The best art exhibitions in Melbourne this month
Discover Melbourne's best art exhibitions and events happening in March
Summer might be over but March has plenty of art to keep you occupied as the weather cools. The NGV's blockbuster paying tribute to street art legends Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat is still drawing massive crowds, stepping back in time to connect with New York in the '80s. There's plenty else to see around the city, including Destiny Deacon's first solo exhibition in 15 years and a huge survey of Joy Hester to mark 100 years since the artist's birth.
Looking to get out of the gallery? See the best street art in Melbourne. And if you're after something a touch more dramatic, here's our hit-list of the best theatre in Melbourne this month.
Melbourne's best exhibitions in March
Joy Hester: Remember Me
Heide Museum of Modern Art is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Joy Hester’s birth with a huge survey of the artist’s work. Joy Hester: Remember Me encompasses more than 130 works from the Melbourne artist, spanning her earliest drawings as a student to her famously emotive ink paintings. Joy Hester: Remember Me also features works from some of the artist’s most renowned series such as ‘Incredible Night Dreams’, ‘Faces’, ‘Lovers’, and ‘Girls’.
The Otolith Group: Xenogenesis
London artists Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar – aka the Otolith Group – are presenting their first major Australian solo exhibition at Buxton Contemporary. Xenogenesis brings together five selected works created by the Otolith Group between 2013 and 2018. Through film, photography and audio, the works create worlds that tread the line between reality and science fiction, with the exhibition name stemming from sci-fi author Octavia Estelle Butler's Xenogenesis book trilogy.
The New Black Vanguard
The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion, comes to Bunjil Place Gallery as part of the Photo 2020 International Festival of Photography. With photographers hailing from London to Lagos, the exhibition challenges the idea of blackness as homogenous, and explores ideas around beauty, race and gender.
Destiny Deacon: Destiny
It’s difficult to believe that it’s been 15 years since Destiny Deacon has had a solo exhibition. The Torres Strait Islander artist’s work offers a darkly funny and frequently poignant look at contemporary Australian life. Deacon is best known for her photography, but there’ll be more than 100 multidisciplinary works on show, including video, sculpture and installation, drawn from 30 years of work.
Collecting Comme
The National Gallery of Victoria has always been quite forward-thinking in its integration of design and fashion into its exhibition program, but it also has a hugely impressive collection of design, including a heap of pieces from Japanese label Comme des Garçons.
Looking to get outside the gallery?
Where to find the best street art in Melbourne
Sure, street art covers almost every nook and cranny of our creative, colourful city, but there are more highly concentrated clusters than others. These are the street art hotspots that any self-respecting 'grammer should be snapping: the city's ten best street mural hotspots, in all their spray-painted laneway glory.