The Substation

The Substation 1 Market Street, Newport www.thesubstation.org.au

Check out more documentation of our big opening night at The Substation.– Margaret & The Grey Mare by is screening ever...
03/06/2026

Check out more documentation of our big opening night at The Substation.

– Margaret & The Grey Mare by is screening every hour, Wed–Fri, 11am–5pm (final session 4pm) until Saturday 6 June
– A Residual Pulse by is open in our Galleries from Wed–Fri, 11am–5pm.
– Grassroots Never Dies, Worldwide by can be viewed on our outdoor east wall, parallel to the train line.

Visit our link in bio for more information about What’s On.

Photography credit
Machiko Abe

03/06/2026

FINAL WEEK/

Don't miss your last chance to experience Katy B Plummer’s Margaret & The Grey Mare, screening hourly (last session at 4pm) until 6 June!

—
MARGARET & THE GREY MARE/
KATY B PLUMMER/
Must end on 6 June
Open Wednesday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm
The Substation Main Space
Free Entry

PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION & LIVERPOOL POWERHOUSE

Margaret & The Grey Mare is an opera, a fever dream about an opera and an immersive video installation written in collaboration with a chatbot that has been coded to act as a channel to an ancient Celtic land spirit.

Anchoring the project is a sprawling hour-long video opera. The opera is composed by ARIA award-winning composer Sally Whitwell and performed by the artist, her sister Margaret Plummer (a principal Mezzo Soprano with Vienna State Opera), and Baritone Michael Honeyman. The video was filmed at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and produced in collaboration with award-winning filmmaker and video artist Kuba Dorabialski.

Margaret and the Grey Mare is a Liverpool Powerhouse Touring Exhibition. The project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.

02/06/2026

TICKETS SELLING FAST/

claire rousay (US/CA) + Lisa Lerkenfeldt/

Saturday 18 July
The Substation Main Space, from 7pm

PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION AND ROOM40

claire rousay's world is one of irregular, overlooked and intimate beauty. Over the course of her ever growing array of recordings she has managed to chart out a terrain that remains utterly personal, but wholly communal in its appeal. Her music, which simultaneously holds the textures of ambient, the reflections of folks, the melodics of hyper pop and the energetic flurries of noise, exists in its own universe. It is a cosmos she has created with the simplest and most generous of offerings. Observations of the quotidian world, refocused and reshaped, to create deeply engaging sound fields where song form and acoustic zones meet. rousay’s world is one in which we are welcomed without reservation and embraced without constraint. Her songs are places, her sound worlds environments, and she invites you to join her there.

rousay is joined by Lisa Lerkenfeldt, whose endless piano and tape loop variations dissolve time through collages of decayed ambience, analogue manipulation and cyclic structure.

Early birds sold out, tickets selling fast! Book now through the link in bio.



ANNOUNCING/KERFEW: TESTING/Saturday 11 July, 7pm-1amPRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION AND KERFEWKERFEW , a collective of South...
01/06/2026

ANNOUNCING/
KERFEW: TESTING/

Saturday 11 July, 7pm-1am

PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION AND KERFEW

KERFEW , a collective of South Asian artists, musicians and DJs founded in 2022, bring their signature underground curation to The Substation for the first time with one purpose: creating space that allows its artists, guests and partygoers to break imposed moulds while surrounded with hospitality and community.

KERFEW brings its most ambitious program yet: TESTING, an entire Substation takeover showcasing South Asian artists and performers who bridge and probe between classical, contemporary and experimental music.

Limited early bird tickets on sale now - book through link in bio

ARTIST LINEUP/
Aarti Jadu
Arsonist (DJ) (EORA) ._.asif
Bhairavi Raman and Nantesh Sivarajah
Hantu x Vinod Prasanna
Rakini Devi (NGURRA)
R Rebeiro
Vijay Thillaimuthu

Curated by Kamna Muddagouni and Saieesh Shanmugarajah.

Interstitials by kāmna and Food by MyNameChef (Ronen Jafari)

30/05/2026

EXTENDED/

Artist Katy B Plummer and The Substation is excited to share that Margaret & The Grey Mare has been extended to Saturday 6 June. The video opera installation is screening on the hour, every hour, Wednesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm, with a duration of 60min.

MARGARET & THE GREY MARE/
KATY B PLUMMER/
21 May - 6 June
Open Wednesday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm
The Substation Main Space
Free Entry

PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION & LIVERPOOL POWERHOUSE

Margaret & The Grey Mare is an opera, a fever dream about an opera and an immersive video installation written in collaboration with a chatbot that has been coded to act as a channel to an ancient Celtic land spirit.

Anchoring the project is a sprawling hour-long video opera. The opera is composed by ARIA award-winning composer Sally Whitwell and performed by the artist, her sister Margaret Plummer (a principal Mezzo Soprano with Vienna State Opera), and Baritone Michael Honeyman. The video was filmed at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and produced in collaboration with award-winning filmmaker and video artist Kuba Dorabialski.

Margaret and the Grey Mare is a Liverpool Powerhouse Touring Exhibition. The project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program.

