Laneway Commissions 2006

The Laneway Commissions are dedicated to commissioning new temporary art works for Melbourne’s unique laneway topography. They capture and embrace the energy of urban life. Temporary artworks will be visible in the city’s laneways from July 2006 to January 2007.

1. No Answer
Philip Brophy and Martine Corompt (Vic)
Where: Lush Lane (off Flinders Lane between Swanston and Russell streets)
When: 1 July to 1 December 2006 (audible until midnight)

2. Life Coach
Hugh Covill, Bruce Gladwin, Rhian Hinkley (Vic)
Where: Lingham Lane, (off Flinders Lane between Swanston and Elizabeth streets)
When: 24 June 2006 to 26 January 2007

3. Spine 1.2
Gina Czarnecki (UK), currently based in Melbourne
Where: Union Lane (enter from Bourke Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth streets)
When: 28 June to 23 August 2006 (dusk to midnight)

4. CITYtalking
Astra Howard (NSW)
Where: Roving performance in the CBD
When: 4 October to 5 November 2006, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm

CITYtalking route (PDF, 207kb)

5. Respire 2006
Carolyn Eskdale (Vic)
Where: Unnamed Lane next to Hotel Lindrum (off Flinders Lane between Spring and Exhibition streets)
When: 16 August - 6 November 2006

6. Clara-Clara
Laura Vinci (Brazil)
Where: La Trobe Place (off Bourke Street between Swanston and Russell streets)
When: 1 September to 18 December 2006

About the Laneway Commissions 2006

Since 2001 the Laneway Commissions have become a much-anticipated annual experience, transforming the distinctive bluestone lanes and hidden passageways into exciting and evocative art spaces, engaging us in spontaneous interaction.

Artists create their works specifically for a lane of their choice, responding to its visual and tactile qualities while bearing in mind the lane’s function, traffic and history.  The resulting artworks explore a broad spectrum of contemporary art practice. They delve into the human condition, advocate for many forms of knowledge and give voice to specific and universal concerns.

The laneways become a site for artistic expression, a forum for comment and questioning and a space of enchantment.

The Laneway Commissions are deliberately fleeting. Ongoing yet slightly unpredictable, the temporary works contribute to Melbourne’s richly layered and innovative cultural practice.

The commissions are as simple as they are complex. Often they create a new memory of a certain space, leaving both distinct and intangible traces which enrich the experience of the city: they are a vibrant exploration of the urban existence.

The Public Art Program, including the Laneway Commissions, is just one City of Melbourne initiative which recognises and fosters Melbourne’s creative potential: residents and visitors alike benefit from the city’s diverse artistic and cultural offerings.

Laneways of Melbourne

Robert Hoddle, the city’s original surveyor, was thinking about bullocks when he laid out the plan for Melbourne’s impressively wide main streets. At the time, goods were routinely transported through the city by bullock teams and if the streets were too narrow, a team of bullocks attempting to turn a corner would result in traffic chaos. So he insisted on streets that were almost one hundred feet wide.

The considerable size of the main streets led to the creation of a labyrinth of smaller, people-sized lanes, weaving their way behind and between the imposing streets.

Today, many of the laneways are populated by small businesses and cafes. Others retain their original form, offering a rare glimpse into the city’s history. For many, the real Melbourne is to be found in these laneways, with unique and surprising discoveries waiting around countless corners.

As at 22 May 2006.