ACMI and Rising Bring Together Music, Art and Film in a New Multisensory Vinyl Exhibition

The Vinyl Factory launched in London back in 2001 as a record-pressing company. Since then, it’s grown into a record label and exhibition space that showcases vinyl and (particularly electronic) music culture from around the world. The Vinyl Factory: Reverb, presented by ACMI and Rising, brings that legacy to Melbourne as an immersive exhibition exploring music’s intersection with culture. 

Expect a multisensory, full-body immersion into sound that transforms ACMI into an archive of music’s influence across visual art, film, design and beyond.

Works span the 20th century to the present day, tracing how music moves between places, scenes and communities.  From the origins of techno in Detroit to ballet studios in Lagos, the exhibition explores how sound, image and technology shape subcultures and their impact on everyday life.

You’ll experience work by leading artists across sound, moving image, performance and installation. Highlights include Canadian artist Stan Douglas, British Nigerian filmmaker Jenn Nkiru, South African artist William Kentridge, Turner Prize-winning British artist Jeremy Deller and American artist-filmmaker Kahlil Joseph, alongside multidisciplinary names like Virgil Abloh, Gabriel Moses, Cecilia Bengolea, Carsten Nicolai and Julianknxx – all exploring the intersections of music, culture, memory and movement.

DJ equipment lets visitors remix endless vinyl loops and create their own beats. The Vinyl Factory is also bringing its archive of 100 pressings along for you to literally walk through and explore, featuring iconic albums from Daft Punk, Grace Jones, Massive Attack and plenty more.

There’s even a six-hour jam film playing on repeat that you can get utterly lost in. It’s set in a reconstruction of legendary New York studio The Church, where artists such as Miles Davis, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan recorded. If you’ve ever wondered what kind of chops it takes to jam with the best, this is a sneak peek (albeit a lengthy one at over six hours) into their world.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the exhibition is the Listening Room, curated by Robin Fox, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of MESS. The acoustically treated space is optimised for a sonic experience that’s close to perfect. Inside, you’ll find a curated collection of records to spin as well as weekly sessions with local artists, curated by Triple R’s Yasmine Sharaf. 

The Vinyl Factory: Reverb opens on Friday May 22 and runs until Monday August 31. Find out more and buy tickets on the ACMI website.

Broadsheet is a proud media partner of The Vinyl Factory: Reverb, presented by Rising and ACMI.