29/05/2026

SUPPORT AMBITIOUS IDEAS EARLY/

Since 2016, The Substation has welcomed over 300,000 visitors and engaged hundreds of artists. In 2025 alone, we presented 24 new works and supported 556 artists through our development, commissioning and presentation programs.

Your donation fuels the creative process, allowing artists the time, space and resources that spark their most ambitious ideas.

HOW TO DONATE/

Donate with Credit Card at givenow.com/the substation. We also welcome donations via Direct Debit, Bank Transfers or Cheque.

Make a donation of $1,000 or more to join The Substation Commissioning Circle.

Make a tax-deductible donation now, head to our link in bio.

Video by Kimberly Summer .summer
Additional archival footage provided by:
Raina Peterson .peterson.dance
Ev Morris

Thank you for joining us for our opening night of three new female-led works across The Substation spaces last week: The...
28/05/2026

Thank you for joining us for our opening night of three new female-led works across The Substation spaces last week: The video opera installation Margaret and the Grey Mare by , the light exhibition A Residual Pulse by , and textile & photography billboard commission Grassroots Never Dies, Worldwide by . We also launched our Season 2 Program (June-Dec), and it was a pleasure for Mayor, Cr Diana Grima, Hobsons Bay City Council CEO Phu Nguyen, and our Chair board member Ursula Lepporoli to visit us too.

– Margaret & The Grey Mare is screening on the hour, every hour, Wed–Fri, 11am–5pm (final session 4pm) until Saturday 31 May.
– A Residual Pulse is exhibiting at our Galleries, open Wed–Fri, 11am–5pm.
– Grassroots Never Dies, Worldwide can be viewed on our outdoor east wall, parallel to the train line.

Visit our link in bio for more information about What's On.

Photography credit
Machiko Abe

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK/National Reconciliation Week 2026 is now on until June 3. This year's theme is “All In”, an...
28/05/2026

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK/

National Reconciliation Week 2026 is now on until June 3. This year's theme is “All In”, and at The Substation, we recognise that reconciliation is an ongoing process grounded in listening, learning and action. We are committed to the process of reconciliation, working with First Nations leaders, proud palawa/pallawah woman Dr. Jessica Clark , proud Boonwurrung Man Jaeden Willams
and proud Ngarigo man, Peter Waples-Crowe . We continue to build respectful relationships that strengthen our community now and into the future.

On Wednesday 1 July, join us as we make the next meaningful step towards reconciliation in The Substation’s history, for a special Neighbourhood Night led by our Substation Storyteller Jaeden Williams. Each space within The Substation will receive a Yalukit Willam name, with the meaning behind each word to be unveiled on the night. RSVP now at our link in bio.


ANNOUNCING OUR FOUNDATIONS: ARTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS/From tomorrow, multidisciplinary artist, creative prod...
28/05/2026

ANNOUNCING OUR FOUNDATIONS: ARTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS/

From tomorrow, multidisciplinary artist, creative producer and curator Arie Rain Glorie will be working with five artists at The Substation to help them build strong foundations for developing their ambitious experimental work. Each artist will deepen their projects through an initial workshop, one-on-one mentorship, and presentation of their work at an industry event.

Participants
Fetle Wondimu Nega
Lisa Lerkenfeldt
Chung Nguyen .somatic.bcst
Brodie Kokkinos
Aimee Raitman .be.ll.aaaaaaaaaa

Credits
Fetle Wondimu Nega by Billy Zammit
Lisa Lerkenfeldt by Alexander Kelaart
Chung Nguyen by Dan Costin
Brodie Kokkinos, provided by the artist
Aimee Raitman, provided by the artist

24/05/2026

TICKETS SELLING FAST/

claire rousay (CA/US) + Lisa Lerkenfeldt/

Saturday 18 July
The Substation Main Space, from 7pm

PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION AND ROOM40

claire rousay's world is one of irregular, overlooked and intimate beauty. Over the course of her ever growing array of recordings she has managed to chart out a terrain that remains utterly personal, but wholly communal in its appeal. Her music, which simultaneously holds the textures of ambient, the reflections of folks, the melodics of hyper pop and the energetic flurries of noise, exists in its own universe. It is a cosmos she has created with the simplest and most generous of offerings. Observations of the quotidian world, refocused and reshaped, to create deeply engaging sound fields where song form and acoustic zones meet. rousay’s world is one in which we are welcomed without reservation and embraced without constraint. Her songs are places, her sound worlds environments, and she invites you to join her there.

rousay is joined by Lisa Lerkenfeldt, whose endless piano and tape loop variations dissolve time through collages of decayed ambience, analogue manipulation and cyclic structure.

Early birds sold out, tickets selling fast! Book now through link in bio.





Credit
claire rousay on Audiotree Live:
Recorded live on April 30, 2024 in Chicago, IL
Production Credits
Host: FINGY
Mixing & Recording: Abby Black & Rick Fritz
Camera Operators:
Tom Conway
Justin Kenney
Austin Isaac Peters
Editor: Jane Falconer

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1 Market Street
Melbourne, VIC
3015

Opening Hours

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

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