Two of Melbourne’s major cultural institutions, Melbourne’s premier festival of music, art and performance, RISING, and Australia’s innovative national museum of screen culture ACMI, have unveiled The Vinyl Factory: Reverb.
Opening on 22 May 2026 and running throughout RISING, with an extended season until 31 August, Reverb is a groundbreaking, multi-sensory exhibition that explores vinyl culture and music’s influence on art, fashion, film and social movements.
“Reverb captures the force of music as a cultural engine – how it shapes movements, identity and lasting communities,” said RISING Artistic Director and CEO Hannah Fox. “Partnering with ACMI to present this exhibition in Melbourne extends RISING’s practice of moving beyond the stage to create new encounters between artists and audiences.”
Originally produced and staged at 180 Studios in London, it showcases The Vinyl Factory Collection and commissions that celebrate 20 years of artistic collaboration – major screen-based works, immersive art installations, and deep listening experiences.
Spanning continents and disciplines, The Vinyl Factory: Reverb brings together works from some of the 21st century’s leading figures working across video, sound and contemporary culture, including:
- celebrated Canadian media artist Stan Douglas;
- British-Nigerian filmmaker and visual artist Jenn Nkiru;
- American fashion visionary Virgil Abloh;
- US filmmaker and music video director Kahlil Joseph;
- London based photographer and video artist Gabriel Moses;
- South African artist William Kentridge;
- Turner Prize-winning British artist Jeremy Deller;
- British poet and sound artist Julianknxx;
- Argentinian performance artist Cecilia Bengolea; and
- German electronic music and sound art innovator Carsten Nicolai.
“The importance of music and sound are often undervalued in our appreciation of the moving image. For many young people, music also still shapes identity,” said ACMI Director & CEO Seb Chan.
“Through the work of contemporary artists, this exhibition celebrates the music subcultures that have defined generations, from the Black roots of techno to contemporary street dance, inviting audiences to consider why these movements mattered and still do today.”
“You’ll hear records in a new way – discovering the unexpected, or something familiar transformed. Reverb at ACMI is a fitting tribute to sound in the world’s vinyl capital,” said Chan.
“The Victorian Government is proud to back ACMI and RISING to present this exhibition to be enjoyed by thousands of local music lovers and bring more visitors to our state.” said Minister for Creative Industries, Colin Brooks. “This exhibition transforms the city and will be a ‘must see’ event celebrating Melbourne’s love of music and is an exciting preview into what RISING has in store for 2026.”
A deep, immersive dive into different eras and energies of music, The Vinyl Factory: Reverb traverses the early days of techno and house to contemporary digital art; from Kingston’s dancehall scene and the late-80s Second Summer of Love, to a physical reconstruction Columbia’s 30th Street Studio, where Some Kind of Blue, Lady in Satin and Highway 51 were created, the exhibition traces how sound reverberates through culture.
A critically acclaimed international hit, the exhibition comes to ACMI and RISING off the back of a twice-extended London season that welcomed more than 50,000 visitors. Across interconnected spaces at ACMI, visitors can explore large-scale moving image works, immersive sound installations and interactive vinyl experiences.
Highlights include hands-on access to Technics turntables with endlessly remixable vinyl loops; a fantasy rap battle racing down copper lines from Cairo to London; and access to The Vinyl Factory’s eclectic archive, featuring 100 vinyl pressings from across the musical spectrum, including works by Marina Abramović, Thom Yorke, Massive Attack and more.
A major feature across Reverb’s run will be The Listening Room – an acoustically optimised sanctuary designed for deep listening. During the day, exhibition visitors can select a record and settle in. After hours, the Listening Room shifts into a more intimate programmed setting, hosting one-off sessions from RISING artists rarely experienced at such close range.
Curated by Triple R underground music specialist Yasmine Sharaf, these after-hours sessions are exclusive to Reverb ticketholders and strictly limited to 50 listeners per event. The lineup will be announced with the full RISING program in March, with early ticket-buyers given first access to the Listening Room ballot.
Founded in London, The Vinyl Factory is an internationally recognised independent music and arts enterprise, encompassing the world’s most iconic vinyl pressing plant, a record label, cultural platform and exhibition program dedicated to exploring the influence of music and sound on contemporary culture.
Known for its ambitious, interdisciplinary approach, it produces large-scale exhibitions and publications that bring together leading artists, musicians, designers and filmmakers. Reverb represents their most expansive project to date.
Reverb showcases The Vinyl Factory Collection of incredible installations commissioned and produced by The Vinyl Factory over the last 20 years,” says The Vinyl Factory founder Mark Wadhwa. “Produced by 180 Studios, the exhibition brings together music and art through ten unique, experiential artworks. A huge success in London, we’re very excited to bring it to Australia’s cultural capital.”
Exemplifying RISING’s commitment to ambitious, cross-disciplinary work that collapses boundaries between artforms, the announcement of Reverb follows RISING’s first reveal for 2026, which saw global street-dance phenomenon The Royal Family Dance Crew announced for the festival.
The Vinyl Factory: Reverb opens 22 May and continues to 31 August 2026. Tickets now on sale. For more information, visit: www.acmi.net.au RISING returns to Melbourne from 27 May to 8 June 2026. For more information, visit: www.rising.melbourne for details.
Images: Carsten Nicolai, Bausatz Noto, 1998, installation view at 180 Studios – photo by Jack Hems | Virgil Abloh, 12-inch Voices, 2019 – photo by Jack Hems | Gabriel Moses, Ijó, 2023 (supplied) | Jeremy Deller, The History of the World, 1998 (supplied)