Douglas Gordon, Everything is nothing without its relfection; A Photographic Pantomine, 2013. 180 framed photographs, 180 framed mirrors of various sizes. Installation view ACCA, 2014. photo: Andrew Curtis

By Hannah Mathews

In 1984 ACCA opened its doors in a modestly-scaled gardener’s cottage located in Melbourne’s inner city Domain gardens. In its first 12 months of operation, under the guidance of independent curator John Buckley, ACCA hosted a rising international art star (Keith Haring), brought together three of Melbourne’s hottest young artistic talents (David Larwill, Juan Davila and Howard Arkley), and delivered an exhibition that considered painting, sculpture and architecture in the same conversation.

Quickly establishing itself as a national hot spot for contemporary art, ACCA’s ambitions continued to grow throughout the late 1980s and 1990s under the leadership of three artistic directors (Richard Perram 1986-89, Grazia Gunn 1989-91, and Jenepher Duncan 1991-2001). Despite increasing financial precariousness and limited staff resources, the distinct vision of each director saw ACCA deliver a range of artistic and critical programs that consistently addressed local activity, engaged with international conversations, and sought to grow audiences for art.

Pipilotti Rist, I Packed the Postcard in My Suitcase. Installation view, ACCA 2011. Courtesy the artist and ACCA Archive

Thirty years on from its inception, ACCA now occupies an iconic, purpose-built building in Melbourne’s Southbank precinct. Under the artistic directorship of Juliana Engberg (2002 – ) and executive direction of Kay Campbell (2002 – ) it has earned itself an international reputation as a commissioning centre for international and local contemporary art.

ACCA’s commitment to art and artists continues to hold strong: commissioning ambitiously scaled and challenging art works; regularly bringing local and international artists into conversation with each other; growing audiences for contemporary art with projects conceived for both city, regional and international audiences; remaining committed to producing and presenting new art works; and growing a program of educational and public events that share, challenge and compliment the field of contemporary art.

Barbara Kruger, installation view, ACCA, 2005. Courtesy ACCA Archive

In the last 12 years ACCA has shown works by internationally acclaimed artists including Jenny Holzer, Callum Morton, Shirin Nishat, Pipilotti Rist, Geoff Lowe, Barbara Kruger, Mike Nelson, Tracey Moffatt, Richard Billingham, Mikala Dwyer, Berlinde de Bruykere, Douglas Gordon, Daniel von Sturmer, David Noonan, David Rosetsky, Tacita Dean, Monika Sosnowska, Maria Hassabi, Susan Norrie, Joseph Kosuth, Angelica Mesiti, among many others.

Over its 30-year history ACCA has worked with more than 2,300 artists, curators and writers; presented over 365 exhibitions, and produced 288 publications. It has grown an impressive alumni that includes artists who have represented Australia at various international exhibitions, directors who have curated some of the most significant exhibitions in our recent history, staff who have gone on to fill key roles in institutions throughout Australia and overseas, and patrons whose support has helped sustain contemporary art.

Monika Sosnowska, Regional Modernities, installation view, ACCA 2013. Courtesy the Artist. Photograph: Andrew Curtis

ACCA was the first arts organisation in Australia to embrace the possibilities of an active online profile. In addition to being an early adopter of the online blog, ACCA was the first to offer an online library of podcasts and artist videos. It was also the first to digitize its 30 years of programming history into an online archive freely accessible anywhere, anytime.

It has presented award winning education and outreach programs (including the Go Program which, since 2006, has provided free transport for over 8,500 students from disadvantaged schools to visit the gallery and surrounding arts precinct), and grown a volunteer program focused on developing the skills and knowledge of those wishing to be involved in the arts.

ACCA’s success is due in large part to the many people who have walked through its doors, shown work in its galleries, built walls, photographed shows, sat at its desks and answered its phones. Its success is also reflective of the Melbourne art world, which has regularly drawn together to support the organisation in its vision and provided the art and audiences that are essential to its mission.

As part of ACCA’s Our First 30 Years program, launched to celebrate the organisation’s anniversary, ACCA’s has invited many of these voices to go on the record. Each week for the past 51 weeks, individuals central to ACCA’s history have contributed texts on various exhibitions, personalities, moments and memories. Writers include: John Buckley, Ashley Crawford, Sue Cramer, Elizabeth Gertsakis, Lyndal Jones, Peter Cripps, Richard Perram, Robert Owen, Jenepher Phipps (vale), Grazia Gunn, Jenepher Duncan, Geoff Lowe, Anna Schwartz, Claire Williamson, Natalie King, Vikki McInnes, Lesley Alway, Naomi Cass, Bridget Crone, Philip Samartzis, Kay Campbell, Gabrielle de Vietri, Charlotte Day, Rebecca Coates, Jane Rhodes, Bianca Hester, Juliana Engberg, Katrina Hall, Julia Powles and Lauren Dornau. These >>REWIND texts have been published via ACCA’s weekly e-bulletin and now reside within ACCA’s online archive for viewing in perpetuity. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the writers and artists for their contributions.

While ACCA’s first 30 year celebrations draw to a close and the >>REWIND series pauses online, ACCA continues its collecting. Not art of course – its a kunsthalle – but there is a commitment to growing the archive and ACCA is on the look out for any additional information on ACCA’s history, shows, people and more. If you’ve got publications, happy snaps, a story to share please be in touch: 30years@accaonline.org.au

Here’s to the next 30 years!
 

Hannah Mathews is an Associate Curator at ACCA and coordinator of ACCA’s Our First 30 Years online archive project and Rewind series. She has been ably assisted by Lauren Dornau and Julia Powles, ACCA staff Emma Sullivan and Emma Anderson, and ACCA’s Executive Director, Kay Campbell, and Artistic Director, Juliana Engberg, who have provided valuable guidance and editorial support.

Douglas Gordon, Phantom, 2011. Stage, screen, black Steinway piano, burned Steinway piano and one monitor, dimensions variable. Courtesy: the artist, Studio lost but found and Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris

14 May, Sydney Morning Herald, Art as extreme sport for next Biennale
1 July, Broadsheet, Juliana Engberg: Leading from the Front
1 July, ABC arts, Juliana Engberg, on curating
13 July, InsideArt, Juliana Engberg Queen of Contemporary
30 October, The Australian, Running the emotional gamut
3 December, artsHub, Contemporary art’s work-a-day champion

Patricia Piccinini, Skywhale at ACCA December 2013. Photo: David Johns

Building on its successful night-time public programs, ACCA introduced regular late night hours on Wednesdays and a number of new free and ticketed talks and events.  The lecture series isms featuring Artistic Director, Juliana Engberg and other guest lecturers continued to focus on art history. Art think/art shrink was a popular new initiative featuring a philosopher and a psychoanalyst.  In 2013 ACCA’s international guest lecturer series included James Lingwood (curator and director of London’s Artangel); Aleksandra Wasilkowska (interdisciplinary Polish architect) and Tacita Dean (artist).  The ACCA Artbar continued on the last Friday of each exhibition season, attracting a young crowd keen to combine art viewing with the latest musical talent. A new addition to ACCA’s programs was the highly successful ACCA Mega Quiz which was a sold out event.

