Tuesday 26 August 2014

Public to Marvel as VCA artists transform historic Windsor Hotel

Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) students will transform Melbourne’s Windsor Hotel into a public gallery while vying for The Windsor Art Award, a $10 000 scholarship recognising Australia’s best emerging talent.

Opening on Melbourne Day, 30 August, running until 14 September 2014, the Marvel exhibition and Windsor Art Award will be judged by a prestigious panel including Heide Museum of Modern Art director Jason Smith and artist Julia DeVille.

As part of a collaborative exhibition between the VCA’s School of Art and the landmark hotel, visual art students will install works that are conceptual and material interpretations of the theme Marvel.

The installations will feature in many of the hotel’s unique spaces including the heritage listed lace iron lifts, Victorian windows, renowned tea room and even a once secret hotel entrance.

The Head of the VCA School of Art Jan Murray said the partnership with The Windsor presents a unique opportunity for honours and graduate students to offer their interpretation of the city’s history and experiment creatively in a new environment.

“The idea of Marvel is intertwined with Melbourne and the talented artists it produces. At the VCA we encourage artists to contribute to the artistic character of this city. I look forward to seeing each artist’s vision of how Melbourne is marvellous to them, using The Windsor as their blank canvas.”

Adipoetra Halim, Hotel Director of the Halim Group, owner of The Windsor, said he was thrilled to show the hotel’s ongoing support for philanthropy and the arts by awarding some of Australia’s greatest emerging talent.

“The Windsor is synonymous with Melbourne and the opening of Marvel on Melbourne Day is one way in which we can pay tribute to our vibrant city and “Marvellous Melbourne,” he said.

The exhibition highlights the partnership between two of Melbourne’s most cherished institutions that share a combined history of more than 280 years.

In 2017, the VCA School of Art will celebrate 150 years since the establishment of its predecessor, the National Gallery School. Established in 1883, The Windsor is Australia’s oldest Grand hotel and is one of the world’s most revered hotels of Victorian architecture.

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