No images? Click here Best in Class at Good Design AwardsThe Metro Tunnel Creative Program has been recognised for its innovative approach to keeping Melbourne colourful and vibrant during the project’s construction phase. The Creative Program was awarded a Best in Class accolade during the recent Good Design Australia Awards. The jury praised the Creative Program, commenting: “This project successfully coordinates a highly creative, original and engaging program of public art activities. It uses design in a clever and functional way to safely divert the general public from major infrastructure under construction. In doing so, it brings a high level of creativity to people from all walks of life.” Women’s Circus to create a public realm performance in 2021Arts Centre Melbourne alongside the Metro Tunnel Creative Program and Performing Lines are delighted to announce Women’s Circus as the recipient of the Public Realm Performance Project Commission. Women’s Circus will create a work performed in 2021 that champions artists with lived disability and will utilise the public realm of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. “Women’s Circus is absolutely thrilled to be a recipient of the Public Realm Performance Project Commission,” said Women’s Circus Creative Producer Devon Taylor. “The ensemble has grown out of years of working with and learning from disabled artists and exploring inclusive practice. Women’s Circus recognised the need and opportunity to both celebrate these artists and by bringing disabled and non-disabled artists together, elevate the circus art form.” Christmas in the cityVisitors coming into the city for their Christmas shopping will be greeted by a festive neon artwork by Electric Confetti at the Town Hall Station construction site. The dazzling artwork is accompanied by another Electric Confetti work in Scott Alley. The two neon artworks are part of the Metro Tunnel Creative Program and will bring colour and joy back to the city. At the State Library Station construction site Weekdays Studio has created multi-coloured hoardings as part of the NOLA (North of LaTrobe) activation. NOLA aims to brighten up Swanston Street and Literature Lane by creating a lively atmosphere for residents, businesses and shoppers alike. Ray Thomas paints Avon River muralAcclaimed Gunaikurnai artist Ray Thomas has created a colourful and celebratory mural for the new Avon River rail bridge in Stratford. Ray’s artwork tells the local history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous connections to the Avon River. Situated in Apex Park, Ray’s work honours the traditional custodians – the Brayakaulung clan – and their connection to Dooyeedang (the Avon River). The artwork spans from ancestral totems Borun the Pelican and Tuk the Female Musk Duck, through to post-contact history and early European settlement in the area, referencing Ray’s own family history and the Ramahyuck Aboriginal Mission near Stratford. Ray’s mural celebrates the river as a vital source of community life over changing seasons and times. Ray was selected to deliver the artwork through an Expression of Interest which asked artists to respond to the community-nominated theme of ‘the Avon River’. Ray worked with the Stratford Historical Society to undertake local history research for the mural. Thank You photo essay by Phoebe Powell A recent creative project in Parkville gained international media coverage as Melburnians endured a 112-day lockdown. Simply titled Thank You, Phoebe Powell’s photographic portraits of healthcare workers and medical researchers from the Parkville Biomedical Precinct recognises the significant contribution made by those who work at the frontline of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The photographs were commissioned as part of the Metro Tunnel Creative Program. Phoebe said of the piece: “At a time that can feel ambiguous and uncertain, our frontline healthcare workers and our clinicians and medical researchers can inspire confidence, and this series is a work of appreciation and acknowledgement.” Franklin Street's new outdoor gallery spaceThe Metro Tunnel Creative Program has worked with Vision Australia to produce an outdoor gallery space at Franklin Street that will feature a rotating series of exhibitions. Sixty large wooden picture frames have been crafted from timber removed during construction of the Metro Tunnel Project. The team from Vision Australia cut the timber to size, removed all abnormalities and treated the frames with linseed oil to ensure they were suitable for outdoor use. Vision Australia works in partnership with Australians who are blind or have low vision. Woodworking is one of the valuable skills-development programs that they run. The Franklin Street outdoor gallery has already displayed a series of Metro Tunnel-inspired works by Toni Magor titled Here and Now and is currently showing Faces of Fringe 2020: In Your Dreams by Sarah Walker and Mike Greaney. |