2 June 2022: The NGV’s world-premiere exhibition, The Picasso Century, will be complemented by a rich calendar of events, talks, performances and hands-on workshops designed to deepen audiences’ understanding of the life, times and work of Pablo Picasso and his contemporaries.
On opening weekend, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June, audiences can join Picasso in Context, a free drop-by panel discussion in NGV International’s Great Hall which will also be live-broadcast on the NGV website. Across two days, NGV curators alongside academics, historians and specialists examine the socio-political and cultural frameworks that existed in France and Europe during the twentieth century. Panel discussions will cover art, war and politics in Picasso’s era; creative communities as catalysts for change; as well as themes of gender, feminism and identity.
Before they enter the exhibition or to reflect on their experience afterwards, visitors can also join the pop-up introductory talks series 10 Minutes with Picasso. Hosted by NGV curators and held at 11am, 1pm and 3:30pm across the opening weekend, visitors will gain an introductory insight into key moments in the 70+ year story of Picasso, significant creative leaders in his circle and select works from the more than 180 works on display. Throughout the exhibition visitors will be able to join NGV guides in the Clemenger BBDO Auditorium at 10.30am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for a 30-minute introduction to the exhibition’s key themes and works.
NGV Friday Nights will return from 10 June with a line-up of live performances and DJ sets, spanning soulful vocals, instrumental jazz-funk and ambient groove. Taking inspiration from Picasso’s Paris as well as his Spanish heritage, NGV Friday Nights also features pop-up bars and restaurants, including Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros’s Bar Lourinhã takeover of the NGV’s Garden Restaurant, Yering Station Wine Bar in Great Hall and Pommery Champagne Bar in Gallery Kitchen.
For the duration of the exhibition, audiences can also hear differing perspectives on significant figures, events and artworks featured in the exhibition with the in-depth monthly discussion series Two Perspectives on Picasso. Hosted by NGV specialists and guest commentators, the four-part series will examine: the value of collaboration through the friendship between Picasso and Georges Braque; perspectives on gender and identity through the life and work of Dora Maar and Françoise Gilot; the political engagement of Picasso and his inner circle; and themes of love, grief and war through Picasso’s masterpiece and icon of the NGV Collection, Weeping woman, 1937.
Later in the exhibition, program partners Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and NGV reunite for an exclusive performance as part of The Picasso Century. Generously supported by Telstra, this performance takes its inspiration from the exhibition, offering audiences a curated and responsive interpretation of the art and themes on display.
As part of the University of Melbourne’s Learning Partnership with the NGV and The Picasso Century, the Faculty of Arts will present their popular annual Melbourne Masterclasses. Over two sessions on 6 and 20 July, hosted at NGV International, experts from the Faculty will offer insights and critical discussions on Picasso and his fellow artists, exploring the revolutionary advances in visual culture and the ongoing influence of the modernist movement.
In July and August, visitors can tap into the spirit of creativity and community that Picasso and his peers embodied with drop-by creative sessions that build upon the NGV’s enduringly popular Drop-by Drawing series. This year, taking cues from popular techniques and creative mediums in Picasso’s circle, the NGV offers their first-ever Drop-by Poetry and Drop-by Collage workshops, in which visitors will be guided by local artists to craft their own poetry and creative writing, or collage-based artworks respectively.
Throughout the exhibition school groups, students and teachers will be able to attend a range of curriculum aligned programs including introductory talks and an art making workshop in which students will create a self-portrait inspired by the exhibition, combining paper collage and relief printing techniques. In the Art Industry Contexts Day program, VCE Studio Arts students will be given behind-the-scenes insights into the development of The Picasso Century provided by NGV subject matter experts.
Tony Ellwood AM, Director of the NGV, said: ‘This extraordinary program of talks, lectures and workshops offers audiences the opportunity to enrich their experience of The Picasso Century and to interrogate some of the themes, artworks and figures from the exhibition in greater detail. The NGV is committed to providing access to the arts for everyone and programs like this offer a variety of experiences for the whole community.’
ABOUT THE PICASSO CENTURY
The world-premiere Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, The Picasso Century, charts the long career of Pablo Picasso by placing his work in dialogue with that of the artists with whom he intercepted and interacted throughout the 20th century, including Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, Françoise Gilot, Valentine Hugo, Marie Laurencin, Dora Maar, André Masson, Henri Matisse and Dorothea Tanning.
The Picasso Century will be on display from 10 June – 9 October 2022 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. For full program of events, tickets and information, please visit the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE
For further information and to book tickets for Melbourne Masterclasses, please visit the NGV website:
https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/melbourne-masterclasses-the-university-of-melbourne/
Exhibition organised by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, the Musée national Picasso-Paris, and the National Gallery of Victoria.
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