World premiere exhibition, The Future & Other Fictions, will change the way you think about the future this summer, showcasing the storytelling craft of leading creatives from film, videogames and screen-based art.
Co-curated by ACMI’s Amanda Haskard (Gunai / Kurnai) and Chelsey O’Brien, and film director and futurist Liam Young, the exhibition runs 28 November 2024 – 27 April 2025 in ACMI’s Gallery 4.
Celebrating screen culture’s role in shaping a more optimistic world, the exhibition examines how futures are imagined and made onscreen, with artworks, sets, props, scripts, clips, costumes, and original design materials on display.
Go back to the future and see how acclaimed works were crafted, including Academy Award-winning costumes from Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Björk’s mesmerising music video The Gate; miniature sets from director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi blockbuster Blade Runner 2049; original sketches from futuristic First Nations comic series, NEOMAD; concept art from videogames Cyberpunk 2077 and Saltsea Chronicles, plus visually compelling film thriller The Creator.
Look ahead to new possibilities, with the Afrofuturistic imaginings of artist Olalekan Jeyifous; the vivid Tamil dreamscapes of Osheen Siva; and the fashion activism of Tāgata Moana art collective Pacific Sisters.
Two brand new commissions affirm the future is ours to create. Queensland-based artist and DJ Hannah Brontë draws upon her culture with a short film centred on the embodiment of Country. Liam Young and Ngarrindjeri, Narungga, Kaurna and Noongar actress Natasha Wanganeen (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Limbo) poignantly reimagine a world in which fossil fuel production has ceased, and communities return to rebuild the landscape.
ACMI Director & CEO Seb Chan said: “This exhibition reminds us that the way we imagine the future, is shaped by popular film, TV shows, and videogames. Many alternative visions of the future can and do exist. From two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter to Italian fashion designer Alessandro Michele; New Zealand’s renowned special effects studio Wētā Workshop to the Pilbara’s own Love Punks. We hope that visitors leave optimistic about what might be possible – and find hope in designing the futures we need.”
Exhibition Co-Curator Liam Young said: “Storytelling and imaginary worlds can help us connect to the future on a deeper, emotional level. They can dramatise data, ideas, and challenges, immersing us in the aftermath of the decisions we face today. Speculative cities can be cautionary tales, or roadmaps to a brighter future. The exhibition is an open invitation to all visitors to imagine the futures we need now.”
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks said: “The Allan Labor Government is proud to back this exciting addition to our summer creative calendar - this exhibition is a chance for screen lovers to get up close to set designs, props, costumes and scripts from some of their favourite films, games, shows and screen works.”
The one-of-a-kind artistic chameleon Björk will be the focus of a film season at ACMI Cinemas from 28 November to 16 December 2024. From her acting debut in bewitching folklore drama The Juniper Tree (1990) to her award-winning role in the Palme d'Or decorated Dancer in the Dark (2000), and more recent foray into fungi in documentary Fungi: Web of Life (2023), the retrospective celebrates Björk’s many talents as a musician, actor, and artistic collaborator. Other titles in the season include the post-apocalyptic Tank Girl (1995), animated adventure Moomins and the Comet Chase (2010), breathtaking performance film Björk: Biophilia Live (2014) and a free showcase of striking concert visuals by animation collective LynnFox that deserve to be seen on the big screen.
Schools can take advantage of The Future & Other Fictions to inspire young minds, and teaching practices. A one-day professional learning workshop on 6 December 2024 will tap into the Blak Futures presented in the exhibition, offering insights from First Nations curators, educators, and filmmakers on teaching First Nations film texts in the classroom.
Further programming will be announced, with ACMI set to celebrate visionary screen creators all summer long.
The Future & Other Fictions is proudly supported by Major Exhibition Partner Art Processors, Major Technology Partner Panasonic and Supporting Partner Sofitel Melbourne On Collins.
The Future & Other Fictions runs 28 November 2024 – 27 April 2025 in ACMI’s Gallery 4. Tickets are now on sale via acmi.net.au.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Images, GIFs and video files are available to download here.
- For further media enquiries please contact Stephanie.payne@acmi.net.au.
Listings Information
The Future & Other Fictions
28 November 2024 – 27 April 2025
Gallery 4, ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne
Tickets: Full $22.50, Under 35s $18, Concession $15, Member $13, Child (4–15) $10, Under 4 and Blak Members FREE.
28 November – 16 December 2024
ACMI Cinemas, ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne
Tickets: Full $20, Concession $16, Member $14. Multi-session passes are available.
ABOUT ACMI
ACMI is your museum of screen culture. Watch, play, make and discover the universe of screen-based art, films, TV and videogames. Visit us in Melbourne’s Fed Square, online and on tour. Our museum attracts millions of visitors through a vibrant offer of exhibitions, screenings, commissions and festivals. ACMI’s industry, education and creative incubator programs inspire and develop the next generation of screen creatives. We are a globally recognised hub that connects people, communities, technology and ideas to shape our futures. More at acmi.net.au.
ABOUT LIAM YOUNG
Liam Young is a designer, director and BAFTA nominated producer who operates in the spaces between design, fiction and futures. Described by the BBC as “the man designing our futures”, his visionary films and speculative worlds are both extraordinary images of tomorrow and urgent examinations of the environmental questions facing us today. As a world-builder he visualises the cities, spaces and props of our imaginary futures for the film and television industry and with his own films he has premiered with platforms ranging from Channel 4, Apple+, SxSW, Tribeca, the New York Metropolitan Museum, The Royal Academy, Venice Biennale, the BBC and the Guardian. His films have been collected internationally by museums such as the New York Met, Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and M Plus Hong Kong and has been acclaimed in both mainstream and design media including features with TED, Wired, New Scientist, Arte, Canal+, Time magazine and many more. His film work is informed by his academic research and has held guest professorships at Princeton University, MIT, and Cambridge and now runs the groundbreaking Masters in Fiction and Entertainment at SCI Arc in Los Angeles. He has published several books including the recent Machine Landscapes: Architectures of the Post Anthropocene and Planet City, a story of a fictional city for the entire population of the earth. More at liamyoung.org
For further information, interviews and images, please contact
Stephanie Payne
Senior Publicist, ACMI
Stephanie.payne@acmi.net.au