MPavilion presents fast-paced 12-hour intellectual relay of ideas in celebration of final weekend

Melburnians are invited to MRelay, a 12-hour talkfest and conversation relay on Saturday 31 January in which some of the country's most insightful thinkers will engage in rapid exchanges of ideas. The free event will run from 11am until 11pm on the last Saturday of the four-month long presentation of the inaugural MPavilion, located in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens. Visitors can either join the full day or drop in to see individual speakers in a series of talks and short interviews.

The 12-hour marathon event is based around four tenets. The first, Paviliions, considers pavilions as architectural interventions or places of sociocultural transformation, and features speakers such as designer of current MPavilion Sean Godsell. The second, Intimate Publics, explores connectivity in the public realm and will be hosted by actress, comedian and radio presenter Jane Kennedy. The third, Dreaming, contemplates the role of imagination in space habitation, and is led by soprano, actor and composer Deborah Cheetham.  Full details of the MRelay program are available here.

Five metre high Buddha sculpture created from 20 tonnes of incense ash under construction at Carriageworks

Sydney Buddha under construction today - the final compacting of ash and the beginnings of aluminium casing removal.

In association with Sydney Festival, Carriageworks is currently preparing to present the largest installation ever created for Australia by internationally acclaimed artist Zhang Huan. Sydney Buddha comprises two five-metre tall sculptures of Buddha; one created from aluminium, which acts as a mould for the second, created from 20 tonnes of ash collected from Buddhist temples in China. The ephemeral ash Buddha will gradually disintegrate over the course of the exhibition, affected by exposure to the environment.

The highly influential and provocative Chinese-born artist Zhang Huan began his career in 1990s Beijing. Sydney Buddha continues his fascination with contemporary life as he engages with rituals that are central to Buddhist, Chinese and Tibetan histories.
 

Sydney Buddha will be shown from 8 January to 15 March, 10am to 6pm at Carriageworks. Admission is free to the public. Zhang Huan will be giving a free public talk on 8 January at 4pm in the Carriageworks space.

Melbourne's MPavilion to host live design and build event with teams of local artists as part of closing week celebrations

MPavilion is celebrating its final week with a packed calendar of free public events from 27 until 31 January 2015. The week opens on 27 January with a live design and construct collaboration between Melbourne design studios Assemble, Edwards Moore and SIBLING from 10am to 1pm.  Project BLOOM is devised by RMIT Design Hub and designed by Alisa Andrasek and Jose Sanchez of the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture. 

The artists may choose to work alone or in tandem when designing and building their sculptures. BLOOM uses game-like logic to create a collective building experience. The bright-pink components when connected allow the construction of a new landscape.

BLOOM was recently exhibited at the RMIT Design Hub as part of London Design Museum’s exhibition, The Future is Here. 

This event is free to the public and will be held at MPavilion, Queen Victoria Gardens off St Kilda Rd, Melbourne.