Alchemy successful participants announced

The Library has announced 14 successful applicants chosen to develop their creative ideas as part of the Library’s inaugural Alchemy program.

The successful participants have each received $20,000 to develop a creative concept for an inspirational onsite or online visitor experience that draws on the Library’s reimagined spaces and vast collection.

The Library was inundated with more than 300 applications – the scale, diversity and talent of which was inspiring. The winning proposals range from radical dining experiences, to augmented reality tours and literary escape rooms.

Explore the full list of successful applicants and their proposed projects below.

The Alchemy program aims to build sustainable visitor experiences that will change perceptions of what a Library can be, while also supporting the recovering creative industries.

Learn more about Alchemy.

Alchemy successful participants

• APHIDS and Long Prawn (Lara Thoms) ‘Radical Chow’ artistic dining and performance lectures reflecting on radical histories, texts and archives collected by the Library.
• Closer Look (Mary McGillivray and Julian O’Shea) Bite-sized social media video project and self-guided educational experience.
• Karla & Daniel Burt ‘Lit’ podcast and events combining literary trivia, comedy and games.
• Donna Kendrigan (with Chris Henschke, John McCormick and Amelia Bartak) ‘Hyperrealia’ AR experience integrating stop-motion animation and drawing on research into the Library’s realia collections.
• Escape Room Melbourne (Owen Spear) Escape room/ puzzle experience across the Library, inspired by the site’s history and many fascinating stories.
• Grumpy Sailor Creative (James Boyce) ‘Spellbound’ immersive exhibition experience celebrating Australian children’s books.
• Helen Kwok and Chad Toprak ‘Night at the Library: the book detective’ interactive and immersive onsite game.
• I’m Free Walking Tours (Justine Simpson) ‘Wander’ self-guided video tours, accessed via QR code, through the spaces of the Library.
• Jessica Wilson ‘Child Nation’ independent digital journeys allowing children to turn their surrounding environment into art.
• Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey (with Fayen D’Evie and Andy Slater – Society of Visually Impaired Sound Artists – and Erin Milne) ‘The ambi-sonic Library’ long form 3D recordings of the Library spaces, embedded throughout the Library and hosted on YouTube VR.
• Melinda Hetzel & Co. (Melinda Hetzel) ‘Solace’ multi-sensory self-guided experience delivered via mobile app, weaving together sound design and striking visuals.
• Roslyn Oades Immersive participatory audio experience inspired by the La Trobe Reading Room.
• Threshold (Sarah Lockwood and Tahli Corin) ‘Guest book’ interactive experience through the Library for tweens (ages 9—12) and their parents.
• True Crime Games (Emma Ramsay and Andy Yong) App-based AR mini-game focusing on historic true crime stories.