Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival to Feature 179 Events

A special twenty-three-day Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival will feature a veteran astronaut, an acclaimed industrial designer and local Western Sydney acts performing.

Across three weeks and four weekends in November, Powerhouse Parramatta's Opening Festival program features 179 events ranging across First Nations culture; space, science, technology and transport; design, architecture, music, food and film.

Sixty-five percent of the opening program events are free, and all people under sixteen years old will receive free entry for all exhibitions.

The Museum will open seven days a week and during the opening festival the museum will stay open until 9pm on Thursday to Sunday. Mondays to Wednesday the museum will open 10am to 5pm.

Developed in collaboration with Western Sydney communities and running across November, audiences will enjoy programs featuring leading Australian and international innovators, thinkers, creatives and artists, sharing new works, bold ideas, and immersive contemporary experiences.

Highlights from the 179-event program include:

Space, science, technology and transport:

- Charles F. Bolden Jr.: Veteran astronaut and former 12th NASA administrator reflects on a lifetime of leadership in space exploration. 
- Off Earth: A conversation with space architect Melodie Yashar, artist and engineer Xin Liu, spacesuit developer Kiriti Rambhatla and artist Tavares Strachan about living in space.
- Ted Chiang: Internationally acclaimed science fiction author Ted Chiang, whose short story Tower of Babylon inspired the design of the Task Eternal exhibition, talks on the pleasures and perils of the pursuit of immortality.
- New Tech Entrepreneurs: Ideas to spark change: Hear from leading tech entrepreneurs about emerging technologies that are changing the world, from bio-manufacturing and space technologies to AI medical diagnostics.
- Historic trains and buses: On the historic opening weekend, visitors can travel aboard steam trains and vintage buses operating on November 7 and 8, to celebrate the opening. The NSW Railway Band will welcome train travelers with a performance at Parramatta station.

Western Sydney collaborators:

- The Pride: Jin Wu Koon unveils The Pride, a major new commission featuring bespoke lion and dragon dance costumes and a celebratory performance for the opening.  
- Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts: a major new performance by a collective of Pacific community groups that uses the power of Pacific artistry and ceremony to open the new Powerhouse Parramatta and reveal the newly commissioned Te Waka Whakakotahi (a Maori watercraft) and Pacific weaving mats.  
- Pasifika Film Festival: inspiring Pasifika creatives working across all aspects of film and digital media to explore links to their culture, the annual festival showcases scripted and documentary films across short and feature length formats, animation, music videos and digital installation works.  

Design, music and performance:  

- Marc Newson: Internationally acclaimed Australian industrial designer, Marc Newson reflects on his four decades of influential design.  
- Come Home Again: Over 11 nights, British artist Es Devlin presents her large-scale installation featuring hand-drawn depictions of endangered species from NSW and live choral performances by Western Sydney choir River City Voices, intercultural singer collective Barayagal, and Noqu Vanua, led by Sydney Chamber Opera.  
- A Swell of Stars, and Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath: S. Shakthidharan's award winning memoir Gather Up Your World In One Long Breath is reimagined in a series of large scale, communal workshops and performances.  
- Diwali Day Party: a celebration of the sounds, dances and community practices that connect South Asian communities across Western Sydney.  

First Nations: