Blog – 2012
November: busy time in Naarm / Melbourne's arts scene
artists, spaces
13 November 2012
November is a busy time of the year in the Melbourne arts scene:
- graduate exhibitions
- annual exhibitions
- open days
- the commercial galleries leaving the best to last.
Here are a few places to go, places to be seen and exhibitions worth viewing:
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Metro Gallery – E.L.K
Time: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Where: 1214 High Street, Armadale (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 1 December 2012 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5.30pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 11am to 5pm)
Friday 16 November 2012
Gertrude Contemporary – Gertrude Studios, 2012
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 200 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) – Art Bar (special evening of art and live music)
Time: 7pm to 11pm
Where: 111 Sturt Street, Southbank (view location on Google Maps)
Saturday 17 November 2012
Utopian Slumps – Nathan Gray
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Where: 33 Guilford Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 8 December
Australian Tapestry Workshop – Open Day
Time: 10am to 5pm
Where: 262–266 Park Street, South Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
Monday 19 November 2012
Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) 2012 Graduate Exhibition
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 40 Dodds Street, Southbank (view location on Google Maps)
Thursday 22 November 2012
Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) – Kodak Salon
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 404 George Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Saturday 24 November 2012
Craft Victoria – Open Day
Time: 10am to 5pm
Where: 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
Gertrude Contemporary – Open Studios
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Where: 200 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Wednesday 28 November 2012
RMIT 2012 Master of Fine Art Exhibition (view flyer, PDF file, 1 page, 341KB)
Time: 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Where: Building 49, Gossard Project Space, Level C, 67 Franklin Street, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 5 December (Monday to Friday, 11am to 6pm; Saturday, 12pm to 5pm)
Friday 30 November 2012
Australian Print Workshop – Impressions 2012 Fundraiser
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 210 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Melbourne's festival season celebrates the best of art
artists
17 September 2012
Finally the spring sun is shining and it's festival season in Naarm / Melbourne.
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2012 – 26 September to 14 October
It all started in 1982, when the Melbourne Fringe Arts Network was formed, mainly consisting of performance artists supporting independent and experimental events.
Thirty years and some 50,000 artists later, the event focuses its 2012 edition on framing the city's "independent arts culture in all its creative and vital glory." This year the festival celebrates the past and anticipates the future of arts in Naarm / Melbourne.
Free booklets can be obtained at various art shops, cafes and cultural outlets. Tickets can be purchased online at the Melbourne Fringe Festival website.
Melbourne Festival 2012 – between 11 and 27 October
The Melbourne Festival is 17-day marathon of dance, opera, theatre, film, visual art, music, forums and outdoor events.
The artists and performers are hand chosen by Artistic Director, Brett Sheehy, from Australia and around the world.Tickets are available at the Melbourne Festival website and participating venues.
Artery – Did you know about Artery?
Artery is the Australian Council's online source of news and information about artists, events, projects and trends that shape the Australian arts landscape.
Commercial galleries, warehouse space and hotel installation: that's art in Naarm / Melbourne
artists, spaces
15 August 2012
Melbourne Art Fair for 2012 has come and gone, and it was a little quieter than its 2010 edition. However, still very successful with $8 million in sales and 27,000 visitors. For the invited commercial galleries, it is a significant investment, not only in time but also dollars.
An event like this can be overwhelming and cause some visual overload. Personally, I prefer exhibitions that are on at the same time as the fair, are free and available to everyone. Not Fair Art Fair Primal Mutation, launching undiscovered and emerging artists curated by Melissa Amore, Ashley Crawford and Sam Leach, was entertaining and a fabulous use of 1000 Pound Bend's warehouse back space. I loved the laneway entry and it was exciting to see such a quirky artistic space in the CBD.
One of my favourite exhibitions was at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins (25 Collins Street, Melbourne; view location on Google Maps). Gosia Wlodarczak was the sixth artist welcomed by the hotel's annual Artist in Residence program.
She has previously exhibited at the Singapore Biennale, the Drawing Centre in New York and at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane (view image). Over July, Gosia produced a drawing installation on the hotel's lobby windows. Guests were able to watch the artist draw and people were invited to observe her performance.
I first came across Gosia at a performance at Fehily Contemporary in Collingwood. Gosia's drawings are spontaneous and flow freely. The work tells a story, it is an observation of the immediate surroundings.
Unfortunately the window installation is not up anymore, but her exhibition is on at Sofi's Lounge until 8 October 2012.
Melbourne in winter: let's get outdoors and enjoy art
Melbourne tours, spaces
22 June 2012
On my walk-to-art tours I am constantly feeding everyone information on how to find wonderful places in Naarm / Melbourne, encouraging them to try something new and explore a different area or space.
Yes, it's been cold and winter has hit Melbourne, but now it's time to put your woolly gloves and hats on, grab a copy of Hot Spots and get outdoors!
Hot Spots 2012 is out on the streets and available for free at art shops, cafes, cultural hangouts and at the Melbourne Visitor Centre (MVC) in Federation Square. If you prefer to use your computer or smart phone, visit the City of Melbourne website.
