The Butterfly Club

The Butterfly Club is a performing arts venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Drawing from a growing interest in cabaret, the Club was conceived and created by artist and entrepreneur, Matthew Grant. Grant lived and worked from the building from 1993: opening to the public in 1999. Grant sold the club in November 2003.^[1] By 2006 the Club was Melbourne's only full-time cabaret venue.^[2]

The Butterfly Club has presented more than 1,000 new works, with an emphasis on discovering and nurturing performers, many of which are now household names, such as Tim Minchin and Eddie Perfect.^[3] Under the stewardship of David Read and Neville Sice, over eight years the venue was saved and became sustainable using has an arts model which doesn't rely on public subsidy.^[4]^[5] They established it as a premiere incubator for Melbourne performers and a key location for Melbourne's burgeoning cabaret scene.^[5]

The club, together with the Australian National Academy of Music, has played a key role in developing the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. In January 2011 The Butterfly Club again changed hands to new director Simone Pulga.^[6]

In December 2012, The Butterfly Club announced a planned relocation to a central city Collins St building. In conjunction with this relocation, a massive fundraising effort through crowdfunding and social media campaigns, as well as media coverage, was launched under the cry to action 'Save The Butterfly Club.' ^[7]

Following a successful relocation, The Butterfly Club began trading from its new home, in the Melbourne CBD, in February 2013.^[8]