Sunday Wanderings.

Melbourne : Ok, so not so sunny.

Yesterday I had the lovely opportunity to spend the day wandering around Melbourne by myself in the sunshine. I had such a wonderful day, visiting a few galleries and generally soaking up all as much inspiration as possible in one day.

First up (after an epic train/bus/tram trek from my friend's house, and coffee and croissants on the way) was a look at a free exhibition at the State Library of Victoria


24 April 2009 - 25 October 2009

The Independent Type: Books and Writing in Victoria is a free exhibition that celebrates Victoria's rich and diverse written culture, highlighting the stories, the voices and the spirit of independence that have made our literature unique.

The exhibition examines a diversity of 'literatures' – the printed book, electronic media, the spoken word and even a possum-skin cloak. It looks into Victoria's thriving literary niches, including poetry, theatre, literary journals and 'zines, and children's literature from I Can Jump Puddles to Animalia. It explores every aspect of the world of books and writing, from booksellers and publishers to literary awards and festivals. It tells the stories of passionate and enterprising figures such as State Library founder Sir Redmond Barry, the eccentric EW Cole and his Book Arcade, independent publishers McPhee Gribble, and Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler.

Fantastic exhibition, well worth it, and I really recommend doing the free ipod tour (either download off the website, or hire when you are there). I had fun trying to listen in to an education group going through (in a non-creepy way), cute kids talking about art and literature. Definitely what I want to be doing - how much fun would it be being an education officer/guide at a gallery or library?


ENGLAND, Dress c. 1816 (detail), cotton muslin, metal
145.0 cm (centre back); 80.0 cm (sleeve length)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, The Schofield Collection
Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the Government of Victoria, 1974

After the state library it was off to NGV International... I had every intention of going to see the Dali exhibition, but as the line was about an hour and a half long (opening weekend and all) I thought I'd save it for another day. Went and visited some of my favourite works, and spent a lot of time in the exhibition - beautiful dresses!


John Brack , Australia 1920–1999
Latin American Grand Final 1969
oil on canvas, 167.5 x 205.0 cm
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased, 1981 © Helen Brack

After a bit of a wander around Federation Square and the Design Markets, I made my way to NGV Australia - The Ian Potter Gallery, and saw the Top Arts VCE exhibition (really impressive works from year 12 kids!) and the John Brack exhibition, which I had really been looking forward to. Well worth the price of admission, I didn't realise that his later works were such a deviation from his earlier style, and how extensive the retrospective would be. I tagged around with a tour group for a while, which was really informative, but as the space was so busy, I did my own thing for a while and tried to avoid the crowds.

All in all a fantastic, inspiring day. I've got to get down to galleries more often! Lucky that I work at one, so at least I get to see art on a regular basis, but days like yesterday make me wish that I had the opportunity to see exhibitions more often.