ACMI (museum)

Beginnings in the State Film Centre of Victoria

Prior to ACMI, Victoria's main film and screen organisation was the State Film Centre of Victoria, based at Treasury Theatre, which was established in 1946.^[4][5]

In the 1950s, the State Film Centre was involved in producing a number of projects for television, then a new medium in Australia. It also played a role as an archive of Australian films, such as The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and On Our Selection (1920).^[4][5]

During the 1960s, the State Film Centre provided advice on film treatments, production, scripts and distribution outlets to local filmmakers. In 1969, the centre assumed management of the newly constructed State Film Theatre, providing a facility for exhibiting material not screened in commercial cinemas.^[4][5]

In the 1970s, the centre began acquiring examples of student films as well as those made by the newly vibrant Australian film industry, such as Homesdale (1971) by Peter Weir, Stork (1971) and Alvin Purple (1973) by Tim Burstall, and The Devil's Playground (1976) by Fred Schepisi.^[4][5]

In 1988, the State Film Centre Education Program was set up. The program provided screenings for Victorian Certificate of Education students, based on core texts, and in-service days for their teachers.^[4][5]

Establishing ACMI at Federation Square

In 1993, a Victorian state government report reaffirmed the viability of a proposal for an Australian Centre for the Moving Image. In July 1997, following an open, international and two-stage design competition, Lab Architecture Studio (based in London at the time), in association with their joint venture partners, Bates Smart architects, was announced as the winner. Federation Square was to be a new civic space, built above the Jolimont railyards, to mark the celebration of Australia's Centenary of Federation.^[4][5]

On 1 January 2002, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image was officially established by the Film Act 2001 (Victoria). The first stage was opened in October, with two exhibitions, Deep Space: Sensation & Immersion and Ngarinyin Pathways Dulwan, running in ACMI's Screen Gallery. A few weeks later, ACMI Cinemas officially opened.^[4][5]

In September 2009, the Australian Mediatheque and the Screen Worlds gallery opened.^[6] The Screen Worlds exhibition was opened by Cate Blanchett, who loaned^[7] her Oscar for best supporting actress for her part as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator.^[6] Screen Worlds: The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture is a free and permanent exhibition space constructed to educate the public about the moving image, a museum about moving pictures.^[6] The Mediatheque is a partnership with the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), which provides a space with 12 viewing booths where people can drop in and watch films, television clips, and new media and artworks from the NFSA and ACMI collections.^[6]

2021 Renewal

In May 2019, ACMI closed to the public to begin a $40 million redevelopment.^[8] It reopened to the public in February 2021 with a new permanent exhibition The Story of the Moving Image.^[9]

ACMI partnered with Melbourne architectural firm BKK Architects, who redesigned the museum's functional layout and public spaces.^[10] Experience design firm Publicis Sapient/Second Story designed ACMI's centrepiece exhibition The Story of the Moving Image, the Gandel Digital Future Labs^[11] and the Blackmagic Design Media Preservation Lab.^[12] ACMI partnered with Melbourne chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter Karen Martini and Michael Gebran of HospitalityM to launch its restaurant, bar and café Hero.^[13]

Directors

From 1992, John J. Smithies was Director of the State Film Centre of Victoria, until its merger with Film Victoria in 1997 formed Cinemedia.^[14] At Cinemedia, Smithies was deputy director, with prime responsibility for developing the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. He became the first director and CEO of ACMI in March 2002.^[14][15] He was responsible for opening the new public facilities in October 2002.^[16] After a period of turmoil, with the organisation over budget,^[17] Smithies left ACMI in 2004,^[16][18][19] and later said the facility had been forced to open while "under-funded" by the Victorian Government.^[20]

