft Centre.
For CLUB ECSTASY, expect funk, force and full-bodied low end.

Tickets through link in bio
emelyne

22/05/2025

IN THE AIR/ CURATED BY JESSICA CLARK/

29 May – 16 August
Opening next Thursday

EMILY PARSONS-LORD/
Practising on the lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, Emily Parsons-Lord works with air and explosions—materials that capture both the invisibility and spectacle of collapse. Her practice explores the climate crisis as a visceral, atmospheric condition: the breath in our lungs, the smoke in the air, the shockwave of impact.

Parsons-Lord’s work asks what it means to witness this unstable moment across multiple scales of catastrophe—human, planetary, cosmic. Air becomes a medium of entanglement, where time, energy, and consequence accumulate. It is clear that we are exploding.

Credit
Photo by Chantal Anderson
Emily Parsons-Lord, A Great Shock of Brilliant Hairs Thrilled the Sky, (2022)

21/05/2025

10 DAYS LEFT TO DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT/
SUPPORT AMBITIOUS IDEAS EARLY/

«The Substation’s long-term investment in a truly ambitious project like The Crying Room: Exhumed was absolutely integral to the work’s success and subsequent touring. It allowed us to work in a site-responsive manner, and to develop our ideas over multiple years, rather than just multiple months. I can’t overstate the benefit of this to my work.»
— Marcus Ian McKenzie, creator and performer

In 2024, The Substation supported 385 artists through development, commissioning, and presentation. As a Creative Australia Plus1 recipient, all donations received before 31 May 2025 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

Support artists like Marcus Ian McKenzie to create ambitious and risk-taking work. 
Donate to The Substation today.

Donate through link in bio

Video
The Crying Room: Exhumed by Marcus Ian McKenzie
Courtesy of the artist

16/05/2025

CLUB ECSTASY/

Saturday 14 June
6.30 pm – midnight

JUNGIST/
Hong Kong-born, Eora/Sydney-based DJ, producer and curator Jungist draws from deep, dubby low frequencies and a taste for the dark and dramatic. Known for their eclectic, post-genre blends, Jungist has played alongside artists including Mala, Kode9, Joy Orbison, Sherelle, Giant Swan, and ZULI—delivering sets that move between heavy bass, deconstructed percussion and experimental electronics.

They are the host of Variable Depth Audit, a weekly radio show exploring experimental bass music, and co-founder of Decay Audio, a platform and event series dedicated to the underground.

Tickets through link in bio

au

15/05/2025

THE INTERSECTION
AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND QUALIFIER/

Saturday 7 June
The Substation Main Space
12 – 6 pm

Presented by D’Cipher Collective, supported by Cypher Culture

Get ready, Melbourne one of this year’s most anticipated hip hop events is about to go down. The Intersection isn’t just a jam. It’s a clash of style, grit, and raw energy.

This edition of The Intersection brings a 1v1 battle format split into Male and Female categories, each repping their own heat through preselection rounds judged by our esteemed guest judge, Toppy. From there, the top 8 dancers from each side will battle it out until one male and one female remain. Then in true Intersection style they’ll face off in a final showdown to crown a sole winner.

What’s on the line? A trip to Singapore, flights and accommodation covered to represent at The Intersection 2025 this November.

Expect heavy boombap, hard-hitting beats, and pure hip hop flavor as we take over The Substation in Newport, VIC. This ain’t your polished commercial battle, it’s an underground celebration of culture, character, and creativity.

Bring the fire. Claim your spot. See you at The Intersection.

Tickets and registration form through link in bio

12/05/2025

IN THE AIR/ CURATED BY JESSICA CLARK/

29 May – 16 August

XANTHE DOBBIE/

Xanthe Dobbie is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose practice spans performance, interactive media, installation, and digital collage. Working across on- and offline modes of making, they explore the experience of contemporaneity through q***r and feminist frameworks—drawing on humour, pop culture, s*x, and iconography to create shrines to a post-truth era.

Their work often interrogates the intersections of technocapitalism, climate grief, and myth-making. In The Long Now, a desktop performance set to an original score by Jorde Heys, Dobbie collapses ancient and contemporary narratives—placing epic hero Gilgamesh alongside the deepfake voice of Alan Rickman to reflect on the human urge for permanence in an age of instability.

Dobbie has exhibited widely both locally and internationally, with recent presentations at UTS Gallery, Lismore Regional Gallery, ACMI, and UQ Art Museum. They are currently completing a PhD at RMIT focused on digital and interactive art.

Credit
Xanthe Dobbie, Still from ‘The Long Now’, 2022
Photo by Laura Du Ve

Commissioned by
Original Score by Jorde Heys

11/05/2025

Opening in 1 month!

ECSTASY/
MARCUS WHALE/

Join us 11 – 14 June for Marcus Whale’s immersive investigation into Ekstasis.

