MPavilion, a new architecture and commission and design event for Melbourne, has unveiled an ambitious, four-moth public program of 118 free events that will activate a temporary Sean Godsell-designed pavilion in the Queen Victoria Gardens as a vibrant hub for architecture, design and ideas.

To take place from October 7 to February 1, 2015, the inaugural MPavilion will offer Melburnians and visitors the chance to engage with a dynamic program comprising 20 talks, 28 workshops, 18 music events, 14 film screenings, seven walking and bike tours, four art interventions, two dance performances and much more.

“MPavilion brings together architecture, design, art and performance under the one roof this spring and summer,” said Naomi Milgrom AO, chair of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation which commissioned the program.

“We’re aiming to create a new meeting place and cultural hub for Melbourne, engaging people of all ages with our vibrant four-month program that has been created working with 135 collaborators from Australia and around the world.”

A number of event series presented during the period include:

MTalks, Tuesday evenings from October until December – a series of 10 discussions that will showcase leading minds and innovative ideas. Panellists include Milgrom, London’s Serpentine Galleries’ director Julia Peyton-Jones OBE, and architect Sean Godsell. Urban designer Rob Adams AM, fashion academic Robyn Healy and designer Callum Morton will also speak as part of MTalks, along with a host of researchers, designers and curators from Melbourne’s cultural institutions and universities.

One Night Stand, throughout November – a series of art interventions responding to the transient and temporary nature of MPavilion, including live art, sonic lullabies, ambient installations and guided explorations. One Night Stand will transform MPavilion and the surrounding gardens with art installations such as ‘Leaf House Music’, where over the course of a week, Slow Art Collective’s Dylan Martorell and Chaco Kato will gather plant debris from the site to create an indoor installation.

MMeets, Wednesdays and weekends – programmed by Melbourne-based studio, Office for Good Design, this series of free gatherings invite Melburnians to use the pavilion as a clubhouse, meeting place, and starting point, promoting wellness and exploring the value and impact of design and creativity. Highlights include a Make Meet event led by journal Assemble Papers and illustrator James Gulliver Hancock, with participants to be guided in the creation of a communal map of the city’s underrated civic spaces.

Band Meet with Super Critical Mass, weekend of 22 and 23 November – a part of MMeets and presented as part of Melbourne Music Week, this event is a bell-ringing workshop led by international sonic project Super Critical Mass.

MMusic, Sunday October 19 until end January 2014 – a weekly series of free Sunday afternoon listening and picnic parties starring Melbourne DJs and musicians. On the third Sunday of every month, MMusic programming is led by the Melbourne Recital Centre, while the two weekends on 7 and 14 December will see DJ-based performances by Misha Hollenbach and Conrad Standish. Other performers include producer Andras Fox, who is known for tactile, imperfect electronic music, and Laila, co-founder of the monthly Day Care parties held on the roof top of the Carlton Club.

Cathedrals of Culture – a six-part documentary filmed in 3D and directed by six acclaimed filmmakers in their idiosyncratic styles that seeks to uncover the cultural significance of six iconic buildings. Having premiered at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival, it will be shown at MPavilion collaborator ACMI as part of a program of 13 screenings. Melbourne-based thinkers DIS-cour.se will expand on the themes explored in Cathedrals of Culture at a discussion evening and experimental audio tour of the urban terrain between ACMI and MPAvilion.

Landscape designer Paul Bangay will also lead a tour of his designs, including the perennial borders surrounding MPavilion. This is a rare chance to learn directly from Bangay, who will offer advice on how to grow and design your own garden border.

Melbourne Festival 2014, 10 – 26 October 2014 – Melbourne Festivalhas partnered with MPavilion to present a number of talks, musical performances and workshops. This includes a performance by the New York-based Trisha Brown Dance Company (24 October), and two Westside Circus workshops inviting people of all ages to learn or develop a physical skill inspired by circus activity.

Other highlights include renowned harpist Marshall McGuire who will play both modern and baroque harps; Jun Tian Yun He Ensemble performing traditional and modern Chinese compositions; and an intimate concert by Melbourne wind quintet, The Arcadia Quartet.

Inspired by the London’s Serpentine Pavilion, the inaugural ‘cultural clubhouse’ will be designed by architect Sean Godsell, and features a simple steel structure with glazed roof and fully automated outer skin. The pavilion will be revealed on Monday, October 6.

For information on the full MPavilion public program and other details please visit mpavilion.org. Entry to MPavilion and all public events is free.

Geraldine Chua

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