Tony Sweeney was appointed director and CEO of ACMI in 2005.^[4][5][18] Before his move to Australia, he had been the deputy director of the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television (UK), and focused on developing the museum's brand profile and content strategies. He directed the museum's Imaging Frontiers masterplan re-development, which generated record visitor numbers and international critical acclaim. The museum is now seen as one of the leading international centres for culture and learning of its kind in the world.^[21] At ACMI he oversaw record organisational growth, performance and visitation, and a prolonged period of sustained success and achievement.^[22] Having spent ten years in the role, Sweeney resigned in order to return to his family in Britain.^[23]

Katrina Sedgwick was ACMI Director and CEO from February 2015–22.^[23][24] She moved to the new Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MapCo) in March 2023.^[25]

In August 2022, Seb Chan was appointed Director and CEO.^[26][27] Chan joined ACMI in 2015 as Chief Experience Officer. He is current President of the Australian Museums and Galleries Association.

ACMI's 1,600sqm centrepiece exhibition explores the past, present and future of film, television, videogames and art, and features over 900 objects from around Australia and the world.^[28]

Exhibition sections

Moving Pictures

The Story of the Moving Image begins with objects and interactive experiences that showcase people, techniques and inventions that contributed to the development of motion pictures.

Moving Worlds

Costumes, characters, set and production design, storyboarding, visual effects and Foley are featured in the Moving Worlds section to illustrate the creative processes behind iconic films, TV shows and videogames.

Moving Australia

Featuring objects and installations from Australia's screen industry, including prominent works by First Nations artists.

Games Lab presented by Big Ant Studios

Games Lab features videogames from local and international independent developers and AAA publishers. The section contains twelve playable games, plus artworks and interpretive information about the history of videogames. Games Lab is presented in partnership with Melbourne-based game developer Big Ant Studios.^[29]

Moving Minds

Moving Minds encompasses factual media and information that traverses the history of newsreels, broadcast TV, documentary, war reporting and propaganda, citizen journalism and video art.

First Nations artworks

Artworks and installations by First Nations artists feature prominently throughout The Story of the Moving Image. Key works include Yanmeeyar,^[30] an art installation by Gunditjmara artist Vicki Couzens that is found at the beginning and the end of the exhibition; Canopy,^[31] a multi-screen installation by artist John Harvey; and the documentary My Survival as an Aboriginal by Muruwari filmmaker and activist Essie Coffey.

Interactive experiences

The Lens

The Lens^[32] is a handheld, take-home device that lets visitors collect artworks and objects throughout The Story of the Moving Image and other select exhibitions hosted at ACMI. Visitors can view their curated collections on the ACMI website and access additional content. The Lens was designed in collaboration with Second Story, Swinburne University’s Centre for Design Innovation and Lumicom.^[28][33]

Constellation

The Lens can be used at the Constellation, a room-scale experience located at the end of The Story of the Moving Image exhibition, consisting of six interactive touchscreen tables with an interface developed by Grumpy Sailor and a data visualisation designed by OOM Creative and More Studio. The Constellation takes the items collected by visitors on their Lens devices throughout the exhibition and connects them up to hundreds of other films, TV series, artworks and videogames beyond the scope of the gallery. Each recommendation is handpicked by ACMI's staff.^[34][35][36]

Edit Line

An approximation of physical film editing and digital editing on screen, Edit Line allows visitors to The Story of the Moving Image to rearrange physical storyboard blocks that each represent iconic quotes from films and television shows to trigger a clip played on a large screen. The resulting clip can be saved to the Lens and accessed online.^[37] Referenced screen works include major films such as Titanic, Blade Runner, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and television shows such as The Simpsons, The Wire, and The X-Files. An accompanying essay has been published for each work on the ACMI website.^[38]

Foley Studio

Visitors can add sound effects to scenes from Round the Twist and Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers using unconventional objects typically used in the practice of Foley art. Videos produced can be saved to Lens devices and accessed online.

Memory Garden

An interactive and immersive display of digitised Australian home movies from the 1930s from the ACMI collection. Beams of light are projected from the ceiling that animate when visitors hold out their hands.

