What ENESS does

ENESS is a privately held, Melbourne-based art and technology studio founded in 1997 by Nimrod Weis. The studio designs and fabricates interactive public art installations that combine sculpture, textiles, bespoke hardware, custom software, sensors, lighting, music, and storytelling. Its product portfolio spans roughly 30 named works split between permanent installations (e.g., Waterbody, JEM, Bunjil, The Light Seesaw, LUMES LED walls, AEYE, Skyball, the Solar-Powered Spinning Bench) and temporary festival-grade installations (e.g., Iwagumi Air Scape, Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness, Airship Orchestra, Sky Castle, Lost Dogs' Disco, Cupid's Koi Garden, Sonic Light Bubble, Whispering Mountains, HP*ATM). Core proprietary technology includes the Pixile 3D engine for real-time particle rendering, real-time projection mapping with custom controllers, addressable LED disk systems, physics engines, and movement-responsive sound-light systems. AI features appear in two recent products (HP*ATM with facial recognition and Whispering Mountains) but are not central to the broader technology stack, which is predominantly sensor, LED, and projection-based.

ENESS operates a sales-led, project-based business model with two revenue streams: custom art commissions for cultural institutions, property developers, government bodies, and corporate clients, and exhibition/licensing fees via international festivals and venues such as Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival, Amsterdam Light Festival, Balloon Museum, i Light Singapore, and Mori Art Museum. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and each commission is individually scoped. The studio is founder-owned, has 15 employees, and operates without disclosed institutional investors. Geographic reach spans 30+ countries across Australia, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Customers include Mirvac, Telstra, Cabrini Hospital, Melbourne Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria, South Bank Corporation (Brisbane), Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan), and various state and municipal governments.

The studio's competitive position is built on 25+ years of brand recognition, a deep portfolio of repeatable artworks, and a multidisciplinary team that integrates creative direction with proprietary software and hardware engineering. International award recognition (FRAME Exhibition of the Year in 2024 and 2025, Japan Media Arts Award 2007, MUSE Awards 2009, multiple Melbourne and Australian Design Awards, Dezeen shortlisting) reinforces ENESS's standing as a category leader in new media public art.

Name

ENESS

Legal name

ENESS

Website

https://eness.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ENESS is an Australian art and technology studio founded in 1997 that designs and builds interactive public art installations combining sculpture, custom software, sensors, and lighting for cultural institutions, property developers, government bodies, and festivals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interactive Public Art Installations

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mobile/Digital Experiential (AR/VR, Interactive Installations) (MPAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Interactive public art
• Art installation commissions
• New media art
• Projection mapping installations
• Interactive sculpture design

Headquarters

HQ city

St Kilda

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Art Installation Commissions: ENESS creates commissioned artworks for cultural institutions, urban precincts, festivals, property developers, and government bodies. Projects range from temporary festival installations to permanent public artworks. Revenue is project-based with each commission individually contracted.
2. Exhibition and Event Fees: ENESS installations are featured at festivals and events worldwide including Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival, Amsterdam Light Festival, and Balloon Museum exhibitions, generating revenue through exhibition fees and licensing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ENESS is a multi-award-winning art and technology studio founded in 1997 that designs and produces interactive public art installations combining sculpture, textiles, furniture design, software development, music, and storytelling. The studio creates both permanent installations (e.g., JEM, Waterbody, Solar-Powered Bench, Bunjil, Light Seesaw, LUMES) and temporary exhibition works (e.g., Iwagumi Air Scape, Airship Orchestra, Modern Guru, Sky Castle, Sonic Light Bubble) for cultural institutions, property developers, government bodies, and festivals. Each project is individually commissioned, with ENESS handling end-to-end design, fabrication, and installation using proprietary technology including custom 3D software engines, projection mapping systems, and LED integration.

