Freestyle exhibition installation at Melbourne Museum
Photographer: Brian Parkes
Freestyle: new Australian design for living
Freestyle: new Australian design for living brings together the work
and stories of 40 outstanding Australian designers from the fields of furniture,
lighting, textiles, homewares, fashion, jewellery and accessories. This exhibition
aims to reflect the character, vibrancy and increasing maturity of contemporary
design in Australia. Handmade one-off and limited edition design objects are
showcased and considered alongside industrially manufactured items and
prototypes – reflecting the breadth and nature of design excellence
and innovation in Australia. Intriguing aspects of the personality, passion
and process of the individual designers is revealed and their work is placed
within broader personal and cultural contexts. Freestyle provides
a unique and timely overview
of contemporary object design in Australia.
Curated by Object’s Associate Director Brian Parkes
and accompanied by a major publication – with exhibition design and
identity by internationally acclaimed Frost Design – this compelling
survey exhibition is a first-time collaboration between Melbourne Museum and
Object Gallery. Opening in Melbourne, Freestyle travels to Sydney
before embarking on a national and
international tour. Melbourne Museum is a venue of Museum Victoria, a statutory
authority funded by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria. Together
with Freestyle’s Principal Sponsor Bombay Sapphire, Object
Gallery and Melbourne Museum aim to promote Australia’s design excellence
both within Australia and globally.
Museum Victoria
Melbourne Museum is known for its innovative exhibitions and bold architecture,
and attracts close to 700,000 visitors a year to the historic Carlton Gardens
site. It is one of 3 dynamic museums operated by Museum Victoria, Australia's
largest public museum organisation.
Using the latest technology and interpretation methods, Melbourne Museum
gives visitors an unforgettable insight into the nature of culture of Victoria
and Australia. It has won awards for excellence in tourism, exhibition development,
architecture, marketing, public relations,
engineering, filmmaking, multi-media and building construction.
Melbourne Museum’s Designed to Inspire program is the Museum’s long term commitment to offer public recognition of the work of talented emerging and practicing designers. The role of the Museum is to increase design literacy in the general public, to broaden national and international awareness of the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian design, and to enhance Victoria as a centre of design excellence.
Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design
One of Australia’s most innovative arts organisations, Object passionately
supports and promotes design through exhibitions, publications and retail
activities. From furniture to fashion, textiles to glass, from the newly discovered
to the most established designers, Object showcases the work of hundreds of
talented Australians every year.
Object presents its acclaimed exhibitions at its prestigious venue – Object Gallery in Surry Hills – and beyond. From Sydney to Singapore, Tokyo to London, Object Gallery exhibitions and Object Magazine take design across Australia and to over 70 countries around the world.
As a non-profit organisation, Object aims to heighten awareness of outstanding
design and
promote an appreciation of contemporary visual culture in Australia. Celebrating
over 40 years of supporting the design community, Object continues its strong
reputation as a dynamic,
contemporary and progressive design centre.