2026 Impact INTL: Australia/New Zealand Honoree: Sally Mather

Sally Mather
Programming Director
Forum Melbourne

Favourite Musician/Band As Teen: ”The Offspring, Eels, Machine Gun Fellatio, Massive Attack, Aqua & Fatboy Slim all had high rotation at some point.”

The Forum Theatre in Melbourne had a record year, topping the Clubs section of Pollstar’s mid-year charts with ticket sales of 267,088 and a gross of $15.6 million.

Opened in 1929, its main room holds up to 2,000 standing and 800 seated. A smaller room seats 500.

“It’s been really rewarding reaching out to new audiences and to see this reflecting in the diversity of our programming,” says Sally Mather, the venue’s programming director. For the rest of 2026 and 2027, “we’ve got so much cool stuff coming up, really excited to keep seeing what new opportunities and markets open up.

“Australian audiences have become so much more receptive to non-English speaking acts, there’s a world of incredible music to welcome to our shores,” she says.

The smaller size of the Australian market and significant travel commitment provide challenges, Mather contends.

“However, we have such a diversity of communities and tastes (particularly in Melbourne) with a huge appetite for live music that it’s also a super valuable place for acts to tour and connect with both loyal & new audiences,” she says. “It’s also exciting to see such a huge mix of Australian acts selling out shows.”

Recent highlights include (Melbourne breakthrough EDM act) Ninajirachi’s headline shows at Forum, where “So much thought was put into every part of the show and the crowd were so excited to be there,” she says.

She adds, “Everything we do is about bringing people together and making sure people are having a good time, whether it’s artists teams or patrons.”

The mission is “Constantly seeking ways to improve people’s experience in our spaces and make them feel welcome is what drives us and makes a venue a great place to be,” she says.

Keeping her sane is “Anything that involves getting outside into nature or the ocean, gotta get away from those screens to reset.”