Ahead of Gasworks’ 40th birthday in 2026, new Creative Director and CEO Sam Strong has unveiled a fresh vision for the creative precinct as a home for creativity.
Strong says what attracted him most about Gasworks was its uniqueness and its potential.
“There really is nowhere else like Gasworks. It has a distinct range of spaces (from theatres to galleries to studios to parklands), a distinct range of artforms (from music to visual art to performing arts), and a distinct range of activities (from school workshops to professional shows).
And Gasworks’ uniqueness creates so much possibility. There’s the potential to activate the whole precinct, to bring together artforms, to engage the community in participatory events, and to put Gasworks more on the map (with audiences and artists).”
As part of his vision, Strong says the starting point for the future of Gasworks is its past.
“For so much of its history, Gasworks has been groundbreaking – holding community participatory events in the 1990s, staging deaf and disability led art through the Art of Difference Festival in the noughties, starting a farmer’s market before they were everywhere.
The 40th anniversary is an opportunity to connect our pioneering past to an even more ambitious future.
To do this we have a new vision of being a home for creativity.”
Strong acknowledges that the first step in achieving this vision is to synchronise as much change as possible to generate impact and momentum.
“We’re changing the rhythm of our programming, curating in more audience-friendly and responsive quarters. We will launch each quarter at a blockbuster “Season in the Glade” event that takes over the whole precinct and has a mass-participatory element (like Carols at Summer in the Glade). The quarterly programs will stay multi art-form but contain more theatre, more comedy, and more live music. We will also add literature and ideas through a new partnership with Sorrento Writers Festival and Avenue Bookstore. We will reposition ourselves in the independent landscape through the grand gesture of Open Studio – literally handing artists the keys to our Studio Theatre for free. Finally, we have rebranded and renovated our foyer to coincide with an upgrade of the park. And all of this will land in about 24 hours on the 5th and 6th of December!”
While Open Studio will create a space for independent artists for free once a month, Seasons in the Glade will highlight family and community through a new program of signature free events.
“Family and community are the future of the creative industries,” says Strong. “Art for families and kids has been neglected for too long. In 2026 and beyond we’ll make a conscious effort to expand the range of ages we create for and with. We’ll also expand the quality of the experiences, both the shows and workshops around them.
Similarly, works for and with the community have tended to sit outside of the mainstage. But the most powerful experiences I’ve had in the last few years have been ones that break down the divide between artist and audience. They don’t just give people the chance to see themselves represented in a work of art; they empower them to be part of creating it.
At Gasworks, we believe that everyone has not just the capacity, but the right to be creative. That underlies the new vision and everything we do. We’re about creativity your way – transforming our walled space and multiple entries into a sanctuary where everybody can follow their own path.
And most importantly, Seasons in the Glade will always be free.”
Strong is one of Australia’s pre-eminent arts leaders, with leadership positions including Executive Director of Creative Industries at Creative Victoria and Chair of Melbourne Fringe and Circa. He has held Artistic Director roles at Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company and is also an award-winning theatre director with critically acclaimed productions like Trent Dalton’s Love Stories and Boy Swallows Universe under his belt.
As for now championing independent artists at Gasworks, Strong says he applied for the job in the usual fashion and then going through a few rounds of interviews.
“It was a very rigorous application process, which is great because that enables you to refine your vision and hit the ground running if you get the job. It also gives you a sense of what it will be like to work with the Chair and the Board. I was thrilled when I was offered the role, because I knew already that I would really enjoy collaborating with the Gasworks Board and especially the Chair, Philippa Devine.”
So, should we expect to see a show directed by Strong at his new digs? The short answer, according to Strong, is yes, but only occasionally.
“The long answer is that as an artist, I’ve been lucky to direct some big shows (I think the largest theatre on the recent Love Stories tour was 2500 seats). I will keep doing the odd large show (e.g. I’m doing The Coronation of Poppea for Victorian Opera at the Palais Theatre in 2026). But directing work at scale is not the only thing that interests me as an artist now. I’m really excited about the bespoke, the site-specific, the hyper-local and the participatory. I can’t wait to explore things like this at Gasworks.
So, while I can’t talk about specifics yet (you’ll have to wait for future seasons!), I will direct occasionally at Gasworks. But it will be something that can only happen here, like an indoor/outdoor Shakespeare. It’s also important that I’m not taking opportunities away from others. I’ve had my time as a directing Artistic Director, and lots of gigs, so I’m much more interested in opening up space for other artists.”
As a director and as a curator, Strong hopes that his work has been underwritten by urgency, theatricality and authenticity.
” Ideally, you’re always asking (and answering!): why does this need to happen now? Why does this need to be in a theatre? And who is the best person to tell the story?
I think over time I’ve got better at identifying (and embracing) my pre-occupations. For instance, I ended up leaning into what emerged as a wheelhouse of page to stage adaptations of coming-of-age stories (shows like Boy Swallows Universe, Jasper Jones, and Storm Boy).”
As a creative for over twenty plus years in, what can be, a very fickle business, Strong lists some serious theatrical heavy weights as his own personal inspirations.
” Brett Sheehy and Virginia Lovett were fantastic mentors and friends when I was Associate Artistic Director of MTC. Brett taught me how to empower and trust others, and Virginia helped me to not take things (including myself) too seriously.
Isaac Drandic, who I brought to Queensland Theatre as resident dramaturg, taught me a lot about developing plays. He has this effortless and gentle way of guiding other artists to extraordinary things.
As a Chair, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some visionary CEOs. Simon Abrahams at Melbourne Fringe and Yaron Lifschitz at Circa share a can-do entrepreneurialism and a capacity to make anything possible. It’s a great energy for Gasworks.
When she was Artistic Director of Brisbane Festival, Louise Bezzina and I collaborated on two blockbuster Trent Dalton adaptations over about 7 years. Louise probably has the best understanding of audience in the country, and she is phenomenal at backing an artist’s vision. I suspect we’ll collaborate again now she’s at a similar venue in Brisbane Powerhouse.”
Located in Albert Park on the former South Melbourne Gas Plant site, Gasworks combines four hectares of parkland with three galleries, two theatres, artist studios, workshops, function spaces, and a café. With its upcoming 40th birthday, Strong says it’s the new team’s job to put Gasworks on the map
“And the best way to do this is to get people to our creative precinct so they can experience it for themselves.
When anyone comes to the new Gasworks they will realise there is nowhere else like it.”
Strong goes on to say that independent artists will discover there are things they can only do at Gasworks, like free access through Open Studio, or pathways that connect development to performance, such as the Queer Playwriting Award.
“Audiences will realise not just the quality but the range of what they can see, whether it’s new art forms like literature and ideas, or the best family programming for newborns through to teenagers. And most importantly, it’s not just what they can see, it’s what they can do. Free events like Summer in the Glade will give people the chance to experience and participate. It’s why we’re a home for creativity.”
For more info on all initiatives and Gasworks’ upcoming year in theatre visit: gasworks.org.au
