Melbourne Now is taking shape… Following an intense period of research conducted by over 20 NGV curators, and ongoing meetings with artists, architects, designers, galleries, editors and writers, collaborating curators, philanthropic supporters, among many other partners and members of the wider community, we are excited to be confirming artists and projects, new commissions and curatorial contexts, to reflect the inspiring range of activities that drive contemporary art and creative practice in Melbourne Now.
Curatorial colleagues have enjoyed working with the NGV’s exhibition design team in the development of scale models of NGV Galleries at St. Kilda Road and Federation Square, which represent roughly 8,000 square metres of exhibition space. The models are quite something, and constitute a veritable urban plan. The idea, shape and character of the city has been influential in the way that we have been developing and thinking about the exhibition, and its spatial choreography.
The following images – of the Waterwall and Federation Court at NGV International; and Galleries 13 and 14 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia – provide a glimpse of the spatial thinking and planning which continues regarding the structure and layout of Melbourne Now. As a result, Melbourne Now will have moments of extreme density, intensity and immersiveness, as well as open spaces for singular presentations, and for inspiration and reflection.
Very much of the moment, Melbourne Now continues to be a dynamic work in progress, as artists develop new work for exhibition, and we continue to engage collaborators and community involvement. As the exhibition unfolds towards November, we hope that Melbourne Now will be as complex and dynamic as the cultural landscape of the city itself.