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                    Hero Apartment Building commissions

                    A large billboard on an orange-brick building depicting women in muslim headgear and dark glasses

                    Warsan Mohammed, Becoming, 2022​ Photo: Will Hamilton-Coates, courtesy PHOTO Australia

                    The City of Melbourne has partnered with the Hero Apartment Building Owners Corporation to present a series of billboard-scale public art commissions on the facade of the iconic residential building in Melbourne’s CBD.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​The current commission Becoming by Warsan Mohammed is presented by CIty of Melbourne and PHOTO Australia.

                    Warsan Mohammed, Becoming, 2022

                    Becoming is the story of an unnamed protagonist as she anticipates the future and works towards truly becoming herself.

                    Somali/Australian artist Warsan Mohammed chronicles the community and friendship between black Muslim women as she has experienced it. She pays homage to the importance of sacred, safe spaces, allowing them to be their authentic selves, both in the present and as they aspire toward the future. Sustaining the strength of sisterhood is vital for the sustainability of future generations to be proud of their African heritage.

                    In Becoming, we are reminded that the acceptance of oneself is an ongoing journey. 

                    Key dates


                    ​​Event
                    ​Date
                    ​Expression of interest opens
                    ​Wednesday 24 May 2023
                    ​Expression of interest closes
                    Wednesday 14 June​ 2023
                    ​Artists notified of shortlist outcome
                    ​Thursday 29 June 2023
                    ​Artwork development
                    ​Monday 3 July to Monday 31 July 2023
                    ​Shortlisted artists to submit proposed artwork file
                    ​Monday 31 July 2023
                    ​Shortlisted artists notified of final selection
                    ​Tuesday 8 August 2023
                    ​Artwork installation
                    ​Mid-September 2023


                    Expression of Interest process

                    ​Stage one 

                    Open Expression of Interest. 

                    Stage two 

                    Three shortlisted artists will receive $1000 to develop an artwork proposal. 

                    Stage three ​

                    One artist will be selected and receive $5000 to deliver the final artwork file with installation managed by the City of Melbourne. ​

                    Hero Apartment Building commissions FAQs

                    How do I apply?

                    1. ​Read the guidelines below thoroughly. 
                    2. Complete the application form with your personal details, a short biography and a short statement about your art practice. 
                    3. Upload a maximum of three images to the link in the application form by the closing date. ​​

                    Am I eligible to apply?

                    ​This expression of interest is open to all artists who are resident in Victoria.

                    Only one entry per artist will be considered.​

                    Do I need to submit a final artwork proposal?

                    ​An artwork proposal will not be required for the first stage of the expression of interest. 

                    Shortlisted artists will receive a fee to produce an artwork proposal.  ​

                    Will I have to pay for installation and printing costs?

                    ​Fabrication, installation and de-installation costs will be covered by City of Melbourne.  ​

                    ​Guidelines​

                    Full details of the commission are outlined in the following guidelines. 

                    ​Questions?

                    Please read the guidelines document and if you still have questions email us at publicart@melbourne.vic.gov.au​. ​

                    Current commission​

                    Previous commissions

                    Scotty So, 'Through the office window looking glass', 2022

                    ​Melbourne-based artist Scotty So, appears performing as his drag persona Scarlett So Hung Son, in a colourful 1960s office tableaux that ‘reinstates’ the first-floor windows of the Hero Apartment building. 

                    While So’s Through the office window looking glass is firstly informed and fortified by the genuine history of the building, the expanded concept interleaves layers of real and fabricated histories that critique authenticity and characterise So’s practice.

                    Artist Scotty So works across painting, photography, sculptures, site responsive installation, videos and drag performance. Driven by the thrill of camp, he explores the often contradictory relationship between humour and sincerity within lived experience. Born and raised in Hong Kong, So holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne and has exhibited his work in Hong Kong, China and Australia. He is represented by MARS gallery.

                    James Geurts, 'Aperture f/1.2_Shallow Inlet', 2022

                    Melbourne artist James Geurts’ photographic work Aperture f/1.2_Shallow contemplates the relationship between the optics of the human eye, the mechanics of a constructed lens and earth’s orbital dependence on the light of the sun.  

                    The photograph of​ a time specific site-action involved collecting the solar energy from that day to illuminate the sculpture at the exact time the sun disappears at the horizon – the threshold of day and night. The immense panorama draws the eye to the outer edges of the landscape that overlooks the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilsons Promontory.

                    Geurts’ conceptually driven practice often draws a line from the primordial to the technological, to investigate concepts of time and perception, working across Australia and internationally. Through abstraction, fieldwork, site interventions and studio research, Geurts typically focuses on the way that cultural and natural forces intersect to shape not only landscape but perception itself. For further information about the artist see James Geurts​. ​​​​​

                    Watch a video of the work.​ 

                    Aylsa McHugh, ‘Persona’, 2020

                    Melbourne artist Aylsa McHugh’s artwork Persona was selected for the inaugural commission in 2020. McHugh’s artwork used vintage portraits of hair models, inventively collaged with pictures of sculptures from the modernist period. In these playful images, the sculptures have been shrunk and employed as a form of decorative adornment on each model’s face. These works examine our tendency to find connections and seek a certain solace in seeing order where none exists. 

                    Aylsa McHugh holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her practice incorporates a variety of media and draws from a wide range of influences including architecture, modernism, sculpture, fashion, film, and urbanisation.​​

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