Sweet Mama by Candy Bowers. Courtesy of the artist. Photography: Teniola Komolafe
MELBOURNE, 18 December 2023: The NGV has announced the full program for Triennial EXTRA, the free after-hours festival taking place over 10 nights, 19-28 January 2024, offering immersive gallery activations, performances, pop-up artist talks, DJ sets, and more.
Artists, performers, DJs, writers and creatives bring new experiences every night to NGV Triennial with thought-provoking and powerful responses to the NGV’s free summer blockbuster exhibition.
Setting the scene for performances from 6-9pm every night, two monumental sculptures by British artist Thomas J Price in NGV’s Federation Court provide inspiration for a program of live music, spoken word poetry and dance celebrating the talents of the African diaspora living in Australia, guest curated by Candy Bowers.
In the Great Hall, visitors can trade their own pre-loved tennis balls for one of over 8,000 new balls lining the walls of Melbourne Tennis Ball Exchange, a participatory and ever-changing artwork by leading British artist David Shrigley. By engaging with the installation, Shrigley hopes that visitors can consider the joy that can be experienced through trading everyday goods, even when the goods are of equal value.
In NGV’s medieval galleries Melbourne artist Richard Lewer invites visitors to divulge their dreams, hopes and reflections in the participatory series Richard Lewer’s Confessions. As part of Lewer’s ongoing exploration of rituals, narratives and confessions, each night the artist paints artworks in response to his interactions with audience members presented alongside his works in the Triennial exhibition, titled Adam and Eve. Melbourne Opera soprano, Rebecca Rashleigh, and harpist, Glavier Aldana Norgiega, bring new layers of aural colour to the Gallery with intimate performances set amongst artworks exploring devotion, reverence, and obsession.
Swiss artist Franziska Furter’s work in NGV Triennial presents an almost nine-metre-wide carpet featuring a vibrant visualisation of hurricane satellite images underneath 3,000 strands of glass beads. Every night during Triennial EXTRA, Furter’s work becomes the stage for performances by Melbourne choral group Alchemy Consort. A conversation series titled Let’s talk about the weather hosted by art historian Dr Olivia Meehan, engages creative writers, scientists, and academics, to consider the persistent presence of the weather – from climate, landscape and the seasons, to newsworthy meteorological events – in our everyday lives.
Throughout Triennial exhibition spaces, award-winning Chinese-Australian composer and leading contemporary Guzheng performing artist Mindy Meng Wang performs a series of sound interventions creating a multi-sensory experience through the melding of her compositions and visuals of the artworks.
From 9-11pm nightly, DJ sets with performances by Sui Zhen, RONA, C.FRIM, and IN2STELLAR and more transform Federation Court into a dancefloor as the sun goes down.
Audiences will also have the opportunity to get closer to the creative practice of artists exhibiting work in Triennial through artist talks including Indonesian-based Nadiah Bamadhaj, Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann, as well as local artists Hoda Afshar, Prudence Flint, Ezz Monem and Richard Lewer.
In the Great Hall, visitors can enjoy Moët Imperial champagne and Moët Rosé Impérial from the Moët & Chandon Bar while the Four Pillars Gin Bar in the Gallery Kitchen offers signature Four Pillars G&Ts and Four Pillars Gin bespoke cocktails.
On the Garden Restaurant Terrace, the Yering Station Wine Bar offers a space for visitors to indulge in oysters and charcuterie platters complemented with fine wines from the Yarra Vallery. The NGV Garden Restaurant is open nightly with an a la carte menu and shared dining options, and from the Great Hall and NGV Garden guests can enjoy a menu ranging from pork belly bao, wagyu beef sliders, Moroccan fried cauliflower, and gelato.
Triennial EXTRA takes place 19 – 28 January 2024, open from 6.00pm until 11.00pm. Further information on the Triennial EXTRA program is available on the NGV website: www.ngv.vic.gov.au/triennial/triennial-extra/
The NGV Triennial is on display from 3 December 2023 – 7 April 2024 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Entry is FREE.