Product overview

ENESS is a multi-award-winning art and technology studio founded in 1997 that designs evocative interactive experiences for public, commercial and cultural entities. The studio creates both permanent installations and temporary works, combining sculpture, textiles, design, furniture, software development, music and storytelling. Key product lines include permanent works such as the Solar-Powered Bench, JEM, Waterbody, Bunjil, AEYE, Light Seesaw, LUMES LED systems, and Skyball. Temporary installations include interactive light works like Airship Orchestra (16 inflatables with LED eyes), Sky Castle (interactive inflatable arches), Lost Dogs' Disco (inflatable dogs), Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness, Iwagumi Air Scape, Cupid's Koi Garden, Sonic Light Bubble, Tree Man, and numerous other experiential artworks. The studio pioneers new media art that combines technology like LEDs, sensors, and custom software with physical installations to create interactive public art experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• A Solar-Powered Bench That Spins Ever So Slowly Solar-powered benches that harvest sunlight to spin slowly, offering visitors a playful experience with retro flower-shaped design combining sustainability values with embedded solar panels and recycled plastic materials. Featured at National Gallery of Victoria during Melbourne Design Week.
• JEM - Interactive public art sculpture Radiant interactive light installation with thirty-two spokes that respond to people's movement via sensors, featuring plush pods, rhythmic sounds, and mesmeric light pulsation creating a contemplative digital temple. Commissioned for South Bank Corporation Brisbane.
• Waterbody - Interactive public art installation Celebration of Sydney's harbor featuring generative content with 3D particle system simulating fluid dynamics including currents, flow and turbulence, responding to visitor movement through thousands of LEDs. Won Melbourne Design Awards Gold in Lighting Design 2023.
• Bunjil - Kinetic sculpture and 3D mapping projection First People's exhibit at Melbourne Museum featuring a kinetic sculpture inspired by Bunjil the Creator (Wedge-tailed Eagle) spanning 2.2 metres with striking visuals, soundscape and poetic narrative. Won Melbourne Design Awards 2014 and Create Awards 1st Prize 2014.
• AEYE - Interactive public art sculpture Branch of 8 interactive disks that respond to movement of passers-by, imbued with childlike character learning to recognize shapes of passing dogs.
• The Light Seesaw - Playscape Interactive light installation featuring a physics engine with thirty-three rows of light along the seesaw's length, enabling users to explore elemental forces with settings representing air, water or space. World's first Light Seesaw, launched 2012 at Fed Square Melbourne.
• LUMES, Cabrini Hospital - Interactive LED digital wall Characterful LED wall system with wood veneer execution exuding warmth, situated at Cabrini Hospital paediatrics ward entrance with dreamy graphics triggered by visitor movement showing landscapes and animals. Won Melbourne Design Awards 2018.
• LUMES, Holt Street - Interactive LED mural Light art installation designed to sync with circadian rhythms of employees, featuring warmer brighter content in mornings and calming tones in the evening for workplace wellbeing.
• SKYBALL - Interactive digital playscape Interactive futuristic game of light played between two people, combining technology with exertion as players keep a ball of light in the longest volley possible.
• HP*ATM - Human Psyche AI Teller Machine Mystical patchwork of sculpture and technology that reads participants' faces for psychological clues, performs palm readings, and analyses button selections to dispense psychological readings as lyrical horoscopes.
• Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness Immersive new media art installation exploring modern paths to happiness through unique interactions with whimsical characters along a mystical journey of discovery. Won FRAME Exhibition of the Year 2024 and LIT Lighting Design Awards 2023.
• Iwagumi Air Scape Monumental open-air artwork celebrating Japanese reverence for beautiful rock compositions, featuring air-filled inflatables appearing as thousands of tonnes of rock with intricate textures. Attracted over 10,000 attendees on launch night at Piazza Maggiore, Bologna 2025.
• Rock Monk Orchestra Assemblage of wise rocks in Zen formation cultivating mindfulness through music, chanting and composition with interactive buttons adding notes to the generative performance.
• Pool Teacher Oversized inflatable character teaching creative wisdom with pool noodles, featuring interactive elements that respond to visitor engagement.
• The Whispering Mountains AI-powered glowing mountains with messages that awake when visitors walk by, delivering thoughts and posing questions about modern digital culture.
• Forest Dancer Figure dancing in healing light celebrating creative freedom, with pulsating dress that responds to motion and welcomes visitors under her protective roof.
• Airship Orchestra Mystical tribe of 16 inflatables (some up to six metres) extending over 500 square metres with LED eyes that blink and follow visitors, featuring volumetric sound and rhythmic light pulsation. Nominated for ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards 2022.
• Spiritus Sonata Artistic representation of animism featuring inflatable structures with nose extensions that operate like old church pipe organs using air to create sounds.