Presented by The Substation and RISING

The closing night of Ecstasy will see The Substation transformed into CLUB ECSTASY, a club night of live performance and music curated by Marcus Whale.

By purchasing a ticket to any Ecstasy performance, you can add on a ticket to Saturday’s CLUB ECSTASY for $17 until ticket allocation is exhausted.

Tickets through link in bio

melbourne

Photo by Sage Riley

09/05/2025

FINAL DAY

TENYA/
GABI BRIGGS/

Open 11 am – 5 pm

Throwback to last Saturday’s Poly-Rhythmic: Music//Talks//Eats #4 with Gabi Briggs, Jenna Rain Warwick, Yaraan Couzens Bundle, Hayden Ryan and delicious food by 😋

Photos by Archibald McGill

TENYA Creative Team
James Howard - Creative Producer: First Nations Programming, Liquid Architecture
Hayden Ryan - Spatial Sound Designer and artist on staff, Liquid Architecture
Lawrence English -Mentor/Advisor

09/05/2025

IN THE AIR/
CURATED BY JESSICA CLARK/

29 May – 16 August

CASEY JEFFEREY/

Working at the intersection of consumerism, migration, and identity, Casey Jefferey’s practice unpacks the seductive weight of excess in a world shaped by capitalism. Through labor-intensive processes and a deep engagement with craft, she explores the paradox of “poverty in excess”—where instant gratification masks deeper voids, and handmade becomes a luxury for the few.

A graduate of the VCA with an impressive exhibition history and multiple awards to her name, Casey’s work has been seen at LON Gallery, Conners Conners, Spring 1883, and beyond, and is held in collections including Artbank and the RACV Collection.

Works
Courtesy of the Artist and Lon Gallery

08/05/2025

CLUB ECSTASY/
14 June
6.30 pm – midnight

As the sun descends and the moon rises on the final performance of Marcus Whale’s Ecstasy, The Substation transforms from theatre into club.

CLUB ECSTASY is a freeform dance floor for those wanting more – following on from the sub-heavy shuddering of Ecstasy’s ravey soundtrack. Join us for a mix of back-to-back DJ sets and performances by some of Melbourne and Sydney’s most unhinged and experimental club dwellers.

For a limited time only, you can book a $17 ticket to CLUB ECSTASY, when purchasing a ticket to any performance of Marcus Whale’s Ecstasy. Please note this offer ends on Monday, 12 May. Don’t sleep on it.

Tickets - link in bio
emelyne

sample

Poster by Marcus Whale

07/05/2025

The Substation Commissioning Circle – take a seat at the table 🔥

Make a donation of $1,000 or more to join The Substation Commissioning Circle  The Substation Commissioning Circle is designed to cultivate a donor community at The Substation, and acknowledge their vital contribution by providing bespoke engagements with our program and artists.

⭐️Annual studio visits with our resident artists
⭐️ Insight into works in development, including invitations to VIP work in progress showings
⭐️ Acknowledgement throughout venue signage, printed and digital program
⭐️Complimentary tickets to VIP opening nights across our year round program

By joining ‘The Substation Commissioning Circle,’ you become an integral part of our creative community. As a key supporter of our artist community, you Invest in artistic innovation from its inception and help shape the future of multi-artform experimental practice.

Donate through link in bio

Photo
Feast by Gregory Lorenzutti

06/05/2025

Huge congratulations to all the wonderful artists, residents and creative teams we worked with last year on their Green Room Award!

CONTEMPORARY AND EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE/

Outstanding Work
The Crying Room: Exhumed presented by The Substation and Club Greg International

Outstanding Performer
Marcus Ian McKenzie for The Crying Room: Exhumed

Outstanding Sound Work
The Crying Room: Exhumed presented by The Substation and Club Greg International

DANCE/

Outstanding Ensemble
Arkadia (Melanie Lane), presented by The Substation and RISING

Outstanding Choreography
Safehold (Sandra Parker), presented by Dancehouse

Outstanding Design – Visual
Eugyeene Teh (Set & Costume) for Arkadia, presented by The Substation and RISING

INDEPENDENT THEATRE/

Outstanding Production
Interior, presented by Rawcus with presenting venue The Substation

THEATRE COMPANIES/

Outstanding Lighting Design
Katie Sfetkidis for Body of Work (Homo Pentecostus presented by Joel Bray Dance and Malthouse Theatre and Blak in the Room presented by Ilbijerri Theatre Company & Melbourne Theatre Company

Crying Room by Damien Raggat
Arkadia by Gianna Rizzo
Sandra Parker by Kieran Butler
Interior by Darren Gill .gill
Katie Sfetkidis by Breeana Dunbar

The Substation

23/05/2025

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Wednesday	12pm - 6pm
Thursday	12pm - 6pm
Friday	12pm - 6pm
Saturday	12pm - 6pm