Melbourne: Art, Architecture, Film, and Music
11 September 2026 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipThere are always interesting arts events in Melbourne in its myriad forms, and I am fortunate enough to live in the centre of many opportunities. There's a small exhibition currently at the NGV at Federation Square, "Plant Life", which includes historical, contemporary, international, and functional designs. I went to the curated tour with Marc C. (and attended a second time last weekend with Ashley M) with high expectations that were exceeded by Senior Curator Ewan McEoin. I also ended up in conversation with Alexi Freeman, the designer of the Mycelium Wildfire Jacket, with various RMIT material science researchers.
To give RMIT a second hat-tip, on Wednesday they hosted at The Capitol Theatre (a truly beautiful favourite venues), a screening of the documentary YUMI: The Whole World, about how a group of students at the University of the South Pacific in 2019 started a campaign to get the International Court of Justice to recognise "loss and damages" of climate change, which succeeded in 2025. The truly remarkable story was preceded by a rather expert panel of scholars and activists in Pacific matters, along with Professor Tim Flannery.
On the topic of beautiful venues, Liza D. and I recently went to the "Baklava and Blintz" concert at the Glen Eira Town Hall, with its beautiful deco style and features. It seemed that almost everyone from Glen Eira's not insubstantial Yiddish community was in attendance (the auditorium seats 475) as one was treated to the rustic charms of Bosnian stories, Klezmer, and music before being subjected to the punishment of New York jazz, which is simultaneously bland and grating. Several evenings later, I found myself in the more bland but acoustically superior Ian Woolf Auditorium in Kew for a Melbourne Sinfonia concert directed by Johannes Roose, with my friend Angela L. among the violin performers.
And just to round off the entertainment review, a couple of weeks back, Nitul D. organised a couple of us (including Karl B. and Liz B.) to visit The New Order, the local goth club that's been operating for twelve years at Club Pandora, a local South Melbourne venue. A regular attendee at clubs with such a style in the 80s and 90s, it was a bit of a blast. I do like the music (kudos to the DJ who played PIL, The Chameleons, and The March Violets) and I rather like the effort and style that people put on at such places, whilst accepting of this elder's scruffiness.
To give RMIT a second hat-tip, on Wednesday they hosted at The Capitol Theatre (a truly beautiful favourite venues), a screening of the documentary YUMI: The Whole World, about how a group of students at the University of the South Pacific in 2019 started a campaign to get the International Court of Justice to recognise "loss and damages" of climate change, which succeeded in 2025. The truly remarkable story was preceded by a rather expert panel of scholars and activists in Pacific matters, along with Professor Tim Flannery.
On the topic of beautiful venues, Liza D. and I recently went to the "Baklava and Blintz" concert at the Glen Eira Town Hall, with its beautiful deco style and features. It seemed that almost everyone from Glen Eira's not insubstantial Yiddish community was in attendance (the auditorium seats 475) as one was treated to the rustic charms of Bosnian stories, Klezmer, and music before being subjected to the punishment of New York jazz, which is simultaneously bland and grating. Several evenings later, I found myself in the more bland but acoustically superior Ian Woolf Auditorium in Kew for a Melbourne Sinfonia concert directed by Johannes Roose, with my friend Angela L. among the violin performers.
And just to round off the entertainment review, a couple of weeks back, Nitul D. organised a couple of us (including Karl B. and Liz B.) to visit The New Order, the local goth club that's been operating for twelve years at Club Pandora, a local South Melbourne venue. A regular attendee at clubs with such a style in the 80s and 90s, it was a bit of a blast. I do like the music (kudos to the DJ who played PIL, The Chameleons, and The March Violets) and I rather like the effort and style that people put on at such places, whilst accepting of this elder's scruffiness.