Patricia Piccinini: Skywhale
2 December 2013
Patricia Piccinini’s flight of fancy, SKYWHALE, set sail from the forecourt of ACCA during the week commencing 2 December.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS, EDUCATION AND EVENTS

In Conversation – NEW13
20 March 2013
Curator Charlotte Day in conversation with artists Benjamin Forster, Alex Martinis Roe, Jess MacNeil and Sanné Mestrom.
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW13.

In Conversation – NEW13
27 March 2013
Curator Charlotte Day in conversation with artists Scott Mitchell, Joshua Petherick and Linda Tegg.
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW13.

Event – Mega Quiz Night
15 May 2013
For one night only ACCA transformed its biggest gallery into an arena-spectacular of brains and pop-culture prowess.

In Conversation – Hannah Mathews in conversation with Mikala Dwyer
27 May 2013
Held in conjunction with the exhibitions Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er and Daria Martin: One of the Things that Makes me Doubt.

Artist Talk – Mikala Dwyer
29 May 2013
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er.

Talk– Dream a little dream
5 June 2013
A discussion with Jungian analyst, Annette Lowe, consultant psychiatrist, Dr Nathan Serry, and psychological scientist Dr Russell Conduit.  Chaired by writer and critic Martyn Pedler.
Held in conjunction with the exhibitions Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er and Daria Martin: One of the Things that Makes me Doubt.

In Conversation – Art Think, Art Shrink
19 June 2013
Philosopher Mairead Phillips and psychiatrist Jonathan Phillips in conversation about the exhibitions Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er and Daria Martin: One of the Things that Makes me Doubt.

Workshop – Sculptural Drawing
26 June 2013
Observational drawing workshop inside Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er.

Lecture Series – A Short History of the ISMs
1 July: Juliana Engberg on Realism
8 July: Juliana Engberg on Impressionism
17 July: Juliana Engberg on Surrealism
24 July: Anthony White on Abstract Expressionism
31 July: Callum Morton on Minimalism
21 August: Edward Colless on Postmodernism
28 August: Callum Morton on Installation-ism
4 September: Edward Colless on Catastrophism
30 September: Juliana Engberg on Now-ism

Special Event – ACCA Art Bar
26 July 2013
Late night art, drinks and new music with improvised vocal and electronic sounds of Galapagoose and music by Two Bright Lakes.
Held in conjunction with the exhibitions Mikala Dwyer: Goldene Bend’er and Daria Martin: One of the Things that Makes me Doubt.

In Conversation – Charlotte Day and Monika Sosnowska
13 August 2013
Walk through Monika Sosnowska’s ambitious spatial and architectural installation with curator, Charlotte Day and artist, Monika Sosnowska.

Talk – Shadow Architecture
14 August 2013
Polish architect, editor and thinker Aleksandra Wasikowska discussed the ways in which art, architecture, street vendors and market-stall holders are shaping cities all over the world.
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Monika Sosnowska: Regional Modernities.

Workshop – Sculptural Drawing
25 September 2013
An unguided workshop to refine or experiment with drawing techniques held amongst Monika Sosnowska’s psychologically charged architectural installations.
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Monika Sosnowska: Regional Modernities.

Lecture – Tacita Dean on Film
10 October 2013
A public lecture given by artist Tacita Dean to coincide with the exhibition FILM.

Workshop – Collage and Life Drawing
20 November 2013
An unguided workshop for experimenting with techniques of the handmade was held in conjunction with the exhibitions In the Cut and Tacita Dean: Film.

Special Event – Speed Painters at the ACCA Art Bar
22 November 2013
A night of slo-mo disco from brothers Tig and Nick Huggins in collaboration with Jon Tjhia (ii) and horn player Oscar O’Bryan.

In Conversation – Patricia Piccinini, artist
2 December 2013
Artist, Patricia Piccinini, in conversation with impresario, Robyn Archer AO, at a special breakfast event hosted by ACCA in partnership with Leonard Joel.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

ACCA’s education programs was devised to align with school curricular at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. They focused on specific areas of philosophy and haptic learning at the primary levels, interdisciplinary and cross-curricular interpretations at the secondary levels, and discussion-based learning at the tertiary levels.

In 2013 ACCA’s Education Services delivered six integrated streams in its Pathways to Art:

1. TALK
ACCA’s schools program focused on haptic and kinaesthetic learning, through moving, touching and doing.

2. MAKE
These workshops were designed to complement ACCA’s annual exhibition program and to foster deeper engagement with exhibition content through haptic learning approaches.  Children consolidated their understandings of the concepts in the exhibition and philosophical discussion by creating their own artwork.

3. THINK
The ‘Philosophy of Art for Children’ program used the community of inquiry approach to introduce children to conceptual art, showing that the idea can be more important than aesthetic and artistic skill, and inspiring them to think creatively.

4. ACCA Digital Delivery

ACCA e-communications substantially increased becoming a major feature of public programs and access with interviews, conversation recordings, behind the scenes vision, blogs and many other programs down-loadable from the ACCA website.  Sound files and video files were produced for each exhibition and posted on the ACCA website where they were well used by students and general public.

5. INFOCUBE
Infocube functioned as a communications kiosk and research facility for students and teachers, providing access to archived digital information about artist and exhibitions at ACCA. Relevant support material, in the form of video, image, text and sound files was uploaded prior to each exhibition.

6. ACCA Art Partners
ACCA worked in partnership with philanthropic organisations to provide targeted learning programs linked with the Pathways to Art program:

The Go Program supported the participation of students who attend lower socio-economic schools. The program improved access for students who may otherwise not have the opportunity to gain a significant cultural experience through the provision of free bus transport to and from ACCA.

Arts immersion: Starting Points provided regionally based Year 9-12 students from Government schools with an immersive arts experience across the forms of visual arts, theatre and dance. Sessions were hosted in collaboration with Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move.

The ARTCONNECT9 program in collaboration with the Victorian Arts Centre continued to provide Year 9 level students and teachers from Victorian regional government schools with ‘pathways to Art’ learning experience.

Teachers’ Professional Development:

Getting to Grips with Contemporary Art
18 March 2013
Designed to engage and inspire VCE Art and Studio Art teachers with contemporary art practice, this was an intensive, full day program that featured presentations from Juliana Engberg, Charlotte Day, VCE Art exams co-chief assessors, Andrew Landrigan & Kathy Hendy-Ekers, and NEW13 artist, Jess MacNeil.

