"The Art of Being Melbourne examines the imaging and imagining of a city. Melbourne's remarkable youth, accelerated development and remote perspective offer a unique insight into the creation and ideation of a city. Through the eyes of artists we watch as Melbourne oscillates between Place and Idea. More than simply a stidy of art or history, this book is witness to the miraculous metamorphosis of a single location over two centuries, and the parallel invocation of culture and identity." -- Back cover.

Based on recently discovered letters, this book tells the story of Paul Montford 1868-1938, who, as Basil Burdett described,left his mark so definitely on the civic landscape in Melbourne.

Over two years, writer Nick Gadd and his wife Lynne circled the city of Melbourne on foot, starting at Williamstown and ending in Port Melbourne. Along the way they uncovered lost buildings, secret places and mysterious signs that told of forgotten stories and curious characters from the past. Soon after they completed the circle, Lynne passed away from cancer. Melbourne Circle is the story of their journey, a memoir, and a stunning meditation on personal loss. ‘What a gem this book is! Oddity, wonderment, weirdness: these splendid essays reveal a marvellous Melbourne most of us have never encountered before. This is a psychogeography dense with vernacular history, humane detail, and from beneath the shadow of grief, love.’ –­ Gail Jones, author of Five Bells and The Death of Noah Glass ‘‘‘Psychojogging”’ and the pleasures of walking.’ – interview with Hilary Harper on Radio National, Life Matters ‘Marvellous Melbourne: the books that capture our city and its life.’ – The Age/Sydney Morning Herald ‘Melbourne Circle: Walking, Memory and Loss is a very special book. Just read it, and then take to the streets and walk with the same spirit of enquiry.’ – Sophie Cunningham, The Age ‘A beautiful meditation on the streets in which we live, ghosts, love and loss … While there is sadness in this book, Gadd writes with warmth, humour and a generosity of spirit.’ – Stephen Romei, The Weekend Australian ‘An endearing book about enduring love and serendipitous discoveries; of remnants of the past pasted onto old buildings, and the way these ghost signs are portals into another time.’ – The Saturday Paper

Berlinde De Bruyckere's work prompts the viewer to respond. That is why it has a particular appeal for writers of literature: they are fascinated by the compositions of distorted parts of humans and horses that refer to horror and comfort, to a cruel death and the sublime. De Bruyckere empties the bodies. Through holes, the public notices the darkness of a world inside that both appeals and repels. There is space around her work that resonates and in which writers can indulge in creativity -not by writing about objects, but by juxtaposing the work with creative texts. The author does not remove meanings of the work by trying to explain it, but rather adds to its meaning by responding to art with art. Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee rises to this challenge: together with De Bruyckere he has chosen fragments from his impassioned and unsettling novels that are full of great beauty. Thus, the two present a composition of texts and images that from inside illuminates the dark world of their work.

Melbourne is a great Art Deco city. From the towering police headquarters in Russell Street to the tiniest detail of a suburban interior, Art Deco styling maintains an enduring presence in all facets of Melbourne's cultural life. Melbourne Art Deco examines the rise, fall and resurgence of Art Deco in Melbourne from the 1930s to the present day. This updated edition features contemporary images by David Thompson and a team of photographers, supported by archival material.

Sasha Grishin is a leading Australian art historian, art critic and curator who has published some twenty books and over two thousand articles on various aspects of art. This book is his magnum opus, a comprehensive and definitive history of Australian art. Australian Art: A History provides an overview of the major developments in Australian art, from its origins to the present. The book commences with ancient Aboriginal rock art and early colonialists' interpretations of their surroundings, and moves on to discuss the formation of an Australian identity through art, the shock of early modernism and the notorious Heide circle. It finishes with the popular recognition of modern Indigenous art and contemporary Australian art and its place in the world.

This stunning publication is the first to examine in tandem the work and influence of two towering figures in contemporary art Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) are two of the most internationally renowned artists of the past 100 years, famous not only for their artwork but also for influencing the culture of their time. This exciting book is the first to consider the work of these artists alongside one another, in dialogue and in correspondence, to explore the artists' meticulous observations of modern and contemporary art, life, and politics. Andy Warhol's investigation of consumer society, fame, and celebrity offers thought-provoking points of connection with Ai Weiwei's interrogation of the relationship between tradition and modernity, the role of the individual to the state, questions of human rights, and the value of freedom of expression. Parallels also exist between the ways in which each artist transformed the understanding of artistic value and studio production, and redefined the role of the artist--as impresario, cultural producer, activist, and brand. Alongside beautifully reproduced images by both artists--including works by Ai Weiwei published here for the first time--are illuminating essays by an international team of art experts, curators, and scholars that survey the scope of the artists' careers and interpret the significant impact of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei on modern art and contemporary life. This deluxe, collectible catalogue is available in three different, limited-edition colors. Published in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Exhibition Schedule: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (12/11/15-04/24/16) The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (06/01/16-09/01/16)

What do we want and need from our public spaces? As the world emerges from the profound limitations imposed by the COVID-19 crisis, this reader offers a range of possibilities from the domain of art. With contributions from twenty-five leading Australian and international artists, writers and curators including Cuban artist and activist Tania Bruguera, Indonesian artist collective ruangrupa, British art historian and critic Claire Bishop and Gunditjmara artist and senior knowledge custodian Vicki Couzens, Let's Go Outside is a timely examination of creative practices in the public realm. From negotiating space in the settler-colonial context of Australia to responding to crises in the United States, Hong Kong and New Zealand, the reader's essays, case studies, interviews and visual contributions reveal how ideas and practices associated with remembrance, public history, urban regeneration, communality, accessibility and activism are challenging and innovating art in the public domain. Let's Go Outside takes up questions from the successful 2019 symposium Let's Go Outside: Making Art Public, presented by Monash University Museum of Art and Monash Art Projects (MAP), and reflects on the growing interest in making and presenting art outside of conventional gallery contexts. Contributors: Michelle Antoinette, Alison Atkinson-Phillips, Claire Bishop, Daniel Browning, Tania Bruguera, Danny Butt, Clara Cheung, Madeleine Collie, Emily Cormack, Vicki Couzens, Sean Dockray, Mel Dodd, Felicity Fenner, Blair French, Brian Fuata, Mish Grigor, Oscar Ho Hing-kay, Jonathan Jones, Callum McGrath, Grace McQuilten, Carmen Papalia, Nikos Papastergiadis, Sam Petersen, ruangrupa, Zara Stanhope