Shadow Play

An interactive experience in the Moving Pictures section of The Story of the Moving Image where visitors use their bodies to control virtual puppets projected in front of them.

Gallery 1

Gallery 1 now houses the permanent exhibition The Story of the Moving Image which opened in 2021 following a renovation of the gallery. Gallery 1 is built along the entire length of what was previously Princes Bridge railway station. From 2002 to 2019 Gallery 1 was used for temporary exhibitions on the moving image such as video art, installations, interactive, sound art, net art and screen related objects were all regularly exhibited in this space.^[39]

Gallery 1 exhibitions 2002–19

Gallery 1 exhibitions 2020 – present

Gallery 2

Open from 18 September 2009, Gallery 2 is a smaller, more flexible gallery than Gallery 1.

Gallery 2 exhibitions 2009–19

Gallery 2 exhibitions 2021 – present

Gallery 3

Open from 18 February 2021, Gallery 3 displays commissioned artworks and smaller exhibitions.

Gallery 3 exhibitions 2021 – present

Gallery 4

Open from 18 February 2021, Gallery 4 hosts larger exhibitions and Melbourne Winter Masterpieces.

Gallery 5

Launched in October 2020, Gallery 5 is an online space for virtual exhibitions and performance, and a commissioning space for practitioners making art that interrogates Internet and digital culture.^[98]

Film programs

ACMI's year-round film program celebrates local and international cinema. ACMI has two main cinemas located on Level 2 of the museum, which were the first cinemas in Australia equipped to present Digital Cinema (DCP). Today the cinemas continue to be equipped to screen analog formats including 16mm film, 35mm film, HDCAM, Digital Betacam and SP Betacam.^[108] Cinema 1 seats 168 and Cinema 2 seats 390.^[109]

ACMI's ongoing film programs include:

• Matinees^[110] – Narrative features, classic Hollywood and arthouse restorations, documentaries, musicals and more.
• Big Screen Premieres – Working in partnership with streaming services, including Binge, Apple TV+, Netflix, and SBS on Demand, ACMI screens episodes of TV series in its cinemas. For ACMI Members only.

Past programs include:

• Australian Perspectives^[111] – Contemporary Australian filmmaking with archival classics and special guest presentations.
• Family films^[112] – Regular screenings and school holiday film programs for families.

ACMI profiles actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and film genres through its retrospective seasons and screenings. Highlights have included seasons on Wong Kar-wai, Agnès Varda, Abbas Kiarostami, Dario Argento, William Klein, John Cassavetes, and Jim Henson. Genres have included Ozploitation; Zombie Horror; East German Cinema; and Monsters, Ghouls and Melancholy Misfits in conjunction with the Tim Burton exhibition.

Public programs

ACMI programs events to industry, practitioners and the broader public through talks and workshops in person and online. Regular public programs include ACMI + RMIT Audience Lab,^[113] Women & Non-Binary Gamers Club,^[114] First Nations Film Club,^[115] and workshops for families during the school holidays.

Festivals

Film festivals and events hosted at ACMI's venues are a core part of ACMI's cinema programs.^[116]

Current festival partners

• Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC)
• Birrarangga Film Festival (BFF)
• Cinemaniacs
• Czech and Slovak Film Festival (CasFFA)
• Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA)
• Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (HRAFF)
• Indonesian Film Festival (IFF)
• Japanese Film Festival (JFF)
• Korean Film Festival Australia (KOFFIA)
• Melbourne Cinémathèque
• Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF)
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF)
• Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)
• Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF)
• Melbourne Women in Film Festival (MWFF)
• VCAA Top Screen

The ACMI Collection contains over 250,000 items including film, ephemera, objects, videogames and time-based media art. It began in 1947 as the State Film Centre collection allowing Victorians to access film for education purposes. Since becoming part of ACMI it has diversified to include all forms of the moving image. ACMI works collaboratively both nationally and internationally with organisations including the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), the Internet Archive, MoMa, Tate, Swinburne University, RMIT University, the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, and private collectors.^[117]

