NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS: ALEXANDER McQUEEN
Start your weekend with a visit to NGV Friday Nights and the groundbreaking exhibition, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse. NGV’s Great Hall and Garden are transformed with live-music and pop-up bars inspired by ‘90s London and the innovation, romance and theatricality of McQueen’s work. See Melbourne’s best DJs take residence in the 2022 Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom as well as a line-up of unmissable bands performing in the Great Hall, alongside rare screenings of some of McQueen’s most iconic runway collections. Music sounds better on a Friday night.
PERFORMANCES
IZY
Great Hall
8–9pm
Izy (pronounced eye-zee), are perhaps Far North Queensland’s first neo-soul export. Ryo, Warrigo and Maru, each a part of musical families from different continents, connected in the distant north of Queensland; three young men who became brothers playing music together. Izy play slinky, futuristic soul music with raw old-soul sensibilities. All instruments, no computers, pulling in influences from Prince to D’Angelo to Alabama Shakes. In their music, an incontrovertible quality of dedication, honesty and diversity is clear; an undeniable positive energy that surges through their presence on stage.
DARCY JUSTICE
2022 NGV Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom, Grollo Equiset Garden
6–8pm
9–10pm
Darcy Justice has made waves and shaken more than a few booties since her swift transition from dancefloor to in demand DJ some years ago. Although she shines when the tempo is low and the energy is high, Darcy moves effortlessly between genres; from R&B and rave, to slow-mo-techno and soul. It’s the latter that brings it all together, her one of a kind presence bringing calm and control to all within her path. Bringing tranquility to the booth, Darcy Justice has the opposite effect on any dancefloor.
DEVOTIONS #1-3
LUKE GEORGE
Performance time 7–8pm
Obsessed with rope as a medium, performance and installation artist Luke George collides kink with couture. Provoked by Alexander McQueen’s radical and lasting impact on fashion and culture, Luke is designing and handcrafting a rope bondage gown – a garment of vibrantly colourful rope intricately knotted to bind itself to a person and people to each other. Collaborating with model/muse Emil Cañita for this performance and set against the architecture and ever evolving art works of the Temple of Boom, Luke will create a series of embodied renderings that gradually materialise over time, and make visible, queerness within classical antiquity.
Based in Naarm, Luke George (he/they) is a multidisciplinary artist creating work that spans performance, installation, craft and ropework. Informed by queer politics and spaces, Luke’s works explore risk and intimacy and employ daring and at times, unorthodox methods, to create further possibilities for artist and audience to encounter each other. NGV presented Luke’s most recent work STILL LIVES: MELBOURNE for RISING 2022, working with rope, Luke tied and suspended 5 Aussie Rules footballers from the ceiling of the Great Hall in the recreation of the 2011 AFL Mark of the Year by Andrew Krakouer.
EXHIBITIONS
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
See the first major Australian exhibition to focus on Alexander McQueen, one of the most extraordinary and significant fashion designers in recent memory. McQueen’s far-reaching sources of inspiration, his creative process and his capacity for story-telling are showcased across 120 garments and accessories alongside more than 80 artworks, including painting, sculpture, photography and more. Your NGV Friday Nights ticket includes entry to the exhibition.
Freedom of Movement: Contemporary Art and Design from the NGV Collection
Don’t miss Freedom of Movement, a new exhibition featuring more than 60 works of contemporary art and design by some of the most recognisable names working today, including Patricia Piccinini, KAWS, nendo, Paola Pivi, Nick Cave, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Shilpa Gupta, Alicja Kwade, Daniel Arsham and Alex Prager.
2022 NGV Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom | Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang
Grab a cocktail and enjoy the sunset from Temple of Boom, a newly built reimagining of the Parthenon situated in the garden. Over the summer, Melbourne-based artists will take turns painting the installation with overlapping large-scale artworks, creating an ever-changing backdrop for the line-up of Friday Nights DJs.
DINING
Enjoy English classics all night, in celebration of McQueen’s childhood in East London. Snack on your choice of fish and chips, crispy pork belly, cheese selections and more.
Yering Station Wine Bar
Complete your after-hours experience by visiting the Yering Station Wine Bar in the Great Hall. Choose from a menu of fine wines from the Yarra Valley or a selection of three for a memorable wine-tasting experience.
Moët Champagne Bar
Let Moët & Chandon light up your NGV Fridays experience; serving the iconic Moët Impérial, the glamourous Moët Rosé Impérial and the famed Moët Minis from the Moët Mini-Matic.
Four Pillars Gin Bar
The Four Pillars Gin Bar will be serving up gin cocktails and good times in the Great Hall every Friday evening. Enjoy a classic and refreshing G&T or try a Four Pillars original cocktail as you settle into the weekend.