The Weekend in Review
Posted Wed 15th Sep 2021 | Helen Sweatman
Thank you to everyone who virtually explored Melbourne with us!
For this year’s Open House Melbourne July program, we encouraged Melburnians to reconnect with their city. Reconnect: OHM 2021 presented a diverse range of virtual tours, talks, films and events designed to inspire and provoke discussion around the future of our city and our suburbs.
The original intention for OHM 2021 was for a ‘hybrid’ program of curated, ticketed and COVIDSafe physical events, as well as online events and VR tours that increased capacity and inclusivity for those unable to access physical programming due to a multitude of factors.
As Victoria was plunged back into another snap lockdown and, post-event, what proved to be an extended period of restrictions, we rapidly ‘switched’ from the intended hybrid program to a fully online program including real-time online events, talks and tours as well as self-directed VR tours and programs.
As part of the fully digital Weekend program we ‘opened up’ 55 buildings and presented 48 virtual tours, 24 online events and exhibitions, and 20 films. During the campaign period, the program amassed over 258,000 online visits – demonstrating the reach, popularity, and continued public interest of an Open House Melbourne Weekend, even when it’s a fully online event.
For many of us, the prolonged experience of lockdown during COVID-19 has fast-tracked our appreciation and understanding of the reach, accessibility and power of the digital to connect us while we are forced apart – even while we may yearn for ‘in the real’ opportunities to meet and exchange ideas in physical space. The Centre of Architecture Victoria | Open House Melbourne will continue to advocate for good design as being critical to achieving a better built environment for everyone, through both digital and in-person experiences.
Similarly to last year, all-digital program content remains available to audiences, collaborators and partners to continue to explore and enjoy. We encourage you to revisit old favourites or virtually open the door to a space you may never have been. Reconnect: OHM 2021 is freely available to everyone no matter where you are, whether in Melbourne, regional Victoria, or, in fact, across the world.
From all of us at Open House Melbourne, thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm for our program.
