Image: Penelope Robertshawe
Sydney’s old power station turned culture engine, the Powerhouse in Ultimo mixes design, tech and big queer energy just a short stumble from Haymarket and Central.
Housed in a hulking 19th‑century power station, Powerhouse Ultimo serves industrial chic with a side of camp. Inside, you’ll find a rotating mix of design, fashion, music and technology shows that happily blur the line between museum, club night and queer salon.
Recent exhibitions like Absolutely Queer have spotlighted Sydney’s drag royalty, Mardi Gras costume wizards and gender‑expansive designers, turning the galleries into a walk‑through dressing room of local queer imagination. WorldPride-era programs and late-night takeovers have leaned hard into LGBTQIA+ histories, radical dance floors and community storytelling, cementing the Powerhouse as one of the city’s most visibly rainbow‑friendly cultural players.
Even while the site is being revamped, keep an eye on the Powerhouse website for off-site programs, talks and parties—they’re very good at finding new ways to plug art, nightlife and politics into the same circuit.
From Mardi Gras launches to WorldPride glam
Powerhouse Ultimo has long flirted with the community, from hosting Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras events in the 1990s to going full sparkle for Sydney WorldPride 2023 with the landmark exhibition Absolutely Queer, a love letter to local performers, designers and activists.
Mind the makeover
The Ultimo site is currently closed for a major heritage revamp, with a new public square, refreshed galleries and a shiny entrance onto the Goods Line in the works. Before you go, check current openings and events via Powerhouse online.
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Location
500 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007, Australia
Contact
+61 2 9217 0222
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