Moving Galleries exhibitions have reignited Melbourne’s unique cultural identity.
A project engaging public transport commuters in art and poetry en route to their everyday tasks can be hailed as a success. Founded on a philosophy of accessible art, the initiative started in 2006 as inspired by similar projects in London and New York. The current exhibition, Transformation due to end in December, exhibits eighteen Artworks and twenty-three Poems across forty trains.
The Transformation exhibition documents some of Melbourne’s installation art, such as the works found in Melbourne Next Wave Festival and the Melbourne City Council Laneway Commission. As the art is no longer on show in the streets, the photographic records now displayed as decals on the train faced a challenge in conveying these works in a cogent manner.
“The images have to stand on their own. All of this work is ephemeral It just isn’t there anymore, so the image itself stands in for the original work. So you’ve got a synthesis of two works – the original artwork itself and the photograph of the artwork” Jessie Doring Moving Galleries’ Project Manager explains in an interview with street press magazine Trouble (Issue 62 October 2009).
Works like CITYtalking by Astra Howard, envisage the city as a web of creative communication. Her talking booth, moving through the laneways of Melbourne, encouraged passers by to participate in the work through a chat, their conversation then becomes part of the exhibition on the LED screen affixed to the outside of the booth. The work potentially involves those who don’t necessarily partake in the arts as it is placed outside of the usual parameters of exhibiting spaces. In the context of the Moving Galleries project it heightens the awareness of commuters to their street surroundings, and perhaps increases the likelihood of their participation in such projects.
The aim to bring about a wider audience for what is arguably a niche community of participating bodies is yet another step in the theories of modern Museology. A more egalitarian approach to the sphere of art appreciation is taking place through this project. Public space installations have acted as inspirational treats through out the Melbourne Laneways in the past, but their hidden and ephemeral nature limits the audience to a select few. Moving Galleries is increasing the exposure of art by the use of non-traditional spaces, it is not a revolutionary concept but it is an effective one.
Other works include Robbie Rowlands’ The Upholsterer an image from an instillation in the Depot exhibition. This work challenges viewer’s perceptions of the normal as he pulls the house to pieces; simply by pulling on what seems to be a thread, like those on a sealed envelope or a pack of smarties. The nature of photography acts as documentary testament to the last stages of the life of this house, how it is then destroyed is up to the imagination of the viewer. In this case it is up to the imagination of the passenger, in some cases an unlikely viewer, encouraged to let himself be carried away by the art as he is by the train ride.
A project engaging public transport commuters in art and poetry en route to their everyday tasks can be hailed as a success. Founded on a philosophy of accessible art, the initiative started in 2006 as inspired by similar projects in London and New York. The current exhibition, Transformation due to end in December, exhibits eighteen Artworks and twenty-three Poems across forty trains.
The Transformation exhibition documents some of Melbourne’s installation art, such as the works found in Melbourne Next Wave Festival and the Melbourne City Council Laneway Commission. As the art is no longer on show in the streets, the photographic records now displayed as decals on the train faced a challenge in conveying these works in a cogent manner.
“The images have to stand on their own. All of this work is ephemeral It just isn’t there anymore, so the image itself stands in for the original work. So you’ve got a synthesis of two works – the original artwork itself and the photograph of the artwork” Jessie Doring Moving Galleries’ Project Manager explains in an interview with street press magazine Trouble (Issue 62 October 2009).
Works like CITYtalking by Astra Howard, envisage the city as a web of creative communication. Her talking booth, moving through the laneways of Melbourne, encouraged passers by to participate in the work through a chat, their conversation then becomes part of the exhibition on the LED screen affixed to the outside of the booth. The work potentially involves those who don’t necessarily partake in the arts as it is placed outside of the usual parameters of exhibiting spaces. In the context of the Moving Galleries project it heightens the awareness of commuters to their street surroundings, and perhaps increases the likelihood of their participation in such projects.
The aim to bring about a wider audience for what is arguably a niche community of participating bodies is yet another step in the theories of modern Museology. A more egalitarian approach to the sphere of art appreciation is taking place through this project. Public space installations have acted as inspirational treats through out the Melbourne Laneways in the past, but their hidden and ephemeral nature limits the audience to a select few. Moving Galleries is increasing the exposure of art by the use of non-traditional spaces, it is not a revolutionary concept but it is an effective one.
Other works include Robbie Rowlands’ The Upholsterer an image from an instillation in the Depot exhibition. This work challenges viewer’s perceptions of the normal as he pulls the house to pieces; simply by pulling on what seems to be a thread, like those on a sealed envelope or a pack of smarties. The nature of photography acts as documentary testament to the last stages of the life of this house, how it is then destroyed is up to the imagination of the viewer. In this case it is up to the imagination of the passenger, in some cases an unlikely viewer, encouraged to let himself be carried away by the art as he is by the train ride.
The Moving Galleries projects can also be followed via Twitter and Facebook.
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