Described as "your discerning guide to the very best of a new Melbourne you may not know about", Hot Spots is divided into 5 areas:
- Central
- Southside
- Northside
- Docklands and surrounds
- Cultural.
Hot Spots has pinpointed each venue with a number on a corresponding map. These maps are a guide only – use your smart phone or pick up a city map from MVC. My suggestion: try something new from Hot Spots each week!
Also visit Northern Exposure Visual Arts Festival until 1 July 2012. Installation, projection, performance and small works in small spaces, all located on High Street in Northcote (view location on Google Maps).
Now in its eighth year, the event promises to deliver a "uniquely Northcote experience" (download the official brochure, PDF file, 1MB).
Have fun this winter in Naarm / Melbourne!
Should we be upset that a Banksy artwork was destroyed?
artists, Melbourne tours
18 May 2012
Should we be upset that Banksy's Parachuting Rat was destroyed earlier this week in Prahran?
Many street artists have their worked sprayed over all the time, and there is no public outcry or editorial in the newspapers. Street art has no timeline: it could be up for 5 mins, 5 days or 5 years. To remain untouched, untagged is up to the universe.
It's fabulous that Bansky shared his work and love in Naarm / Melbourne. We are fortunate to have enjoyed the work of this British artist for some years now.
The trade person who drilled into that wall in Prahran probably had no idea or understanding that Bansky is famous and expensive. It is a story in itself. It adds to the history of the wall and the history of what was.
Are we sad that the Bansky was destroyed because it's worth x amount of dollars or are we sad because we lost another Bansky of our walls? Parachuting Rat was the third Banksy destroyed in 2 years – vandals damaged one in Fitzroy in 2011 and council workers painted over another one in Naarm / Melbourne CBD the year before.
This is an interesting debate and, regardless of your opinion, watch Exit Through The Gift Shop: A Banksy Film. It is a must-see documentary.
The (complex) business side of being an artist
artists
26 April 2012
I have met many artists in need of an "agent" – someone to liase between a gallery and the artist, or an opportunity and the artist. As we know, artists are not that interested in the business side of being an artist.
I can understand this. Business is a full-time job. It is difficult to make the work and then negotiate the sale of the work.
However, how do you be an agent and earn an income? This is a tricky question, as artists generally do not have extra cash to pay for a right hand person. It's not only about selling works and receiving a commission. It is about listening, offering advice and giving solutions to the artist, understanding situations and being their voice when the artist is too afraid to speak up.
I have talked to many artists who are with great galleries; however, they do not sell any work. They sold previously to being represented and now are in a situation that seems to be similar to a bad relationship, one that is tired and boring.
I do not normally air my thoughts. However, this month has been about support, care, advice to artists and numerous coffees with them.
Do you know ACCA? Have you ever visited it?
spaces
20 March 2012
I've been taking walk-to-art groups to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art for 6 years, and I still find it fascinating how many people don't know of ACCA or have not visited it before.
Located in Southbank, ACCA host an annual exhibition titled NEW. NEW012 opened on Friday 16 March and will run until 20 May 2012.
NEW is generously supported and presented by the Balnaves Foundation, and the exhibition has been selected by guest curator Jeff Khan. It features major new works from Khan's choice of Australia's most interesting rising artists:
- Katie Lee (VIC)
- Ross Manning (QLD)
- Angelica Mesiti (NSW)
- Bennett Miller (WA)
- Kate Mitchell (NSW)
- Charlie Sofo (VIC).
The artists selected may or may not be the art stars of tomorrow.
I love how ACCA's space is transformed into various sections and the highlight for me was the video works. You may not like or understand the work, but NEW offers a platform for discussion and a look into the next crop of sought-after Australian artists.
It's worth the effort, it's free and it's opened everyday except for Monday!
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
111 Sturt Street Southbank VIC (view location on Google Maps)
Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm
Weekends and public holidays, 11am to 6pm
Closed on Good Friday (6 April)
Until 20 May 2012
Let's stay creative
artists
8 February 2012
Last week I opened Tom Goldner's first solo exhibition, Photo for Freedom.
It was a pleasure to support a talented, ambitious emerging artist with so much energy and determination.
The show is on until 17 February.
YGAP
12–14 Grey Street, St Kilda (view location on Google Maps)
Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 7pm
And a friend sent me this today. I love it.
33 ways to stay creative
- make lists
- carry a notebook everywhere
- try free writing
- get away from the computer
- be otherworldly
- quit beating yourself up
- take breaks
- sign in the shower
- drink coffee/tea
- know your roots
- listen to new music
- be open
- surround yourself with creative people
- get feedback
- collaborate
- don't give up
- practice, practice, practice
- allow yourself to make mistakes
- go somewhere new
- watch foreign films
- count your blessings
- get lots of rest
- take risks
- break the rules
- do more of what makes you happy
- don't force it
- read a page of the dictionary
- create a framework
- stop trying to be someone else's perfect
- got an idea? write it down
- clean your workspace
- have fun
- finish something