Many digitised items in the ACMI Collection are accessible to the public via the ACMI website^[118] or ACMI Collection YouTube channel.^[119]

Blackmagic Design Media Preservation Lab

Located at ACMI, Fed Square on Level 1, the Blackmagic Design Media Preservation Lab is a publicly visible space where ACMI's Collection team can be viewed undertaking digital preservation, digitisation and time-based media (TBM) conservation activities.^[120]

The Lab is supported by Blackmagic Design, and was designed in collaboration with BKK Architects and Second Story.^[121]

ACMI's education program provides schools and teachers with exhibition visits, workshops, film programs, talks, online programs, professional development opportunities, free learning resources and recorded lectures.^[122]

ACMI has expanded its touring program over the past decade.^[123] Beginning with Mary and Max, which toured regional Victoria,^[124] ACMI then followed by showing the 2011 Best of the Independent Games Festival ^[125] in Sydney and Brisbane; Shaun Tan's The Lost Thing: From Book To Film^[126] and War Pictures: Australians at the Cinema 1914–1918;^[127] and ACMI's first original exhibition in the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, Game Masters: The Exhibition.

Touring exhibitions

Wonderland^[128]

• Art Science Museum, Singapore (13 Apr – 22 Sept 2019)^[129]
• Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand (7 Dec 2019 – 8 Mar 2020)^[130]
• WA Museum Boola Bardip, Perth, Australia (17 Dec 2022 – 23 Apr 2023)^[131]

DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition – Journey from sketch to screen^[132][133]

• ArtScience Museum, Singapore (13 June – 27 Sept 2015)^[134]
• Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand (12 Dec 2015 – 28 Mar 2016)^[135]
• Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea (30 April – 15 Aug 2016)^[136]
• National Taiwan Science and Education Centre, Taipei, Taiwan (29 Oct 2016 – 5 Feb 2017)
• Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico (6 Apr – 6 Aug 2017)^[137]
• Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Canada (7 Dec 2017 – 8 Apr 2018)^[138]
• Montreal Science Centre, Montreal, Canada (9 May – 16 Sept 2018) [112]
• Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (5 Feb – 15 Apr 2019)
• Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (14 May – 29 Jul 2019)
• National Museum of Australia, Canberra Australia (12 Sept 2019 – 2 Feb 2020)^[139]
• Northwest Museum of Art and Culture, Spokane, USA (26 Mar – 11 Sep 2022)
• Dom Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil (11 Mar – 28 Aug 2023)

Between the Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection^[140]

• Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, VIC (9 December – 26 February 2023)^[141]
• Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, VIC (11 March – 11 June 2023)^[142]

Cleverman ^[143]

• The Riddoch & Main Corner Complex, Mount Gambier, SA (14 Mar – 6 September 2020)^[144]
• Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Moreton Bay, QLD (25 Sept – 6 Dec 2020)^[145]
• Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Corindi, NSW (19 Dec 2020 – 11 Apr 2021)^[146]
• Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford, NSW (22 May – 11 Jul 2021)^[147]
• Orange Regional Museum, Orange, NSW (24 Jul – 24 Oct 2021)^[148]
• Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, Murray Bridge, SA (11 Dec 2021 – 30 Jan 2022)^[149]
• Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, NSW (5 Mar – 29 May 2022)^[150]
• Museum of the Great Southern, Albany, WA (12 Jun – 9 Oct 2022)^[151]
• Museum of Geraldton, Geraldton, WA (3 Dec 2022 – 23 Apr 2023)^[151]
• Museum of the Goldfields, Kalgoorlie, WA (6 May – 10 Sept 2023)

Code Breakers: Women in Games^[152]

