BAT MASSIVE
2025
-
24 guests, 10 canoes, 1 bus, and a couple thousand bats
-
Delivered on behalf of the Abbotsford Convent in collaboration for their Bat Massive program with support from Up the Creek.
Bat Massive was a nocturnal gathering of art, music, and ecology hosted at the Abbotsford Convent in 2025. We consulted on the program alongside Wildlife Victoria, drawing from our network and learned expertise of working with Yarra Bend’s grey-headed flying fox colony.
We also hosted an immersive prelude to the main stage program in the form of a guided canoe tour through the bat colony — an extension of the program which quickly sold out and garnered a waitlist.
Together we learned about the origins and ecological significance of the grey-headed flying foxes, paddling up the Birrarung, participants were fully immersed in the colony before the bats took flight for the night. Guests were transported to and from the Convent, offering an uninterrupted Bat Massive experience.
The paddle was an opportunity to observe the bats more closely, sparking new curiosities and discussions of urban wildlife, ecology, and conservation.
MAPPA’S INVOLVEMENT IN BAT MASSIVE WAS VERY SPECIAL. people ON THE CANOE TOUR were SO deeply engaged and thrilled to be among the roost.
