Kaleidoscope is an epic installation at Arts Centre Melbourne that transports you into a world of constantly shifting illusions through the use of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms.

The major art installation by artist Keith Courtney is an unmissable mirror maze that will have you looking up, down and around you in a whole new different way.

Kaleidoscope Melbourne

Kaleidoscope Melbourne uses the same concept as the kaleidoscope from your childhood – remember that little exciting tube using mirrors and coloured glass to create ever-changing patterns through a tiny eyehole?

This large-scale kaleidoscope blows up the small toy into a labyrinth of mirrored corridors to create an immersive artwork that displays a symphony of light, colour and sound. 

You might even find that through your visit, your sense of motion and gravity feels a bit distorted. It's hard to know what is a wall and what is a mirror and so I walk through the corridors stepping gingerly!

Spaces fracture, surprise and disorientate the senses at every turn. During our visit the kids love to play an infinite game of hide-and-seek!

Keith Courtney is an acclaimed Melbourne-based artist that has been making some of the most fascinating art projects in collaboration with major Australian festivals, international artists and venues. 

Courtney is well-known to Melbourne audiences for other large-scale art projects such as ‘The House of Mirrors’ and ‘1000 Doors’.

These were also previously featured at the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt and were so popular that the projects toured major cities across the globe and attracted more than half a million visitors.

While the concept of Kaleidoscope is created by Courtney, the artwork is a collaboration with visual artist Ash Keating – notice his distinctive streaks of bold colour on the outside – composer Tamil Rogeon and artist Samantha Slicer alongside a team of highly skilled technicians.

The Kaleidoscope mirror maze is fun at any time of day but I highly recommend visiting at night when it is lit up in a myriad of rainbow colours. This will help you to better experience the multi-sensory journey of sound and light within the artwork.

Kaleidoscope is open at the Arts Centre forecourt from Wednesday 1 June to Sunday 24 July 2022. After these dates, it will then head to the Brisbane Powerhouse from Thursday 11 August to Monday 3 October 2022, followed by an international tour.

---

See Lightscape at Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Find family-friendly restaurants in Melbourne CBD