• Manningham Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC (4 April – 12 May 2018)^[153]
• Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, VIC (21 July – 14 Oct 2018)
• Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell, VIC (27 Oct 2018 – 27 Jan 2019)^[154]
• Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Swan Hill, VIC (8 Feb – 24 Mar 2019)
• East Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, VIC (4 April – 19 May 2019)^[155]
• Discovery Science and Technology Centre, Bendigo VIC (10 Oct 2019 – 13 Apr 2020)^[156]
• Orange Regional Gallery, NSW (8 Aug – 14 Oct 2020)^[157]
• The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich, QLD (24 Oct 2020 – 2 May 2021)^[158]
• Cobb & Co Museum, Toowoomba, QLD (8 May – 8 Aug 2021)^[159]
• Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Lilydale, VIC (5 March – 15 May 2022)^[160]
• OTAGO Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand (2 July –30 Oct 2022)^[161]
• MOTAT, Auckland, New Zealand (2 Dec 2022– 26 March 2023)^[162]

Previously Toured

Game Masters^[163]

• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand (15 Dec 2012 – 28 Apr 2013)
• Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia (13 Dec 2013 – 25 May 2014)^[164]
• National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland (5 Dec 2014 – 20 Apr 2015)
• Halmstad Arena, Halmstad, Sweden (28 May – 31 Aug 2015)
• Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, USA (13 Feb – 8 May 2016)
• Center of Science and Industry, Columbus, USA (10 June – 5 Sept 2016)
• Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany (14 Nov 2016 – 23 Apr 2017)
• Fleet Science Center, San Diego, USA (1 Jul 2017 – 15 Jan 2018)
• The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, USA (31 Mar – 3 Sept 2018)
• Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, USA (15 Feb – 5 May 2019)
• National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, Australia (27 Sept 2019 – 9 Mar 2020)

Del Kathryn Barton: The Nightingale and the Rose^[165]

• Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Swan Hill, VIC (1 Dec 2017 – 28 Jan 2018)
• Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, QLD (16 Feb – 22 Apr 2018)^[166]
• Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton, QLD (16 Jun – 5 Aug 2018)
• Horsham Regional Art Gallery (18 Aug – 7 Oct 2018)^[167]
• Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Lilydale, VIC (20 Oct 2018 – 3 Feb 2019)^[168]
• Devonport Regional Gallery, Devonport, TAS (16 Mar – 26 May 2019)^[169]
• Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland, NSW (27 Jul – 3 Nov 2019)^[170]
• Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga, NSW (16 Nov 2019 – 26 Jan 2020)^[171]
• New England Regional Art Gallery, Armidale, NSW (7 Feb – 5 July 2020)

War Pictures: Australians at the Cinema 1914–1918^[172]

• Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, VIC (29 Apr – 16 Jun 2016)
• Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, VIC (10 Sept – 13 Nov 2016)
• Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough, VIC (29 Mar – 6 May 2018)

Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing: From Book to Film^[173]

• Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Moreton Bay, QLD (28 Feb – 20 May 2015)^[174]
• Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, QLD (5 May – 2 July 2015)
• Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton, QLD (30 May – 12 Jul 2015)^[175]
• Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, Bundaberg, QLD (14 Aug – 11 Oct 2015)^[176]
• Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Lilydale, VIC (28 Nov – 14 Feb 2016)^[177]
• Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland, NSW (5 Mar – 24 Apr 2016)^[178]
• New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW (6 May – 24 Jul 2016)^[179]
• Bunbury Regional Art Galleries, Bunbury, WA (6 Aug – 25 Sept 2016)^[180]
• Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, Geraldton, WA (7 Oct – 26 Nov 2016)^[181]
• Albury Library Museum, Albury, NSW (10 Dec 2016 – 22 Jan 2017)
• Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, QLD (4 Feb – 16 April 2017)^[182]

Mary and Max: The Exhibition ^[183]

• Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, VIC (27 Nov 2010 – 13 Feb 2011)^[184]
• Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, VIC (5 Mar – 8 May 2011)^[184]
• Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, VIC (3 Dec 2011 – 29 Jan 2012)^[185]