Make it, then teach it!
9 October 2013
A day for primary and secondary teachers to work with four artists (Ry Haskings, Alex Pittendrigh, Hanna Chetwin, Georgina Glanville) in a fun, skills-based workshop using contemporary materials and techniques to create simple art activities for the classroom. The workshop was followed by an exclusive preview of Tacita Dean’s FILM.

1 August 2012, The Age

4 May, The Age, Haring mural conflict
31 July, The Australian, Australian curator raring to drive biennial visual arts juggernaut
28 July, The Age, Scenes from a playful heart
1 August, The Age, Engberg to juggle twin roles with Sydney biennale post
November 2012, Wish, National Awards of the Australian Institute of Architects
21 December, The Age, Blow by blow Mesiti takes on mountainous task
27 December, The Age, Curators broaden our horizons
27 Decmber, The Age, High Art

ACCA Art Bar

In 2012 the ACCA Art Bar was launched in partnership with Audi, bringing new audiences to ACCA on the last Friday evening of each exhibition season.  ACCA also continued to grow its public programs and explore new ways of capturing the imagination and attention of audiences. The ticketed lecture series, A Further 50 Works, was a highly successful initiative that focused on 50 iconic art works that have influenced the contemporary art world. Delivered by ACCA’s Artistic Director, Juliana Engberg, this program quickly sold out to eager audiences.

Wednesday Nights at ACCA
Wednesday nights at ACCA were held regularly during each exhibition season.  Discussion focused on ideas and issues arising from exhibitions and recent developments in contemporary art.  Audience participation in the discussions was invited and encouraged.  Sessions included artist talks, forums, lectures, conversations and panel discussions.

In Conversation – Jeff Khan, curator and Katie Lee and Charlie Sofo, artists
21 March 2012
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW12.

In Conversation – Jeff Khan, curator and Kate Mitchell, Angelica Mesiti, artists
28 March 2012
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW12.

Guided Tour – Lunchtime defrag
30 April 2012
Guided tour/meditation session of NEW12 with Tibetan Lama, Khentrul Rinpoche.

Event – ACCA ART BAR
10 May 2012
Drinks accompanied by Fox & Sui, dreamy electro-pop band.

Talk – On Flesh
20 June 2012
A talk held in conjunction with the Berlinde De Bruyckere: We are all flesh exhibition chaired by Martyn Pedler, writer & critic with speakers: Dr Robyn Warner, meat scientist; Lance Proctor, embalmer; Dr Wendy Haslem, academic; Prof Nick Halam, psychologist and Adrian Richardson, butcher, chef and author.

Workshop – Drawing the last breath
27 June 2012
A drawing class held in conjunction with the Berlinde De Bruyckere: We are all flesh exhibition.

In Conversation – The word became flesh
11 July 2012
Dr Rachael Kohn and Dr Claire Renkin in conversation with Juliana Engberg.
Held in conjunction with the Berlinde De Bruyckere: We are all flesh exhibition.

Event – The Last Supper
18 July 2012
An evening of art, music, wine and freshly baked bread.
Held in conjunction with the Berlinde De Bruyckere: We are all flesh exhibition.

Event – ACCA ART BAR
26 July 2012
Drinks accompanied by Galapagoose, an improvised vocal and electronic sounds.

Talk – ACCA & VCA Artist Talks
9 & 14 August 2012
Artists Shahryar Nashat, Tatiana Trouvé, and Nairy Baghramian talked about their work in the exhibition, Sculptural Matter.

Talk – On À Rebours
29 August 2012
Sexologist Cyndi Darnell; writer, social commentator and co-author, Monica Dux; and psychologist, Milena Mirabelli discussed feminism, fetishism, surrealism and psychoanalysis. Chaired by Professor of Art Theory, Dr Anne Marsh.
Held in conjunction with the Pat Brassington: A Rebours exhibition.

Event – Dark Matter
5 September 2012
A late night bar and gallery opening for Sculptural Matter and Pat Brassington: A Rebours, with performance by VJs Eugenia Lim and Jessie Scott.

Workshop – Sculptural & Life Drawing
12 September 2012
Untutored life and observational drawing class held in conjunction with the Sculptural Matter exhibition

Event – Program Launch and Special Preview
10 October 2012
Official launch of the Melbourne International Arts Festival’s Visual Arts program with Artistic Director of MIAF, Brett Sheehy, Juliana Engberg and Santiago Sierra in conversation.

In Conversation – On OURSELVES
17 October 2012
Discussion with psychologist, author, comedian and disability activist, Dr Cordelia Fine; social worker, Roberta Honigman; Stella Young, psychologist; Prof Nick Haslam, Prof Rajiv Khosla and chaired by writer and critic, Martyn Pedler.
Held in conjunction with the OURSELVES exhibition.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Education programs were devised to align with school curricular at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels as part of ACCA’s core information delivery, and by extension, its participation in growing a culturally aware and knowledgeable public.  ACCA’s education programs focused on specific areas of philosophy and haptic learning at the primary levels, interdisciplinary and cross-curricular interpretations at the secondary levels, and discussion-based learning at the tertiary levels.

In 2012 ACCA’s Education Services delivered six integrated streams in its Pathways to Art:

1. Talk
ACCA’s schools program focused on haptic and kinaesthetic learning, through moving, touching and doing.  Installation art provided students with a fully immersive environment to explore ideas and meaning through discussion and art making.

2. MAKE
These workshops were designed to complement ACCA’s annual exhibition program and to foster deeper engagement with exhibition content through haptic learning approaches. Children consolidated their understandings of the concepts in the exhibition and philosophical discussion by creating their own artwork to foster visual and verbal literacy.

3. Think
A ‘community of inquiry’ was the central pedagogical tool for the ‘Philosophy for Children’ program. This method introduced children to conceptual art, showing that the idea/concept is more important than the aesthetic and artistic skill, inspiring them to think creatively in order to express an idea.  The approach also generated questions and  encouraged students to be active listeners, learning to respect the opinions of others and work together as a group

4. ACCA Digital Delivery
ACCA e-communications substantially increased and became a major feature of public programs and access with interviews, conversation recordings, behind the scenes vision, blogs and many other programs down-loadable from the ACCA website.  Sound files and video files were produced for each exhibition and posted on the ACCA website for students and general public.  The ACCA Blog was launched as part of the Venice Pop Up and immediately attracted an enthusiastic readership.

5. Infocube
Infocube functioned as a communications kiosk and research facility for students and teachers, providing access to archived digital information about artist and exhibitions at ACCA. Relevant support material in the form of video, image, text and sound files was uploaded prior to each exhibition.

