from e-flux
Metro Tunnel, Melbourne, Australia
Town Hall Station public art commission
January 20–February 17, 2020
metrotunnel.vic.gov.au
The Metro Tunnel Project is calling for experienced and world class artists to express their interest in creating a high profile public artwork for Melbourne’s new Town Hall Station. The artist will work collaboratively with interdisciplinary design teams to create a site-specific artwork that will respond to the station’s bold architecture. The new Town Hall Station will be at the civic heart of Melbourne and the artwork will form an important cultural marker for the many Melbournians who will pass through the station daily.
Contemporary Melbourne sits on the ancient lands of the Kulin Nations, the Traditional Custodians of Melbourne and its surrounding country. Post-contact waves of migration have contributed to Melbourne’s rich diversity and its distinction as the cultural capital of Australia. The city is renowned for its public art, festivals, laneways, cafes, live music and performance, and street art. Many of Australia’s leading cultural institutions are in Melbourne.
The Metro Tunnel Project will transform Melbourne’s rail network, but it is much more than engineering project. It will shape Melbourne’s social, cultural and economic future for decades to come. The project includes the construction of five underground stations across the city’s centre. As part of the project’s commitment to leaving a positive civic legacy, artists will be commissioned to create a series of enduring and buoyant artworks that will connect with generations to come.