ACMI has a strong online presence, with regular updates being made to the ACMI website and its accounts on social media platforms – Facebook,^[186] Instagram,^[187] LinkedIn^[188] and Twitter.^[189]

YouTube

ACMI's main YouTube channel publishes recorded talks, interviews with artists, season trailers, screen culture essays and behind-the-scenes videos.^[190]

The ACMI Collection channel provides access to digitised works such as home videos, promotional and educational films, and stories from original analogue formats, including film or tape.^[191]

The ACMI Education channel publishes explainer videos, educational resources and films produced by students.^[192]

Cinema 3

ACMI's on-demand rental platform features new release films, classics and revivals curated by ACMI's programmers.^[193]

Gallery 5

Launched in October 2020, Gallery 5 is an online space for virtual exhibitions and performance, and a commissioning space for practitioners making art that interrogates Internet and digital culture. Commissioned artists include Lu Yang, Matthew Griffin, Ross Gibson, Jazz Money, Moorina Bonini, Kalanjay Dhir, Laura Duffy, Firepit Collective, Xanthe Dobbie, APHIDS, Daniel Jenatsch, Oliviah Koh and Emile Zile.^[194]

Stories & Ideas

ACMI publishes essays, interviews, recorded talks, behind-the-scenes videos, topical articles and recommendations related to film, television, videogames and digital art on its website. Content is produced by ACMI staff and external writers.^[195]

The Story of the Moving Image Online

An abridged online version of ACMI's centrepiece exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image, was launched in October 2020.The Story of the Moving Image Online is presented in six parts: Australian Television, Australian Film, Videogames, Blak Women on Screen, Social Video and Digital Art.^[196][197]

• World Without End (2005)
• 2006: Contemporary Commonwealth (2006) / Edited by Charles Green
• Look both ways: daylight reverie (2007) / Gary Simmons
• Setting The Scene: Film Design From Metropolis To Australia (2008)
• Dennis Hopper & The New Hollywood (2009)
• Star Voyager: Exploring Space On Screen (2011)
• Shaun Gladwell: Stereo Sequences (2011)
• The Woods: Candice Breitz (2012)
• Game Masters: The Exhibition (2012)
• Wonderland (2017)
• The story of the moving image (2022) / edited by Matt Millikan and Sarah Tutton^[198]
• Light: Works from Tate's Collection (2022) / edited by Kerryn Greenberg^[199]
• How I See It: Blak Art & Film (2022) /
• Goddess: Fierce Women On Film (2023) / by Bethany Lloyd Johnson and Matt Millikan ^[200]

ACMI Shop

ACMI's gift shop stocks books, curios, gifts, ACMI publications and merchandise related to screen culture. The shop collaborates with local artists to produce exclusive ranges and sustainably sourced products, and stocks exclusive merchandise designed by ACMI's in-house design team.^[201]

Event spaces

• The Story of the Moving Image – capacity: 450 standing
• Lightwell – capacity: 450 standing
• Underground Gallery (Gallery 4) – capacity: 700 standing
• Swinburne Studio – capacity: 150 seated, 200 standing. The Swinburne Studio is supported by ACMI's Major Academic Partner Swinburne University of Technology.
• Gandel Digital Future Lab 1 – capacity: 50 seated, 90 standing. The Gandel Digital Future Lab 1 is supported by ACMI's Major Philanthropic Partner The Gandel Family.
• Boardroom – capacity: 30 seated
• ACMI Cinemas – Cinema 1 capacity: 390 seated. Cinema 3 capacity: 168 seated.

Hero (closed)

Located in Fed Square, ACMI's restaurant, bar and café Hero featured a menu developed by Melbourne chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter Karen Martini. Hero's menu was described as "European-focused", "seasonal" and "uncomplicated cooking packed with flavour that celebrates local Victorian produce".^[13]

Hero was designed by Melbourne-based architecture and interior design studio Chris Connell Design, drawing on aesthetic inspiration from the 1967 film PlayTime by French filmmaker Jacques Tati.^[202] Hero was operated by HospitalityM, a venture founded by Michael Gebran.

