Arts Centre Melbourne’s newly refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre will welcome audiences back this October with a powerful world-premiere concert celebrating Victoria’s First Peoples, culture and connection to Country.
Gugu Dindi Gunyah (Many Rivers. One Home) will be the first public performance held in the transformed theatre on 3 October 2026, marking a significant milestone in the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project.
Created by Mutti Mutti, Nari Nari and Yorta Yorta Songman Kutcha Edwards, the self-determined First Nations-led concert brings together Song Keepers and artists from across Victoria, with every song performed in the Aboriginal languages of the Song Keepers who hold them.
Led and curated by Kutcha Edwards, the multidisciplinary performance explores rivers, songlines, ancestral stories and shared memory, taking audiences on a journey of reconnection to culture, community and self. The impressive lineup features artists including Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, Wayne Thorpe, Alice Skye, Stacie Nicholson-Piper, Neil Morris and Boorook – Brett Clarke.
Directed by Kylie Belling, the stage will reflect the movement and spirit of Country, while Music Director Aaron Choulai will guide a performance where language, ceremony and storytelling take centre stage.
Born on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and removed from Country as a child, Kutcha Edwards draws on his own experiences of displacement and reconnection to shape the work.
“When you’re asked to conceptualise something for Arts Centre Melbourne, you first need to ask yourself why me? Then you need to figure out what story do you want and need to tell. So many things swirl in your mind,” said Kutcha Edwards.
“You take a deep breath and realise that this concept needs to be seen as ceremony, Waripa (Mutti Mutti).You enter into a cultural framework (Dreaming). Gugu Dindi Gunyah starts to take form. The rivers have their own Dreaming stories. The country has its own story. We have our own story!”
The Ian Potter State Theatre reopening follows extensive upgrades including improved accessibility, upgraded seating, new lifts, enhanced heating and cooling, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems.
For more information about Gugu Dindi Gunyah, visit artscentremelbourne.com.au.
