We Called It New Music

Friday April 11 | 8-11PM
Saturday April 12 | 3-11PM

We Called It New Music is a two-day performance event reflecting on the radical legacy of the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre (CHCMC), a groundbreaking artist-run space active from 1976–1983.

Clifton Hill Community Music Centre redefined experimental practice in Australia, dissolving boundaries between music, film, performance, and installation. It was a space where musicians made films, visual artists composed music, and critics took the stage—fostering an interdisciplinary ethos that continues to resonate today.

Founded by Ron Nagorcka and Warren Burt, Clifton Hill Community Music Centre operated on a unique model: free entry, no artist fees, and total creative freedom. It became a hub for artists pushing against the cultural mainstream, where postmodernism and countercultural aesthetics collided in the raw industrial setting of a former organ factory.

We Called It New Music brings together original Clifton Hill Community Music Centre artists alongside contemporary musicians responding to its enduring influence. 

Join us over two days of performances that trace the past, present, and future of sound on the radical edges.

Curated by David Chesworth with Liquid Architecture and co-presented with Astra

Essendon Airport / Mia Alexander / Ernie Althoff / Judy Annear / Jessica Aszodi / Arsam Samadi Bahrami / Ros Bandt / Bodies of Infinite Divine and Eternal Spirit / Warren Burt / Who Cares? / David Chesworth / Carolyn Connors / →↑→ / Les Gilbert / Clinton Green / Helen Grogan / Kassie Junkeer / Joy Lee / Levi Liauw / Rainer Linz / Sachin de Silva Silzedrek  / Ron Nagorcka / James Rushford / Bridget Small / Paul Fletcher / Jayne Stevenson

Schedule:

Friday, April 11 (8-11pm)
8:00   Ron Nagorcka | Requiem for Ian Bonighton (Joy Lee, piano)          
         Ernie Althoff | Accentuate the positive
         Rainer Linz | five (gas) songs (Jessica Aszodi, voice)
9:10   Silzedrek
         Essendon Airport | Sonic Investigations of the Trivial

Saturday, April 12 (3-11pm)
3:00    Sachin de Silva & Arsam Samadi Bahrami
3:45    Ros Bandt with Julie Doyle
4:30    Les Gilbert | Divertivements (James Rushford, piano)
5:15    Who Cares?
5:45    Panel Discussion: David Chesworth, Warren Burt, Judy Annear, Helen Grogan, Clinton Green
6:30    Bridget Small (DJ)
7:30    Carolyn Connors & Levi Liauw
8:15    Warren Burt
9:00    →↑→ | Minimalism
10:05  bodies of infinite divine and eternal spirit 

Please note, Concession tickets are for:

• Seniors, Pension & Carers Card Holders
• Arts Workers
• Low Income Workers
• Children under 18