Hero closed in October 2023.^[203]

ACMI X

The ACMI X Industry Residency program provides an office space, resources and networking opportunities for Melbourne-based creative practitioners, startups and businesses working across film, TV, videogames and art.^[204]

ACMI X is located on Level 2 at ACMI, Fed Square, and was previously located in Southbank, Melbourne.

CEO Digital Mentoring Program

ACMI, in conjunction with the Australia Council's national Cultural Digital Program, runs a mentoring initiative for strategic technology and digital mentoring for CEOs and Directors of cultural organisations. The program is supported by the Ian Potter Foundation.^[205]

ACMI + RMIT Audience Lab

ACMI and RMIT invites game developers, filmmakers, moving image artists, technologists and individual creators to show their products and works at ACMI and gather audience feedback. Previous projects tested out at past Audience Labs include Untitled Goose Game and The Gardens Between.^[206]

ACMI + RMIT Games Prize

The ACMI + RMIT Games Prize is awarded to a graduating student from the RMIT Bachelor of Design (Games) for a work exploring the artistic potential of the medium.^[207]

Previous winners

• 2021–22: Caleb Noller and Sarah Carlton, Sussurus
• 2020–21: Daniel Ferguson, Completely Stretchy and Uncomfortably Sticky
• 2019–20: David Chen, Spiritwell

ACMI + MESS partnership

ACMI's partnership with Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) saw four artists commissioned to create immersive, experimental and atmospheric sound compositions for ACMI's cinema trailers. The commissioned artists were Chiara Kickdrum, Sara Retallick, Sabine Brix and Tyler Wilay.^[208]

Foundry658

Foundry658 was an initiative of the Victorian Government’s Creative State strategy delivered by ACMI and State Library Victoria. Foundry658 supported independent artists, small arts organisations, not-for-profits, commercial creative enterprises, early-stage entrepreneurs and creative industries practitioners to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses.^[209]

ACMI Xcel Accelerator

Launched in 2018 in partnership with LaunchVic, ACMI X offered a business accelerator program that gave creative technology practitioners access to ACMI’s audience to test, refine and promote their ideas, and to showcase outcomes to industry, investor and international audiences.^[210]

Renewal Awards

Australian Institute of Architects’ 2021 Victorian Architecture Awards

• Winner (Interior Architecture) BKK & ACMI^[211]

Melbourne Design Awards 2021

• Gold Winner (Interior Design Public or Institutional) BKK & ACMI^[212]

Good Design Awards 2021

• Winner (Architectural Design Urban Design and Public Spaces)^[213]
• Winner (Design Research)^[214]

Idea Awards 2021

• Shortlist: Public Space – ACMI renewal^[215]

Victorian Lighting Award

• Winner: Award of Excellence

Victorian Premier Award 2021

• Highly Commended^[216]

Awards for The Story of the Moving Image

MAGNA (Museums & Galleries Awards)

• Highly Commended (Story of the Moving Image, Large Organisations Category) ^[217]

Good Design Awards 2021

• Gold Winner (with Grumpy Sailor & Second Story in the ‘Digital Interface’ category for the Constellation)^[218]

SEGD Global Design Awards 2022

• Merit Award
• Honour award for the digital interactive experiences in The Story of the Moving Image^[219]

Brand Awards

MAPDA (Museums & Galleries Awards)

• Winner (Identity, Large organisations Category) North & ACMI^[220]

Creative Review Magazine

• Honourable Mention (Identity) North & ACMI^[221]

Design Week (UK)

• Highly Commended (Identity rebrand) North^[222]

Monotype Type Champions 2020

• Winner: ACMI

Brand New Awards

• Winner: #1 Project of the Year

Taiwan International Graphic Design Awards 2021

• Corporate Identity Category, Distinction^[223]