6. ACCA Art Partners
ACCA worked in partnership with philanthropic organisations to provide the following targeted learning programs linked with the Pathways to Art program:

ACCA’s successful and growing Go Program supported the participation of students who attend lower socio-economic schools. The program improved access for students who may otherwise not have the opportunity to gain a significant cultural experience through the provision of free bus transport to and from ACCA.

Arts Immersion: Starting Points provided regionally based Year 9-12 students from Government schools with an immersive arts experience across the forms of visual arts, theatre and dance. Sessions were hosted in collaboration with Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move.

The ARTCONNECT9 program in collaboration with the Victorian Arts Centre continued to provide Year 9 level students and teachers from Victorian regional government schools with ‘Pathways to Art’ learning experience.

Teachers’ Professional Development/Preview Evenings were exclusive viewings of exhibitions that included a tour with the curator and refreshments:

22 March 2012: Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW12.
7 June 2012: Held in conjunction with the exhibition Berlinde De Bruyckere: We are all flesh
14 August 2012: Teachers’ preview and Arts Education Victoria Annual General Meeting held in conjunction with Sculptural Matter and Pat Brassington: A Rebours exhibitions
18 October 2012: Held in conjunction with OURSELVES exhibition.

Anastasia Klose, Vernissage of the 54th Venice Biennale. Courtesy the artist and ACCA Archive

By Katrina Hall

They say the Venice Biennale is the Olympics of the art world, and while I have no way of measuring whether or not that is true, one thing I can tell you is that people do run very fast there.

I noticed it on the first day of the Vernissage preview period.  The turnstyles opened and they were off.  A coiffured bunch of black-clad curator types sprinted up the main drag of the Giardini to the British Pavilion to beat the queue for Mike Nelson’s I, Impostor, the big ticket exhibition for the 2011 Biennale.

People do everything fast during Vernissage because there is so much to see and it all has to be seen.  So gallerists, collectors, critics and artists alike devour their breakfast Panini’s in record time and set off for a marathon run of art seeing, party going, Prosecco drinking and talking, talking, talking.

Stuart Ringholt, 54th Venice Biennale. Courtesy the artist and ACCA Archive

And, in 2011 I am there too, with a small team of artists and ACCA curators, who have decided, bravely, to mount a ‘pop-up’ at the 54^th Venice Biennale.

The idea was to showcase, at the world’s most important art event, the performance-based trend in contemporary Australian art and the breadth of talent in Australian art generally.  The Venice Pop-Up was one of a series mounted by ACCA in galleries around Victoria, and in a shipping container on the ACCA Forecourt.

Artists Laresa Kosloff, Stuart Ringholt and Anastasia Klose accepted Artistic Director Juliana Engberg’s challenge to make a project without walls, each constructing performance pieces that would create a sense of surprise in the Venice environment.  Laresa was to hobble around the city with a fake broken leg, asking other artists to sign the plaster, Stuart was to do some sci-fi-style teleporting, whilst Anastasia was planning to take her lonely yet ever hopeful bride to the city of love.

Charlotte Day became the co-ordinating curator, with Liv Barrett along as intern.  Juliana and Charlotte blogged blogged blogged and back at the ranch Emma Sullivan was on stand-by at midnight to load up the stories.  ACCA was ahead of the news game.  People on the ground in Venice would say…oh I’m reading the ACCA blog for what to see.

On that first morning, when Anastasia sauntered into the gardens wearing a wedding dress and the words ‘Nana I am still searching’ on a cardboard sign around her neck, we knew the idea had legs.  The art-crowd came out of the French and Russian pavilions to take a look, albeit quickly, because everything has to be fast in Venice, but it was enough.

Luc Tymans signing Laresa Kosloff’s cast, 54th Venice Biennale. Courtesy the artist and ACCA Archive

And when internationally acclaimed Turner prize winning artist Grayson Perry, also dressed as a femme, put his arm around Anastasia, and then international actress Rachel Griffith gave her a hug we knew ACCA’s unofficial art tour of the official Venice Biennale gardens was a hit.

ACCA Pop-Up Program: VENICE
1-3 June 2011
Artists: Anastasia Klose, Stuart Ringholt, and Laresa Kosloff

Katrina Hall has been ACCA’s publicist since 2004.  She writes a column for The Weekly Review and will next year be in Venice to work with the Australia Council on the launch of the new Australian Pavilion and Fiona Hall’s exhibition Wrong Way Time.

10 May 2011, The Age, Blowing Venice out of the water. Photo: Rodger Cummins

27 April, The Age, Deans Vienna dares to step outside the waltz
10 May, The Age, Blowing Venice out of the water
13 May, The Age, Pioneer keen to make his mark at Bonhams
1 June, The Age, Guerilla artists to Venice
3 June, The Age, A bridge over troubled leguna
Issue 19 June, Das Super Paper, Sinking Dreams: ACCA in Venice
Issue 1174, Inpress, Sad John
11 July, The Age, You say dyspeptic I say inspiring MONA provokes fierce debate
July/August, Insite Magazine, Art Club
28 December, The Age, Reflecting an artists paradoxes
30 December, The Saturday Age, Cheeking artist heading to Germany
The Age, Premiers state of the art plans

ACCA expanded its public programs and digital communications in 2011. A new series of lectures by the Artistic Director, A Hundred Works that Matter and Why, was fully subscribed and participation grew in ACCA’s regular Wednesday night talks series.  Late night opening hours during the Melbourne Festival also encouraged a cross-fertilization of audiences from theatre and dance events on the precinct. Subscribers to ACCA’s e-bulletin also continued to grow and traffic through Facebook, Twitter and website expanded sharply, assisted by new blogs and online videos that used new ways for ACCA to communicate with art lovers.  ACCA’s publishing program also continued in 2011 with the production of five new exhibition catalogues that included commissioned texts by Luca Cerizza, Donald Brook and Dominic Eichler.

Wednesday Nights at ACCA
Free floor talks and lectures in the ACCA foyer were held regularly on Wednesday evenings during each exhibition season. Discussions focused on ideas and issues arising from current exhibitions and recent developments in contemporary art. Audience participation in the discussion was actively encouraged, and the shift in timeslot from Sunday to Wednesday evening proved successful with attendance increasing by over 100%.

2011 Melbourne Festival Program guide

In Conversation – Juliana Engberg in conversation with Hannah Mathews
15 March 2011
Private viewing of the exhibition NEW011.

In Conversation – Curator, Hannah Mathews in conversation with artists Rebecca Baumann, Brendan Van Hek and Annie Wu
16 March 2011
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW011.

In Conversation – Curator, Hannah Mathews in conversation with artists, Fiona Abicare, Mark Hilton and Dan Moynihan
23 March 2011
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW011.

In Conversation – Curator, Hannah Mathews in conversation with artists, Greatest Hits and Tim Coster
30 March 2011

In Conversation – Curator, Hannah Mathews in conversation with director, Adam Harding
7 May 2011
Held in conjunction with Art#2 ACCA Regional Tour exhibition at Horsham Regional Art Gallery
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW011.

