MPavilion

Liquid Architecture and MPavilion presented French sound poet and conceptualist Anne-James Chaton’s Testimonies, a new performance that extends his long-term interest in linguistic experimentation, phonetic rhythms, loops, repetitions and reverberations into new relational and conversational territories focused on world events.

Drawing textual material out of one-on-one encounters with visitors to MPavilion that took place in late October, this performance was the culmination of the works created from each unique meeting, and explores the texture of words and the shape of texts via the personal and intimate materials from the general public.

Vietnamese-born Danish artist Danh Vō joined us for a special conversation with Geelong Gallery director Jason Smith, for this MTalk.

Danh Vō’s early life was defined by upheaval: Danh and his family fled their native South Vietnam, launching seaward in a homemade boat to be rescued at sea by a Danish freighter and re-settled in Denmark. Danh’s art is often attributed to these early events and the subsequent new location he and his family found themselves in—a dialogue between the historical and the personal, of identity and belonging. Danh Vō’s art is wonderfully prolific, and perhaps most recognisable is the work We The People (pictured), one that continued Danh’s artistic narrative in the form of a 1:1 scale model of the Statue of Liberty but deconstructed into 250 smaller individual pieces: an exposition that prompts the viewer to ponder the very meaning of liberty. We invite you revisit to this MTalks event, to explore the depth of Danh’s work.

In the spirit of experimental activations of public space and the arrival of Public Art Melbourne’s inaugural Biennial Lab at the Queen Victoria Markets, listen to this MTalks event at MPavilion. Here you will discover what makes the Biennial Lab so intriguing. Join eminent curators in the public sphere, Khairuddin Hori and Natalie King, and Biennial Lab artist, Timothy Moore of SIBLING as they discuss their contribution to the Biennial Lab — the City of Melbourne’s latest public space engagement. Hear discussions on how a lab incubator can generate new experimental modes of working in the public realm, how local space can be used as a site for interrogation, and what the Biennial Lab means for Melbourne. Khairuddhin Hori’s involvement in Public Art Melbourne Biennial Lab is supported by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For more information on Biennial Lab events, head on over to the Biennial Lab website.

Australian dancer and choreographer Atlanta Eke brought us 'Wetware', a performance concerned with time travel. The work, a response to the RMIT Design Hub’s Occupied exhibition and further developed for MPavilion, imagined that architects from 2050 had travelled back in time via the digital universe to share a dystopian tale from a near future; a drowned world where land-based life has returned to the sea.

The performance of 'Wetware' was followed by a related panel discussion entitled ‘The architecture of display: Scenography as an agent for performance and design’, and included such noteworthy participants as Atlanta Eke herself, Fleur Watson of RMIT Design Hub, David Neustein, and Grace Mortlock of Otherothers. Listen back to to Atlanta Eke’s performance and keep it locked for the talk!

Listen to Parlour's convivial afternoon of conversation and connection over a glass of wine. Casual and welcoming, their spring salon was the first of Parlour’s seasonal salons—supported by Parlour partner AWS—that gave an opportunity for the women of Melbourne architecture to meet, form new networks and relationships. Emerging or established, all are always encouraged to join in at MPavilion. This salon began with a short public conversation between two women of different backgrounds and shared experiences, Kerstin Thompson of KTA and Clare Cousins of Clare Cousins Architects who ‘set the scene’ before the conversation opened up.

Sonia Leber and David Chesworth are two artists who have been collaborating since 1996 in the creation of a series of large-scale installation artworks, using sound, video, architecture and public participation. These works often utilise the human voice as a principal element along with real world situations as a starting point. These situations include the old The Age newspaper building on Melbourne's Spencer Street in pre-demolition days in We Are Printers Too, and commuters stuck at an underground station entrance in Time Mirror.

Revisit this MTalk presented by Melbourne Festival and CCP, featuring Sonia Leber and David Chesworth in conversation with Naomi Cass as they sat down for a chat that explores their working methods. Naomi is from from the Centre for Contemporary Photography and curator of The Documentary Take, a new exhibition featuring Sonia and David’s works.

We all know Melbourne is big on art. And you can’t miss the fact—it’s team-coloured beanies, flags and scarves all—that Melbourne is big on sport. This special MTalks event explored Melbourne’s unique love of both, and even, the less-obvious connection between sport and art. Hear from MPavilion’s 2016 architect Bijoy Jain along with Robyn Archer as host and a bunch of people including Gideon Obarzanek, Yumi Umiumare and David Pledger who cross the worlds of art and sport. They discussed what it means to find ‘flow’ and how this translates to creative approaches, how dual arts and sports practice can form synergies in their creative lives, and there is sure to be many surprises.

What processes take place within the studio to realise works of architecture? Gain an insight into the collaborative nature of architectural design, and the studio culture of some of Melbourne’s most exciting emerging practices. Listen to this #MTalk to hear the emerging architects and graduates of Melbourne for a panel-discussion on collaboration and studio culture within architectural practice. Panellists included Monique Woodward and Izzy from WOWOWA; Michael Roper of Architecture Architecture; Claire Scorpo of Clare Scorpo Architects; Thomas Mckenzie of Thomas Winwood Architecture; all hosted by EmAGN (Emerging Architecture and Graduate Network).

At the heart of Bijoy Jain and Studio Mumbai’s ethos is the concept of lore, defined as “a body of traditional knowledge passed on by word of mouth”. It follows that, in the creation of MPavilion, lore was heartily practiced when the MPavilion building team travelled to India to learn Studio Mumbai’s methods. This MTalk was a panel talk with the hands-on crew behind MPavilion’s build. Tony Isaacson from Kane Constructions, Helen Wellman from Tract Consultants, Sam Redston from Flot&Jet, lighting designer Ben Cobham from Bluebottle and senior structural engineer John Noel from ARUP engineering sat down to speak about how MPavilion was built, the working process with Studio Mumbai, the team’s visits to India and, of course, lore!

The conversation around architectural design at all levels—from breakfast bars to boardrooms—has rarely been louder. And with Victoria looking at introducing an apartment design standards framework, this panel focuses on suggested improvements to the design review process, minimum size standards and aesthetic guidelines that would support quality, adaptable and sustainable housing. With these changes firmly in their minds, listen back to Minister for Planning Richard Wynne, Simon Knott of BKK Architects, James Tutton from Neometro, and director of MAArchitects Karen Alcock for this MTalks event brought to you by Open Journal. If you’re interested in the way we live now and the way we will into the future, get this on your playlist for the day ahead!