ACMI marks final weeks of Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion with free weekend saluting local goddesses – and $10 tickets for 10 days

ACMI marks final weeks of Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion with free weekend saluting local goddesses – and $10 tickets for 10 days

ACMI’s blockbuster Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion must close on 1 October.

To celebrate the final weeks of the world-premiere, ACMI-curated exhibition, the museum has launched a special ticket offer and will be taken over by Melbourne goddesses at the top of their game.

For 10 days only, full price tickets for all sessions on Friday 4 to Sunday 13 August are just $10. The offer is available to book from today via acmi.net.au. Young people under the age of 16 are free.

Celebrations continue 2 – 3 September as local business owners, creatives, screen industry shakers and innovators lead a free weekend of events spanning dance, fashion, film, music, comedy, and art. The Goddess Weekend will run from 10am to 5pm daily with activities suitable for all ages.

Visitors can join a contemporary cultural dance workshop with Queen Acknowledgements; learn the tricks of the trade at a make-up demonstration by drag disrupter Ruby Slippers; create ochre paintings and bush bouquets with Yarn Strong Sistas; get physical at an 80s dance workshop and performance by Real Hot Bitches; and dress like a boss at a talk and scarf-tying tutorial with the women behind slow fashion label Collective Closets.

Screen industry experts will share their advice and insights throughout the weekend. Visitors can watch Her Sound, Her Story a moving documentary tracing the experiences of women in the Australian music industry, then hear from director Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore as she discusses her craft. ACMI and Melbourne Women in Film Festival will present two expert panels: Breaking Up the Boys Club: Women in Broadcast Television and Doing It Our Way in the Screen Industry while L’Oréal Paris in partnership with Plan International Australia will raise awareness about street harassment, providing training in the 5Ds – Distract, Delegate, Document, Direct, and Delay – to support bystanders to safely stand up to street harassment when they see it.

The Goddess Weekend also includes live music performances by local artists Amaya Laucirica and Natasha Johanna and a Goddess-inspired costume design craft workshop for kids. Two paid ticketed events complete the weekend line-up: an 18+ improv comedy show by Sissy Screens plus a never-before-seen in Australia treat – a screening of Hollywood Home Movies from the Academy Film Archive. This special event includes home movies from Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge and Dorothy Arzner, paired with live music from Sally Seltmann.

ACMI Executive Director of Experience & Engagement, Dr Britt Romstad, said: “We can’t think of a better way to send off this landmark exhibition and ensure that its important stories are available to as many people as possible. Goddess honours the female film and TV icons who challenged narratives, defied expectations, and transcended tropes. The Goddess Weekend expands that notion beyond the screen, spotlighting homegrown talent from all walks of life. We hope visitors leave feeling empowered, connected, and inspired.”

From the swagger of Mae West and glamour of Anna May Wong to the powerful punch of Pam Grier, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion celebrates 120 years of moving image history, saluting the groundbreaking achievements and impact of the screen’s leading women and gender revolutionists. The exhibition features never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences, and cinematic treasures including outfits worn by Marilyn Monroe, Michelle Yeoh, Margot Robbie, Geena Davis and Zendaya. It will tour internationally from 2024.

In addition to The Goddess Weekend, a packed schedule of film screenings, live music, and accessible tours has been programmed for the exhibition’s final weeks, taking inspiration from the extraordinary women and binary-busting screen icons within it.

Cinema series Goddess Sundays continues until 1 October. A fresh slate of femme-led contemporary and classic films that deserve to be seen on the big screen have been added: All About Eve (1950), Orlando (1991), Sakuran (2006), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and, on the final day of the exhibition, the new plastic fantastic Greta Gerwig film, Barbie (2023).

Explore Goddess after-hours on 28 September, with the final event in the Goddess Nights series. Claddy brings catchy basslines and vibrant dance sets, emerging DJ Brown Suga Princess combines UKG with South Asian riffs, GLO flaunts powerful vocals and a punchy production and C.FRIM B2B Mirasai rounds it out with pulsating beats from the diaspora, in this femme-focused night of live music and performance.

An Audio-Described Tour on 19 August and Auslan Tour and Relaxed Visit on 23 September ensures Goddess remains accessible to a range of audiences. Additionally, a Curator Tour on 27 September will offer exclusive, out-of-hours access and a deep-dive into the stories captured in the exhibition.

Goddess is part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, presented by Visit Victoria and proudly supported by our generous partners; Creative Victoria, Presenting Partner Visit Victoria, Lead Exhibition Partner Porsche Cars Australia, Major Technology Partner Panasonic, Major Research Partner RMIT University, Major Academic Partner Swinburne University of Technology and Supporting Partners City of Melbourne, Pixon Technology, Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, U.S. Consulate General Melbourne.

The Goddess Weekend is supported by City of Melbourne and L’Oréal Paris.

Tickets for Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion and the exhibition’s accompanying event program are now on sale via acmi.net.au.

Listings Information

Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Until Sunday 1 October 2023, 10am – 5pm daily
Full tickets $25* with special prices for concession card holders, ACMI Members, Groups (6+), Students and Blak Members. Children aged under 16 are free.
*Special offer: $10 tickets available for 10 days, for all sessions Friday 4 to Sunday 13 August.
To book visit acmi.net.au

The Goddess Weekend
Saturday 2 – Sunday 3 September 2023, 10am – 5pm daily
Events are free for all ACMI visitors. Exhibition entry is ticketed separately. View full schedule for further details here

Goddess Sundays
Until Sunday 1 October 2023, Sundays at 2pm
View the full program and book tickets here

Goddess Nights
Thursday 28 September 2023, 7pm – 11.30pm
View further information and book tickets here

Audio-Described Tour - Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Saturday 19 August 2023, 10am – 11am
View further information and book tickets here

Auslan Tour - Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Saturday 23 September 2023, 10am – 11am
View further information and book tickets here

Relaxed Visit - Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Saturday 23 September 2023, 10am – 11am
View further information and book tickets here

Goddess: ACMI Curator Tour
Wednesday 27 September 2023, 9.30 – 10.10am
View further information and book tickets here

Notes to Editors:

• Curated by ACMI, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion is a world-premiere exhibition
• Goddess runs from 5 April – 1 October 2023 at ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne.
• Goddess is part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, presented by Visit Victoria.
• For tickets visit acmi.net.au
• Images and further information available at the Goddess Media Centre
• For media enquiries please contact media@acmi.net.au

About Melbourne Winter Masterpieces at ACMI:
ACMI has been part of the annual Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series since 2007, bringing major international exhibitions such as David Bowie Is... and Hollywood Costume exclusively to Melbourne, creating multi-award-winning blockbusters that have subsequently toured the world. More than 1.4 million local, interstate, and international visitors have experienced Melbourne Winter Masterpieces at ACMI, with the museum's homegrown touring exhibitions such as Game Masters, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition and Wonderland attracting over 4 million visitors across five continents.

About ACMI:
ACMI is Australia’s national museum of screen culture. The museum reopened in February 2021 after a two-year, $40 million redevelopment – an architectural, programmatic, and technological transformation. ACMI celebrates the wonder and power of the world’s most democratic artform – fostering the next generation of makers, players, and watchers. ACMI’s vibrant calendar of exhibitions, screenings, commissions, festivals, and industry and education programs explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared screen culture. Navigate the universe of film, TV, videogames, and art with ACMI. More at acmi.net.au