Special Forum – Your Civic Beauty: Piazzas, Plazas and Placemaking for the masses
29 June 2011
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Appearances, a discussion about constructing place for the masses with moderator Professor Rob Adams AM (City of Melbourne) and speakers Gilbert Rochecouste (Village Well), Ammon Beyerie (Here Studio), Professor Sue Anne Ware (RMIT)

Family Art-Making Workshop – BLU TACK ROCOCO!
15 July 2011
Workshop with artist-in-residence Alex Pittendrigh held in conjunction with Art#2 at Hamilton Art Gallery

State of Design Festival Events at ACCA
For the first three nights of the Festival, ACCA and State of Design co-hosted three evenings of activity in July:

• Pecha Kucha Night – Brake, Break, Broke
  20 July 2011
  Presented by here studio, a special edition of Pecha Kucha prerecorded on Nathan Coley’s concrete plinth at ACCA focused on designs that move as part of opening night of the State of Design Festival.Speakers included from Tramsessions, Nicklas Wallberg, artists Sarah Barrow & Michelle Gordon, architect Jeremy McLeod, cartoonist Michael Leunig, inventor Danielle Wilde, and fashion designer Liam Revell
• Radio Broadcast – The Architects
  21 July 2011
• Film – Speakeasy Cinema
  22 July 2011
  Speakeasy invited designers, filmmakers and creative thinkers to consider how title design frames a film’s mood.

Special Forum – A Sort of Homecoming
10 August 2011
A discussion about the future of a history that almost nearly happened with moderator Ben Naparstek (editor, The Monthly) speakers Leon Gettler (author), Rebecca Forgasz (director, Jewish Museum of Australia), Ellie Golvan (chairperson, The Australian Zionist Youth Council)

Susan Phillipsz: You look at things differently by hearing things differently
18 August 2011
Susan Phillipsz discussed her 2010 Turner Prize winning sound installation Lowlands Away, sharing her experiences working with public forgotten spaces, sound, and the untrained human voice.

In Conversation – artist, David Rosetzky in conversation with choreographer, Lucy Guerin and screen critic, Jake Wilson
21 September 2011
Held in conjunction with the exhibition David Rosetzky: How to Feel.

Talk – Olaf Nicolai illustrated artist talk
7 October 2011
Held in conjunction with Power to the People: Contemporary Conceptualism and the Object in Art.

Talk – Silent Partners: Angus Cameron (author and emissary)
12 & 15 October 2011
Two talks that outline aspects of the project Looking for Headless, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Power to the People: Contemporary Conceptualism and the Object in Art.

Lecture Series: 100 Works that Matter and Why
This new ticketed series of ten lectures by Artistic Director, Juliana Engberg, attracted much interest and was fully subscribed.  Focusing predominantly on the artists, the movements, the history and the cultural context of 20^th century art, the series was attended by a range of art interested people including collectors, teachers and patrons wanting to know more about the background to contemporary art practice.

27 April 2011
‘You can be a museum, or you can be modern, but you can’t be both’ Gertrude Stein.  Introduction to the concepts of contemporary art after modernism

4 May 2011
Get the Gestalt: The Rise of the Spectator in post-Sixties practice.

11 May 2011
Land Ho!  Earth art and the emergence of nomadic mappings

18 May 2011
Sounds like… When the visual becomes sensory

25 May 2011
It ain’t the meat it’s the motion: Performance, but not as we know it

17 August 2011
Back to the Future: Post Modernity and the return of painting

24 August 2011
Yes Virginia, there are women artists: Feminism, photos and theory

31 August 2011
To video or not: The rise and fall of new media

7 September 2011
The little girl in Melanie Klein wants to make a mess: Strategies of installation part I

14 September 2011
Boys will be Boys: Strategies in Installation part II

Sound and Video Files
Sound files were produced for each exhibition and posted on the ACCA website where they were accessed by students and the general public.

Multicultural Art Program (MAP)
The last of ACCA’s specially devised series of workshops for recently arrived young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, including refugees, took place in February 2011. Funded by the Scanlon Foundation, and in partnership with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, MAP provided opportunities for young people new to Australia to participate in an immersive art experience across a variety of forms of visual arts, theatre and dance, Initiated, presented and managed by ACCA, each program included sessions by collaborating partners Chunky Move, St Martins Youth theatre and ACCA over several weekends.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

ACCA’s education delivery continued to grow in 2011 with overall student attendance figures increasing by 18% from 2010. In particular ACCA has expanded its primary program, with the help of the Potter Foundation to develop its MAKE and THINK programs which have been very appealing to primary groups. Primary student attendance increased by 43% in 2011. Regional participation increased by 50% due to the Art#2 programs.

Participation by children from the Western Metropolitan Region increased by 46% and the Northern Metropolitan Region increased by 118% due to the GO program which has focused on helping schools in disadvantaged areas to access the gallery. Now in its 4th year the program provides free bus transportation to ACCA for eligible schools. Many of these schools have become repeat visitors and have started to find their own way to ACCA, allowing us to make the Go program available to other schools.

In 2011 ACCA’s Education Services delivered 6 integrated streams in its Pathways to Art:

1. TALK: Guided exhibition viewing and discussion. ACCA’s core discussion based education program. Through discussions led by trained teachers in gallery spaces students had the ideas and concepts of contemporary art unpacked in a way that was relevant to their school curriculum. Talk was a free program for all primary and secondary students.

2. MAKE: Contemporary art materials based workshops. ACCA’s core practical based education program for school students and teachers. Free artist guided practical art making workshops using contemporary materials were designed to complement ACCA’s annual exhibition program to foster deeper engagement with exhibition content.

3. THINK Philosophy of art for kids. helped primary school students search for meaning through fun collaborative inquiry and philosophical dialogue.

4. ACCA Digital Delivery. ACCA e-communications have substantially increased and have become a major feature of our public programs and access with interviews, conversation recordings, behind the scenes vision, blogs and many other programs down-loadable from the ACCA website.  Sound files and video files were produced for each exhibition and posted on the ACCA website where they are well used by students and general public.  The ACCA Blog was launched as part of the Venice Pop Up and immediately attracted an enthusiastic readership.

5. Infocube functioned as a communications kiosk and research facility for students and teachers, providing access to archived digital information about artist and exhibitions at ACCA. Relevant support material, in the form of video, image, text and sound files was uploaded prior to each exhibition.

6. ACCA Art Partners. ACCA worked in partnership with philanthropic organisations to provide the following targeted learning programs linked with the pathways to Art program:

ACCA’s successful and growing Go Program supported the participation of students who attend lower socio-economic schools. The program improved access for students who may otherwise not have the opportunity to gain a significant cultural experience through the provision of free bus transport to and from ACCA.

