Overview
Running on Empty is an immersive art exhibition exploring burnout, identity, pressure, and the quiet strength it takes to keep going.
We are not just tired. Many of us are shaped by invisible social structures and historical expectations that still linger quietly in modern life. Ideas of productivity, care, perfection and self-sacrifice often go unquestioned, yet they continue to shape how we live and work.
Held at Dudley House, Running on Empty invites visitors to pause and reflect on what has been normalised. The first part of the exhibition holds space for recognition, a chance to sit with the quiet weight of these expectations.
A recurring symbol throughout the exhibition is the flamingo, a bird that can lose its colour after raising its young and takes time to regain it. It becomes a metaphor for depletion without failure, and for recovery as a gradual, natural process rather than an instant fix.
Then something shifts.
Through colour, expression, and play, the work explores what it means to grow within these structures reclaiming creativity, agency, and possibility. Here, creativity becomes a quiet act of resistance.
At the centre of the exhibition is a growing community artwork, You Can Hang Your Art With Me. Visitors are invited to contribute small drawings, colour, or written fragments building a collective piece that reflects shared experience, presence, and connection.
Across two weeks, visitors move through spaces of exhaustion and empowerment, heaviness and light. Each room forms part of an emotional journey that is personal, reflective, and deeply relatable.
Whether you’re an art lover, a creative spirit, or simply feeling stretched too thin, you may find something here.
Come for a quiet moment. Bring a friend. Pause… and play.
23 April – 3 May
Thursday – Sunday | 11am – 4pm
Exhibition opening times
Thursday 23 April: 11am – 4pm
Friday 24 April: 11am – 4pm
Saturday 25 April: 11am – 4pm
Sunday 26 April: 11am – 4pm
Monday 27 April: closed
Tuesday 28 April: closed
Wednesday 29 April: closed
Thursday 30 April: 11am – 4pm
Friday 1 May: 11am – 4pm
Saturday 2 May: 11am – 4pm
Sunday 3 May: 11am – 4pm
Follow The Power of Play
This Exhibition is supported by the City of Greater Bendigo, as part of the 2026 Artists on View program.
Terms and Conditions
Click here to read our full terms and conditions.
Experience the six seasons by Troy Firebrace and Drew Berick, with one of Bendigo's most unique and cultural activation experiences.
Read more