Featuring work by: Guled Abdulwasi, Idil Ali, APHIDS, Beth Arnold and Sary Zananiri, Timmah Ball, Tony Birch, Jon Campbell, Michael Candy, Simona Castricum, Boris Cipusev and Anthony Romagnano, Sophie Cunningham, Keg de Souza, Field Theory, Eleanor Jackson, Aarti Jadu, Ruci Kaisila, Laresa Kosloff, Eugenia Lim, Kent Morris, Callum Morton, Georgia Nowak, Kerrie Poliness, Steven Rhall, Roberta Joy Rich, Joseph Samarani, Morwenna Schenck, Damian Seddon, The Social Studio, Hoang Tran Nguyen, Christos Tsiolkas, David Wadelton, Gene Bawden and Monash University, XYX Lab, Youthworx, Jenny Zhe Chang
In addition to the projects on view within the ACCA galleries, Who’s Afraid of Public Space? expands across the city and public spaces through a number of dedicated off-site projects programmed both in the lead-up to, and throughout, the exhibition, as well as through related satellite exhibitions and events programmed by cultural partners including Abbotsford Convent, Arts Project Australia, Blak Dot Gallery, Bus Projects, Chunky Move, City of Melbourne, Footscray Community Arts, Metro Tunnel Creative Program, Moreland City Council and Testing Grounds.
Designed by Sibling Architecture, Project Space: The Hoarding brings together visual cues and references to each of these off-site programs, aggregating activities already completed, in situ or underway, and pointing to projects still yet on the horizon. The result is a rich, immersive and polyphonic collation of creative content representing the breadth of subjects relating to the experience of public space that are explored within the broader exhibition. Brought together upon the framing device of an architectural hoarding – a ubiquitous sight across modern and developing cities, used both to conceal and reveal building projects in development – the projects collectively consider what constitutes public space in cities, suburbs, regional contexts, the digital space and beyond.
Designer’s statement:
The planning and design of the urban environment has been calibrated as an engine for economic growth with neighbourhoods being transformed into locational assets, and this quest for growth becomes a self-fulfilling cycle as each metropolis strives against each other to be top on the list of the world’s most liveable, smartest, innovative, competitive or confident cities in order to accumulate more capital. The construction hoarding acts as a device to demarcate this cycle of development: of demolition, renovation and adaptation coupled with the financialisation and privatisation of land and property. The hoarding also conceals this act.
Sibling introduces a hoarding at ACCA to frame the offsite work of the exhibition; the hoarding reveals through its concealment of what is beyond. The Hoarding is constructed of proprietary elements, including besser blocks, mesh fencing and tarpaulin, assembled as a temporary ‘tableau vivant’ before it takes life on another project of the city. The presentation of the hoarding in Chroma key blue provides a digital gateway to infinite filters. Project what you want. What side are you on?
About the designer:
Sibling is an architecture practice that cares about making people’s lives better. They do this by creating environments, experiences and strategies that respond to social needs and desires. This approach has seen Sibling commissioned to design an array of civic projects across south-east Australia, including in Bega, Benalla, Bellingen, Melbourne, Sydney, Torquay and Wangaratta. This civic spirit extends to participating in exhibitions, which are an important site of experimentation for the practice. Sibling has exhibited or undertaken exhibition design across the globe, including at Gyeonggi MoMA, Koorie Heritage Trust, Istanbul Design Biennial, National Gallery of Victoria and Sao Paulo Architecture Biennial.