• The Rock That Grew a Door Interactive installation featuring baby rocks requiring visitors to communicate through rocking, knocking and unlocking secret codes to open grandaddy rock's door. Exhibited at Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan.
• Cupid's Koi Garden World's first inflatable fountain standing over six metres featuring Cupid and ten ornamental koi fish with LED eyes that squirt water on passers-by. Won Australian Design Awards 2022 and Melbourne Design Awards Silver 2022.
• Sky Castle Dreamy interactive sound and light installation featuring inflatable arches that span across public space, with movement powering melodic xylophone sounds and colour changes. Won Special Event of the Year at MEA Awards 2021.
• Tree Man Sculpture with screen-shaped head encircling a sapling, emitting blue light in reference to device screens, with colours shifting from blue to green responding to visitor movement.
• Stem by Stem Interactive installation featuring oversized motion-tracking eyes and anthropomorphised flower characters with highly-patterned skins that burst with colour beneath in response to visitor movement. Commissioned for Telstra building foyer by Mirvac Portfolio.
• Nature Illuminated Site-specific works including Lover Birds with glowing plumage and The Pickles - two inflatable friends with motion-tracking LED eyes that respond to passers-by.
• Lost Dogs' Disco Temporary sculpture featuring 16 inflatable dogs (some up to 5.5m tall) in various poses whose coats light up and greet visitors with happy grunts when people approach.
• I Believe Swings Three light-emitting swings with UFO beams where sensors animate lights based on swing motion, inviting participants to pose questions about destiny.
• Sonic Light Bubble Six-metre clear inflatable structure dotted with addressable LED disks acting as a volumetric video screen providing 360-degree visual content both day and night. Recognized at Mori Art Museum, Japan 2017.
• Möbius Collaborative stop-motion sculpture with 21 triangles that can be reconfigured into multiple patterns, animated by passers-by moving pieces over a two-week period.
• Midnight Special Transformed retro school bus with futuristic LED lightshow featuring choreographed light and sound creating meditative gravitational vortex ambience.
• Mini Dancefloor Collaboration with VICE Australia featuring 265 unique addressable LED tiles creating spiral motif from MINI logo that burst with colour in response to dancers' moves and music.
• Tron Skate Ramp Interactive 3D projection mapping for skateboarding with infrared sensors and position-tracking enabling direct visual response to skateboarders' movements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Iwagumi Air Scape attracted over 10,000 attendees on launch night at Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Moment Factory: Montreal-based multimedia studio specializing in immersive environments and interactive installations for museums, airports, and public spaces. Closely comparable business model of bespoke commissioned installations with proprietary technology.
• Refik Anadol Studio: Los Angeles-based media artist studio creating site-specific AI-driven installations. Comparable in combining custom software, data, and visual art for museums and public spaces, often at massive scale.
• teamLab: Japanese interdisciplinary art collective creating large-scale digital immersive installations combining technology, art, and nature. Most directly comparable to ENESS in combining custom software, light, and interactive design for cultural institutions and festivals globally.
• Random International: Studio known for interactive installations like Rain Room and Zoological, blending art, technology, and audience participation. Comparable in focus on movement-responsive interactive installations for museums and public spaces.
• Jason Bruges Studio: London-based design studio creating bespoke installations integrating art, architecture, and technology. Comparable in bespoke commissioned practice serving commercial clients, museums, and public spaces with interactive permanent works.
• United Visual Artists: London-based art and design practice creating large-scale light and sound installations with custom software. Comparable in combining proprietary technology with public art commissions for cultural institutions and corporate spaces.
• Snarkitecture: New York practice exploring boundary between art and architecture through interactive installations. Comparable in producing immersive experiences for museums, retail, and cultural venues with custom-designed interactive elements.
• Studio Drift: Dutch contemporary art studio creating sculptures and installations from natural phenomena using technology. Comparable in merging sculpture, light, and interactive technology for cultural institutions and permanent public art.

Emerging players

• Meow Wolf: US-based arts and entertainment company creating immersive, interactive multimedia experiences. Comparable in delivering immersive art installations but with a larger, venue-based permanent exhibition model and significantly more capital.

Broad incumbents

• Obscura Digital: San Francisco-based creative studio specializing in large-scale projection mapping and immersive brand experiences. Comparable in projection mapping technology and large-scale public installations for festivals and corporate clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/studioeness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ENESS