Arts immersion: Starting Points provided regionally based Year 9-12 students from Government schools with an immersive arts experience across the forms of visual arts, theatre and dance. Sessions were hosted in collaboration with Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move.

The ARTCONNECT9 program in collaboration with the Victorian Arts Centre continued to provide Year 9 level students and teachers from Victorian regional government schools with ‘pathways to Art’ learning experience.

Teachers’ Professional Development Evenings were exclusive viewings of exhibitions that included a tour with the curator and wine and canapés on arrival:

17 March 2011: Held in conjunction with NEW11
9 June 2011: Held in conjunction with Nathan Coley: Appearances
11 August 2011: Held in conjunction with David Rosetzky: How to Feel and Yael Bartana: …and Europe will be stunned
13 October 2011: Held in conjunction with Power to the People: Contemporary Conceptualism and the Object in Art

Art Smart – Kids Summer Holiday Workshops included a tour through the current exhibition and a Philosophy of Art workshop and a MAKE session held in the January school holidays and focussed on the exhibition Pipilotti Rist: I Packed the Postcard in my Suitcase.

Bianca Hester

Bianca Hester, Please leave these windows open overnight o enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning, ACCA, 2010. Photograph: Ian Curtis.

This project involved marking out an arena for action. This action was distributed across a range of registers including the sculptural, material, spatial, institutional and social. Within this arena, the presence of sculptural elements such as a cinder-block wall, a sandstone boulder, ten cubic meters of dirt and various cast and fabricated forms dominated, indicating a preoccupation with materiality. However this focus upon materiality depended upon ephemerality, transition and change. States of change were solicited through programming ‘interruptions’ of the work by inviting beings (both human and non-human) to activate or perform, intermittently. This was initiated in order to set the whole project into motion and position ‘mutability’ as it’s subject. Alongside these staged interruptions, spontaneous engagements and interventions by the audience emerged throughout the duration of the exhibition, which effectively tested its limits in ways that couldn’t be anticipated in advance. This was a gift from the audience that brought an incredible energy to the project as well as contributing to my understanding of public space and processes of negotiation.

Bianca Hester, Please leave these windows open overnight o enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning, ACCA, 2010. Photograph: Bianca Hester (with Mousse and Jack Dowell).

These negotiations took place between all involved throughout the weave of the project: including its objects, materials, audiences, invigilators, the invited performers, the curators, and myself. As a consequence the work shifted from day to day, depending on what was going on (or not), who happened to be present, or which invigilator was hosting.  We’ve learnt from the 60’s and the associated ‘performative turn’ in much contemporary art that this is the case for all artwork: that the activity of perception coupled with the object of that perception within a social (or institutional) context – gives rise to work that is co-produced as an event. This is as much the case for abstract painting as it is for installation. From this perspective, art emerges perpetually through a process of encounter. This inevitably depends on how you come at it and according to your position. This makes it a really slippery situation. I wanted this work to exaggerate and ‘exhibit’ this slippery process.

This situation demanded a constant process of ‘tending’. Like a garden, which calls out for compost, light, heat, water, pollen, seed – this project was not a thing to be finished and departed from – but became a complicated (and at times intensely challenging situation) which compelled an ongoing process of engagement, re-thinking and experiment.

Bianca Hester, Please leave these windows open overnight o enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning, ACCA, 2010. Photograph: Natalie Holloway (with Benjamin Woods).

As the exhibition continued, inscriptions of actions that charted bodily engagements accumulated upon the architecture such as skid marks on the floor where cyclists had ridden, blue scuff markings where a metal hoop had been rotated along the stretch of a white wall, and residues of mud and manure from a horse who entered the work now and again, gracing the situation with his earthy smell and energizing presence. The work accumulated these traces and they became a score for future action – provoking further responses that involved audiences (and other artists) to elaborate some of the work’s latent possibilities.

This project demanded being open to forces, energies, processes and challenges that were unforeseeable in advance – to occurrences that emerged within the pulse of the situation or which entered unexpectedly. In the essay Personal Support: how to care? Jan Verwoert refers to the painting by Niccolo Antonio Colantonio and Lorenzo Monaco, and discusses how Saint Jerome removes a thorn in the paw of a lion who has happened to enter into his study. Verwoert’s point is that the most poignant gesture offered by Saint Jerome is not the performance of care enacted by the thorn’s removal, but the fact that St Jerome left the door of his study open in the first place.1

Leaving a door open provokes a commitment to being responsive no matter what happens to enter and no matter how different or unsettling this may be to the plans that we fashion in advance. In committing to responding, what is affirmed is the willingness to both encounter and grapple with what enters, even if uncertain or radically unprepared.

Bianca Hester: Please leave these windows open overnight to enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning
6 August – 26 September 2010

Bianca Hester is an artist whose practice explores the convergences between social space, materiality and embodiment as processes in motion. She is represented by Sarah Scout, Melbourne and is currently a Post-doctoral research fellow at the Sydney College of the Arts.

1 Verwoert, Jan, “Personal Support: How to Care?” in Support Structures, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2009, p 172. 

Jane Rhodes

Nick Mangan, Untitled, 2010. The Big Wall Project. Courtesy the artist and ACCA Archive

The Big Wall Project, Things that Go Bump In the Night, and other artists

The Big Wall Project was an off site commission curated by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art for the Crown Metropol Hotel, and ran from August 2010 to July 2012.

Spanning long and high The Big Wall Project was one of the largest locations for viewing contemporary public art in Melbourne at over 18 metres long and nearly 6 metres high. Geelong born and Melbourne based Nick Mangan created a huge collage of images on a giant swath of cloth. The wall was rendered into an immersive landscape mural of giant hands in colour tones of majestic purple, fleshy pinks and shades of grey.

Nathan Coley, Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens, installation view, ACCA, 2010. Courtesy ACCA Archive

Nathan Coley: Heaven is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens

Scottish artist and Turner prize nominee, Nathan Coley erected his famous message sculpture Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens on the ACCA Forecourt in 2010.

The work consisted of 480 light globes mounted as letters on an aluminum frame. The origin of this eponymous text was a Talking Heads pop song, but this may not be well known by all passers-by. In this sense Coley wanted to question the viewers’ contemplation of the work. He said that ‘its strength is its ambiguity – is heaven a place where nothing ever happens? For some it’s a comforting message that this promise of the afterlife is without incident. Others may wonder if heaven is the place they were told it would be”.

Things that Go Bump In the Night: Laresa Kosloff, Sonia Leber and David Chesworth

Things that Go Bump In the Night consisted of two artist projects curated by ACCA for the City Square to support the City of Melbourne’s Late Night Programming initiative — to encourage discovery and delight in those who passed through this public domain at all times during the day and night.

