The Substation/ Deep Dive – Support Ambitious Ideas Early/
SUPPORT AMBITIOUS IDEAS EARLY – DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT BEFORE MAY 31/
At The Substation, we support, encourage, and amplify artists working at the edge of form to inspire future visions, refigure histories, and forge new connections.
Since 2016, The Substation has welcomed over 300,000 visitors and engaged hundreds of artists. In 2024 alone, we supported 385 artists through our development, commissioning and presentation programs, and reached 30,000+ audience members, including 12,000+ in-person attendees.
Art isn't made overnight. At The Substation we ensure artists have the time, space and resources for their works to gestate and innovate. Whilst government funding and earned income sustains presentation opportunities, it is the generosity of our philanthropic and donor communities that enable critical early-stage investment and ensure the longevity of practice.
The Substation is in receipt of Creative Australia’s Creative Plus1 funding, which means that any donation received before May 31, 2025 will be matched dollar-for-dollar. This is a unique opportunity to double your impact – invest in artistic innovation from its inception, and help shape the future of multi-artform experimental practice.
Your donation fuels the creative process, allowing artists the time, space and resources that spark their most ambitious ideas.
Support Ambitious Ideas Early. Donate to The Substation Today.
Click here to watch the video
Video by James Wright, NON Studio
DEEP DIVE – FEAST BY PONY CAM
Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti
“There’s often pressure on artists to work bigger. And that’s a good thing – it forces us to be bolder, to take innovative risks. But you can’t just leap into large-scale work without support. The Substation gave us the time, space, and resources to develop FEAST into something much bigger than we originally imagined.”
– Hugo Williams, Pony Cam
At The Substation, we support, encourage, and amplify artists working at the edge of form to inspire future visions, refigure histories, and forge new connections. We believe in bold ideas – ideas that challenge form and push our understanding of what art is.
When experimental theatre collective Pony Cam first came to us with an idea for a show called FEAST, it was just an idea. A dinner party. An intimate gathering around food. But as artists who thrive on subverting familiar forms, Pony Cam had no intention of making a traditional dining experience. They envisioned something audacious, immersive, and unforgettably theatrical.
Over 2023 and 2024, with The Substation’s support, FEAST evolved from seed conversations into a large-scale, immersive performance that blended fine dining experience with physical theatre, satire, and audience participation. FEAST transformed a dinner table into a stage, where guests were fed, fought over, flirted with, and challenged to confront the excesses of indulgence and power. It was messy. It was joyous. It was transgressive.
“Really amazing! Fund the arts more! Give them more development time so that what’s already incredible can be galactical.”
– North Melbourne Resident
Click here to watch the video