Website and Post-visit Awards

MAPDA (Museums & Galleries Awards)^[224]

• Winner (Website, Large organisations Category)
• Highly Commended (Virtual Tour, Large organisations Category)

Awards for Hero – Design

INDE.Awards 2021

• Winner Hero/Chris Connell (Best Social Space)^[225]

The Australian Interior Design Awards 2021

• Commendation: Hospitality Design, Chris Connell Design for Hero ACMI^[226]

Dulux Colour Awards 2021

• Finalist: Commercial Interior, Public and Hospitality^[227]

Eat Drink Design Awards 2021

• Shortlist: Best Restaurant Design, Chris Connell Design, Hero ACMI^[228]

Idea Awards 2021

• Shortlist: Hospitality, Chris Connell Design, Hero ACMI^[229]

Awards for Hero – Food

Melbourne Awards 2021  

• Finalist: Hospitality, Hero

Good Food Guide Victoria 2022

• One Hat: Hero^[230]

Screen Worlds

Open from 18 September 2009,^[231] Screen Worlds was an evolving permanent exhibition exploring all aspects of the moving image using objects, footage and artistic installations. Screen Worlds explored the story of the moving image through a number of different sections – Emergence, Voices, Sensation, Games Lab and Kids Space.^[232]

The Screen Worlds exhibition hosted a number of 'Immersive Experiences'(interactive displays), including Timeslice (inspired by The Matrix), Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Zoetrope, The Faulty Fandangle (created by Oscar®-nominated Anthony Lucas), an installation by Anthony McCall, and many more.

Screen Worlds closed on ^[233] April 22, 2019 to allow for redevelopment.

Video Garden

The Video Garden was an outdoor gallery that led people from the Flinders Street side of the building to the main entrance. Exhibitions included Random Encounters, Gooey by the Lycette Bros,^[234] and Blast Off.

Memory Grid

The Memory Grid was a display allowing access to over 100 hours of film that were recorded by ordinary Australians, independent filmmakers, students, community-based practitioners and participants in ACMI hands-on production workshops. Much of the content in the Memory Grid had either never been displayed outside, or had been displayed only once on community television. Further, the Memory Grid contained a large collection of animated and interactive works, and actively accepted work from the public for display.

Australian Mediatheque

Australian Mediatheque,^[235] coordinated by ACMI and the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) was a multiple screen station with access to works from ACMI and the NFSA. Admission was free.^[235] The Australian Mediatheque closed permanently in September 2017.

Screen It

Screen It was an annual filmmaking competition for primary and secondary school students, hosted by ACMI. Screen It had 6 categories: Primary Live Action, Primary Animation, Primary Videogame, Secondary Live Action, Secondary Animation and Secondary Videogame. Each year there was a theme; past themes included Change (2015) and Reflection (2014). At the end of the year, there was a Red Carpet Awards Gala for the finalists in which they announced winners and the next year's theme. The competition was cancelled after 2019's event, with ACMI citing a "[transformation] into a brand new global museum".^[236]

Games Lab

The Games Lab was ACMI's display area for interactive videogames. It celebrated the past, present and future of games and promoted this popular form of the moving image as a reflection of Australian culture.

In 2003, ACMI commissioned an interactive game-based, site specific installation called acmipark,^[237] which was exhibited in the Games Lab. acmipark replicated and abstracted the real world architecture of Federation Square. It also housed highly innovative mechanisms for interactive, multiplayer sound and musical composition.

The Games Lab exhibited the Best of the Independent Games Festival for 2005, 2006 and 2007. In early 2007, Hits of the 80s profiled Melbourne's Beam Software and the secret history of Australia's place in the rise and rise of the videogame. In 2005 an exhibition was dedicated to Sonic the Hedgehog called Sonic the Hedgehog: Icon of our Times.

The Games Lab was incorporated into the Screen Worlds exhibition space.

• Official website
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Google Cultural Institute
• Culture Victoria – Video and a brief history of ACMI

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