Sonia Leber and David Chesworth’s We, The Masters captured the inventive and at times hilarious things we say to our pets. The artists used raw material from everyday life — parks, veterinary practices, animal training schools, farms and zoos — to capture the highly personal way people talk to their animals. We, The Masters captured the various tones, melodies and patterns of speech used by owners when communicating with their pets, often formed through repetition and habit.  With the sounds of the animals edited out, the voices, which came from discretely placed speakers placed high in the existing street trees, appeared to be calling out directly, and commanding, cajoling and encouraging, the passerby.

Laresa Kosloff, Office Skate, captured people undertaking work and leisure activities within the built environment. Kosloff’s Super 8 footage of controlled office environments were digitally montaged with freer activities such as ice-skating and ‘Parkour’, and were projected onto the walls of the City Square to blur the barriers between recreation and bureaucracy.

Torsten Lauschmann: At the heart of everything a row of holes

Jacqueline Donachie, Melbourne Slow Down (2013). Courtesy the artist. Photograph: Jen Moore

At the heart of everything a row of holes was a one-night-only special event of two performances to coincide with the Melbourne Art Fair in 2012. The National Theatre, in Carlisle Street St Kilda, was the venue for this video meets cabaret and vaudeville event. It was invented by Glasgow based, German artist Torsten Lauschmann who used every surface of the theatre in this surround-sound spectacle.  Lauschmann drew the audience into an immersive, strange world of visual and sound effects that created a spellbinding atmosphere.

Desire Lines Performance events: Dan Shipsides, Mel O’Callaghan and Jacqueline Donachie

ACCA’s 2012-2013 summer exhibition Desire Lines referred to the wayward, improvised tracks created by walkers and others who defy the ways urban regulators and councils design routes for them.

British artist, Dan Shipsides, created one of his renowned climbing based artworks on the exterior of the ACCA building. By mapping his path with white rope adhered to ACCA with magnets, Shipsides created a unique and ephemeral line drawing.

Sydney born and Paris based artist, Mel O’Callaghan, created a moving sculpture of rocks on ACCA’s forecourt. Inspired by Richard Long’s environmental object formations, O’Callaghan’s performance involved a dedicated team of performers moving a rock wall, stone by stone across the forecourt of ACCA — a sculpture in motion.

Scottish artist, Jacqueline Donachie and her bike riding teams created colourful chalk line drawings from the edges of the city to ACCA. This special event — the coda to Desire Lines — was a happening devised by Donachie and 100 keen ACCA volunteers.

ACCA at Large, Part 1

Bill Viola, The Raft, 2004, production still, courtesy the artist. photo: Kira Perov

21st century Art in the first decade, catalogue, Qld art gallery / Gallery of Modern Art
19 October, The Age, An erudite, disorienting interrogation of art’s process, David Chesworth @ MIAF
The Age, Terrorist art, David Chesworth @ MIAF
20 October, The Age, Aesthetic swamped by arty farce, Bill Viola @ MIAF

Lucy Gunning, Climbing Around My Room 1993(video still). Exhibited at ACCA in Gestures & Procedures 2010. Courtesy the artist.

Following on from the success of earlier tours, ACCA once again took a group of art lovers to the Biennale of Sydney for the third consecutive time. The weekend included an intensive guided tour of Biennale highlights and other art destinations in Sydney. In July ACCA also took a small, guided tour to the Venice Architecture Biennale.

With the appointment of new staff in ACCA’s education area there was considerable growth in primary education and public programs. This included new program initiatives specifically for primary schools and expanded public programs activity including the Wednesday evenings talks series. For primary school students ACCA offered two free and newly tailored programs: MAKE an artist-guided practical art making workshop using contemporary materials, and THINK which involved fun philosophical collaborative discussions about contemporary art.

‘Look Who’s Talking’ and ‘In Conversation’ evenings
ACCA’s popular “Look Who’s Talking’ program continued with free Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon talks by artists, curators and social commentators linked to the exhibition program. A special ‘in conversation’ evening event coincided with each season, with ACCA’s Artistic Director and curators talking with exhibiting artists about their work.

Thematic talks and walks
ACCA also programmed a wide range of talks and activities to complement exhibition content. These include a night-time tour of Melbourne General Cemetery to coincide with Mortality as well as a panel discussion at the Melbourne Town Hall investigating theoretical and artistic concepts of heaven. Another panel discussion included psychiatric and theatrical responses to Gestures and Procedures, featuring Dr. Edwin Harari.

ACCA Art Tours
Following on from the success of earlier tours, ACCA once again took a group of art lovers to the Sydney Biennale, for the third consecutive time. The weekend included an intensive guided tour of biennale highlights and other art destinations in Sydney. In July ACCA also took a guided tour to the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Multicultural Art Program (MAP)
ACCA’s specially devised series of workshops for recently arrived young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, including refugees, took place in February and December. Funded by the Scanlon Foundation, and in partnership with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, MAP provided opportunities for young people new to Australia to participate in an immersive art experience across a variety of forms of visual arts, theatre and dance, Initiated, presented and managed by ACCA, each program included sessions by collaborating partners Chunky Move, St Martins Youth theatre and ACCA over several weekends.

Sound and Video Files
Sound files were produced for each exhibition and posted on the ACCA website where they were accessed by students and the general public.

Education
In 2010 ACCA’s Education Services delivered five integrated streams of experience:

1. Talk: Guided exhibition viewing and discussion.
ACCA’s core discussion based education program. Through discussions led by trained teachers in gallery spaces students had the ideas and concepts of contemporary art unpacked in a way that was relevant to their school curriculum. Talk was a free program for all primary and secondary students.

2. Make: Contemporary art materials based workshops.
ACCA’s core practical based education program for school students and teachers. Free artist guided practical art making workshops using contemporary materials were designed to complement ACCA’s annual exhibition program to foster deeper engagement with exhibition content.

3. ACCA Digital Delivery
ACCA produced digital resources for students and teachers to compliment each exhibition season. The downloadable online digital resources broaden both student and teacher knowledge of contemporary art through sound file interviews with artist and a range of art professionals.

4. Infocube
Infocube functioned as a communications kiosk and research facility for students and teachers, providing access to archived digital information about artist and exhibitions at ACCA. Relevant support material, in the form of video, image, text and sound files was uploaded prior to each exhibition.

5. ACCA Art Partners
ACCA worked in partnership with philanthropic organisations to provide the following targeted learning programs linked with the pathways to Art program:

ACCA’s successful and growing Go Program supported the participation of students who attend lower socio-economic schools. The program improved access for students who may otherwise not have the opportunity to gain a significant cultural experience through the provision of free bus transport to and from ACCA.

Arts immersion: Starting Points provided regionally based Year 9-12 students from Government schools with an immersive arts experience across the forms of visual arts, theatre and dance. Sessions were hosted in collaboration with Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move.

