Fed Square to celebrate its 20th anniversary with launch of The Experience Lab

With this October seeing Melbourne’s Fed Square mark 20 years as one of Australia's most celebrated and debated public squares, the Square is partnering with the Experience Consortium to activate the space with the launch of The Experience Lab.

The activation invites Victorian practitioners to participate in an incubator program that will reimagine what's possible in the space by developing concepts for both physical and virtual experiences.

The extraordinary, heritage listed architecture of Fed Square in the heart of Melbourne features a myriad of intertwining outdoor and indoor spaces, unexpected vistas, nooks and meeting places. Experience-makers will have the rare opportunity to activate Fed Square's design in never-before-seen ways.

Three individuals or groups will be selected by an expert panel to participate in the three month program, each receiving $10,000, industry mentoring by the Experience Consortium and support by Fed Square's team to form a site-specific experience concept, business plan and final pitch that could see their idea turned into reality.

Leading experience designers, Peter Tullin (Co-Founder REMIX Summits), Tamasein Holyman (Co-Founder lmmersive Cinema) and James Boyce (Founder Grumpy Sailor) have founded the Experience Consortium, a collective formed to inspire the storytellers and experience-designers of tomorrow. They bring extensive experience in new forms of audience engagement, creative entrepreneurship and developing immersive and interactive experiences, and are responsible for some of Australia's most ground-breaking experiences including lmmersive Cinema's recent production of Dirty Dancing, seen by more than 20,000 people.

"The Experience Lab sees Fed Square invest in our creative industry's development and takes the opportunity of the 20th anniversary to explore how we can reimagine its distinctive spaces for our audiences. As we look to our future as a destination within the newly formed Melbourne Arts Precinct, we're excited to imagine unexpected experiences that have the potential to activate and connect the cultural corridor," said Katrina Sedgwick, Director & Chief Executive Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation.

Peter Tullin, Co-Founder REMIX Summits advises "The possibilities of this program are endless and only limited by our imagination. Fed Square offers a canvas like no other and the Experience Lab will kickstart collaborations with the creative community that will open up new possibilities and drive growth of industries such as immersive entertainment.”

Home to leading cultural institutions including The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Koorie Heritage Trust and ACMI, as well as diverse dining options such as Hero, Big Esso by Mabu Mabu and Taxi Kitchen, Fed Square is the destination for a kaleidoscope of experiences.

People and groups with compelling ideas are encouraged to apply, and the expression of interest, application criteria and further information can be found at fedsquare.com.

Applications close Sunday 7th August 2022.