Reverie Projects, in association with the Villa Alba Museum, is devoted to establishing a dialogue between the historic house in Melbourne’s Kew and contemporary art practitioners. This dialogue takes the form of a series of exhibitions in which the house acts as subject and muse.
Exhibition Details Now Confirmed
We have now confirmed the dates of the exhibition, which will run from Friday 25th to Sunday the 27th of May 2012. The Museum will be open from 12:00 - 6:00 pm each day. Admission to the Museum costs $15. A percentage of this price, along with 30% of the profits made from the sale of the artwork, will be donated to the Villa Alba Museum Board to assist in the continued preservation of the house.
We will be hosting our official opening on Saturday 26th May at 1pm. All are welcome! The opening will be followed by a Jazz Afternoon featuring a performance by the renowned Fem Belling Trio. Read more about them in the post below.
So be sure to write these dates in your diary! We look forward to seeing you there. More information about the exhibition, including the location of the Museum, is available from the Exhibition Info page located on the right hand side of the web page.
The Fem Belling Trio
We are very excited about the Jazz Afternoon we have scheduled to coincide with the opening of the Narrative Space exhibition from 2:00 pm on Saturday the 26th May. The Jazz afternoon features a performance by the outstanding Fem Belling Trio.
The Fem Belling Trio:
Award winning jazz vocalist and violinist Fem Belling is taking Melbourne by storm. Her beguiling, versatile voice and powerful stage presence lend excitement, authenticity and class to the great jazz classics.
She has worked with the international & Australian jazz greats and has spent the last few years as the leading lady in London’s West End and has just finished playing Liza Minnelli in THE BOY FROM OZ.
Playing a spectacular electric violin Fem creates a dynamic live performance.
On piano, we have the legendary Howard Belling (who happens to be Fem’s father). Howard has shared the stage with luminaries such as Ray Charles and Sarah Vaughn and is a renowned pianist in the Australian jazz world.
Aria Award nominee (and her brother) Zvi Belling from The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra is featured on double bass.
Everything from the Ella to Ellington, Billy to Basie, Chet to Coltrane, Satchmo to Sinatra, this quartet is packing the jazz clubs around town.
light - Isobel Parker Philip 2012
The Stairs - Isobel Parker Philip 2012
Narrative Space - Submissions Open
Narrative Space is the next installment in the series of exhibitions being held at Villa Alba, co-ordinated and curated by the Reverie Collective. The exhibition’s thematic focus is built around an investigation of the relationship between a house and its history and the way a particular space is conditioned by the narratives that unfold within it. We want to explore how a space can become almost human - marked by its own personality - when framed by these narratives.
We want participants to take Villa Alba as their muse, using the house as the starting point for their personal explorations into the intersection of memory, place and narrative. Artists are invited to approach the house as subject matter either literally or metaphorically.
The central protagonist in a story that chronicles the transition from deterioration and decay to gradual regeneration and re-discovery, Villa Alba prevails as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In the last few years, as the conservationists have removed the over paint to reveal the stunning murals below, the house has slowly been unmasked. As its layers are being peeled back its original charm is being restored.
We want our participants to take on the house’s story and make it their own. We want them to construct their own narratives. To compliment the exhibition’s thematic agenda, we are specifically looking for work that takes the form of a book. Our definitions of the ‘book form’ are fairly flexible.
Submissions are now open and the deadline for expressions of interest is the 14th February. The submission guidelines and conditions are available through the link at the top of this page - we’ve made it so easy to find (you won’t have to continually scroll down this blog) so there is no excuse for missing the deadline!
We look forward to viewing your submissions! Please email us at reverie.va@gmail.com if you have any questions.
window detail // stairs// front room
The Vestibule // The Lower Level Corridor