The ARTCONNECT9 program in collaboration with the Victorian Arts Centre continued to provide Year 9 level students and teachers from Victorian regional government schools with ‘pathways to Art’ learning experience.

PROGRAM DETAILS

In Conversation – Juliana Engberg in conversation with curator Hannah Mathews, artists; Lou Hubbard and Alicia Frankovich and exhibition design collaborator; Sonia Simpfendorfer
16 March 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW010.

In Conversation – Juliana Engberg and Vogue Living editor; David Clark in conversation with curator Hannah Mathews, artists Lou Hubbard and Susan Jacobs, and collaborators Sonia Simpfendorfer and Danielle Midalia
22 April 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition NEW010.

Keynote Lecture – Dr Carolyn Barnes
9 June 2010
Dr Carolyn Barnes addressed the art practice of Peter Cripps, providing an historical overview of his groundbreaking practice of minimal-conceptualism.  Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

In Conversation – Peter Cripps and Peter Tyndall, artists
16 June 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

In Conversation – Sue Cramer in conversation with artist Peter Cripps
30 June 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

Talk – Mirror, Mirror on the wall; Masato Takasaka, artist
11 July 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

In Conversation – Rebecca Coates in conversation with artist Peter Cripps
14 July 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

Talk – Artist-Curator, Curator-Artist
18 July 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution the directors of Y3K gallery and Rebecca Coates discuss the fundamental difference between artist and curator.

Forum – Bauhaus in the middle of the street: minimalism in design today
24 July 2010
Susie Attiwill, Norbert Loeffler, Warren Taylor, and Shane Murray discuss minimalism in design today in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

Talk – Lessness; Dr Justin Clemens, Art Critic
25 July 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Towards An Elegant Solution.

In Conversation – Bianca Hester, artist and Juliana Engberg, Artistic Director
9 August 2010
Held in conjunction with the private viewing of Bianca Hester’s Please leave these windows open overnight to enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning.

Talk – Anastasia Klose and Tony Schwensen, artist
11 August 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Gestures & Procedures.

Talk – Lucy Gunning, artist
25 August 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Gestures & Procedures.

Talk – Mike Parr, artist
8 September 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Gestures & Procedures.

In Conversation – Bianca Hester and Spiros Panigirakis, artist and collaborator
15 September 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Please leave these windows open overnight to enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning.

Talk – Three Responses to the Exhibitions
22 September 2010
Series of three talks given by Juliana Engberg, Artistic Director, Dr Edwin Harari; Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, and Sean Cubitt; Professor of Media and Communications, held in conjunction with Bianca Hester and Gestures & Procedures.

Forum – Nathan Coley, artist
27 September 2010
Artist, Nathan Coley, spoke about his public art program Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens, joined by a panel of speakers, responding to the question ‘is heaven in the hereafter or the here and now?’
Venue: Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall

Talk – Catherine Deveny, serial pest
13 October 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens.

Talk – Robert Buckingham, creative founder Melbourne Fashion Festival
10 November 2010
Held in conjunction with the exhibition Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens.

In 2013 ACCA took art up, down and around, delivering its usual program of galvinising exhibitions inside the gallery and touring Pat Brassington’s exhibition À Rebours to the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney and the Te Tui Centre for the Arts, Auckland. In December ACCA also played host to the dawn launch of Patricia Piccinini’s spectacular giant balloon work, Skywhale, which made front page of The Age newspaper. The same year ACCA also launched its new website which enabled online ticketing, shopping and donations.

It was another busy year for ACCA’s artistic director, Juliana Engberg, who was preparing for the 2014 Biennale of Sydney. In March she was honoured for her 30-year career as a curator and commentator with the Australia Council Visual Arts Laureate Medal.  Accepting the award at a ceremony in Sydney, Juliana said:  ‘This is such an honour.  It is my privilege to work on behalf of Australian artists and their amazing contributions to our culture, but this award is very nice icing.  And I’m so glad to receive this honour alongside Tracey Moffatt, who is an outstanding artist and has done so much to draw attention to Australian work internationally, as well as here.’

In 2013 ACCA farewelled long-serving board members, MUP publisher, Louise Adler AM and barrister Peter Jopling AM QC and welcomed two new members – PwC partner, John Dovaston and artist, Andrew Taylor.

After a restful summer immersed in the luscious colours and ambient soundtrack of Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist’s major exhibition, ACCA began 2012 re-energised and ready to make things happen!

While continuing to grow its exhibition, public and education programs for Australian audiences, ACCA remained committed to developing international interest in Australian artists. In April 2012 ACCA took five Melbourne-based artists to Scotland to present works at the Glasgow International. Realised in partnership with Glasgow’s The Common Guild, this program included new works by Bianca Hester, Marco Fusinato, Laresa Kosloff, David Rosetzky and Joshua Petherick presented at various sites throughout the city.

ACCA’s artistic director, Juliana Engberg, was announced as the Artistic Director of the 2014 Biennale of Sydney. And ACCA welcomed Steven Smith (Lawyer, Vice President of Melbourne Cricket Club and Director of National Sports Museum) as government appointee to the Board in December 2012.

2011 was another busy year for ACCA with a jampacked program of exhibitions and off-site projects and a game plan to continue to grow audiences for contemporary art. In 2011 ACCA’s audience participation increased to over 900,000 with a range of solo, group, pop-up and travelling exhibitions that reached audiences as local as Melbourne’s CBD and as far flung as Venice’s Lido. Online, ACCA’s audiences also continued to grow with the introduction of an ongoing series of artist videos that offered viewers a direct line into practice and exhibition making.

In 2011 ACCA thanked out-going Chair, Naomi Milgrom AO, who had been on the ACCA Board for five years, and welcomed John Denton (Director of architecture practice Denton Corker Marshall) as the new Chair.

2010 was an interesting year for the Australian art world, with a number of public galleries undergoing significant building developments and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) opening in Hobart. As infrastructure for contemporary art grew across Australia, competition for reputation and resources increased.  Despite this, ACCA’s audience numbers continued to increase, with a further 26% visiting exhibitions and many more viewing ACCA off-site projects outside the building.

Nevertheless, ACCA was constrained by the limits of its building which made staggering exhibition periods impossible, and lacked visitor services and back of house facilities. In 2010 the Victorian Government initiated a spatialisation plan for the 111-117 Sturt Street Precinct and ACCA joined with its precinct partners, architects, urban designers and government officers to assess the precinct and the future needs of ACCA, Chunky Move and the Malthouse Theatre.  This initiative looked at opportunities to improve the accessibility and functionality of the existing buildings through reorientation, relocation and additional building, as well as the expansion of facilities for visitor services, exhibitions, workshop, residencies and administration.  However the change of government in November 2010 put the Sturt Street Development planning on hold.