Art Around The State
Sometimes, I struggle to remember the last time I went to an art exhibition. But since the beginning of this year I’ve been busy visiting some fantastic shows, and sometimes completely by accident. Victoria really is a wonderful place to see art. In fact, you can’t escape it. Many councils recognise the value of public art and there are strong initiatives to provide it. All over the place with murals on walls, in cafe’s and bookshops. And even further afield you can see large scale paintings on silos all across rural Victoria. I live on the Mornington Peninsula and you only have to venture in Frankston to be surrounded by stunning mural art.
Freeway Spectacles
I think one of my favourite places to spot art is whilst driving into the city! There are enormous, thought-provoking, and quirky sculptures lined up along the freeway. As all the vehicles drive past, I imagine those sculptures are sparking conversations and igniting heated debates among the passengers. It’s a delightful experience that brightens the journey makes people smile.
Immersive Fun
I love visiting exhibitions, of course, but it’s not always my husband’s cup of tea. I found myself with a spare ticket to the National Gallery of Victoria’s flagship Summer exhibition of the work of Yayoi Kusama and I was a little apprehensive about taking D. This is a man who gets overwhelmed in IKEA after 5 minutes. I knew the Kusama exhibition was going to be full on. As it turned out though, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we learnt a lot. I’m not going to go into the details because this was one of the NGV’s most popular exhibitiions to date. It clearly brought joy and a sense of fun to the city but also genuinly gave people access to art that they may not have ever considered engaging in.
That evening we were having dinner with the kids and one of them remarked ‘Dad, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you being so enthusiastic about art’. Says it all really.
Accidentally Frida
I didn't have plans to visit the flagship exhibition in Bendigo this Summer. It’s a long drive from the peninsula, and, dispite knowing many arty type friends and colleagues making the trip to see Frida Kahlo, I wan’t convinced.
After Easter, one of my daughters had to take a train back to Wagga Wagga, but we discovered it’s actually really difficult to get a train ticket at that time.. So, early one morning we found ourselves driving to Bendigo to meet a friend who was heading to Wagga Wagga.
I dropped her off and drove back into town to visit Frida. It was a glorious sunny day, befitting for all the Mexican colour. With a long drive home ahead of me, I wasn’t prepared to read up on the whole of Frida Kahlo’s life. There was alot of reading to be done, but I was there for the visuals so I skipped to the clothing and paintings. What I really love about these regional exhibitions though is the way the whole town embraces the show. Afterwards I wandered through the shops in the main street and the gift shops and book shops had all sorts of fun, Frida related products and displays..
