November 2007 - Exhibitions & Events
Exhibitions
Famous: Karin Catt portraits
A free exhibition of striking celebrity portraits by photographer Karin Catt. These iconic images of famous faces, from Eminem to Mikhail Gorbachev, evoke the world of popular culture seen in the pages of Vogue and Rolling Stone. (A National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition.)
Time: Until 11 November, 10am–5pm daily
Venue: Keith Murdoch Gallery
Free
The changing face of Victoria
This fascinating exhibition highlights the people, places and events that have shaped life in Victoria over 200 years. Revisit Victoria's early years, view Ned Kelly’s original armour, and discover Melbourne stories and personalities.
Time: 10am–5pm daily
Venue: Dome Galleries, Level 5
Free
Mirror of the World: books and ideas
This magnificent exhibition showcases rare, beautiful and historically significant books from the Library’s collections. See treasures such as Audubon’s magnificent Birds of America, classic children’s books and 1950s pulp crime fiction.
Time: 10am–5pm daily
Venue: Dome Galleries, Level 4
Free
The Cowen Gallery
The elegant Cowen Gallery features a display of 150 works of art from the Library’s Pictures Collection, ranging from early scenes of Melbourne to contemporary portraits.
Time: Daily during Library hours
Venue: Cowen Gallery
Free
Victorians on Vacation
This delightful free exhibition traces the ways in which we have enjoyed holidays and leisure in Victoria since the 19th century – from the seaside and the ski slopes to camping and caravanning. It showcases historical and contemporary material from the Library's collection, including photographs, travel posters and guidebooks, postcards and 1950s home-movies.
Time: 30 November 2007–2 March 2008, 10am-5pm daily (until 9pm Thursdays)
Venue: Keith Murdoch Gallery
Free
Events
Victorians on Vacation: Free exhibition tour
Enjoy a lively and entertaining half-hour tour with the exhibition's curators, Clare Williamson and Julia Church. Hear fascinating stories about Victorians on vacation – on the beach, at the snow and in the bush!
Time: Friday 30 November, 11am & 3pm
Venue: Keith Murdoch Gallery
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
Digital Forum: Workforce planning in the library sector
Dr Gillian Hallam (Associate Professor, School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology) will report on her research into recruitment and retention practices in the Australian library and information sector, and its implications for the growth of librarianship as a profession.
Time: Tues 27 November, 9–10am
Venue: Meet at front entrance, 8.55am
Bookings: Not required (inquiries 03 8664 7113)
Free
Inga Clendinnen: Biography – The Impossible Art? (The National Biography Award Lecture 2007)
‘Biography pretends that a life can be told, when experience teaches us that it cannot,' wrote Virginia Woolf. 'We suppress the knowledge, because we have a need for stories, a need to make sense of lives.’ Inga Clendinnen's lecture will gloss Woolf's uncomfortable insights. (Presented in association with the State Library of NSW.)
Time: Wed 7 November, 6.30–7.30pm
Venue: Village Roadshow Theatrette (Entry 3, La Trobe Street)
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Cost: $12 ($10 concession and Foundation members)
National Poetry Slam 07: Victorian final
Don’t miss the spoken-word event of the year, as wordsmiths and performance poets from across the state battle it out to win the Victorian final of the National Poetry Slam. With Philip Norton as MC, plus special guests. Drinks available for purchase.
Time: Thurs 22 November, 6.30–8.30pm
Venue: Experimedia
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Cost: $10/$8 concession, State Library of Victoria Foundation members
Creative fellows: Free talks
Each of the speakers in this series has undertaken research as part of a recent Creative Fellowship at the State Library of Victoria.
Escaping Lilliput: Kirsty Murray
Hear award-winning children's author Kirsty Murray discuss her latest project, a new novel for younger readers, Escaping Lilliput. From the early 1880s, Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company recruited children from working-class Melbourne families and the Melbourne Orphan Asylum to perform in theatrical tours of Australia and New Zealand.
Time: Thurs 8 November, 5–6pm
Venue: Cowen Gallery
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
Gentlemen Amateur Collectors in Port Phillip: Elizabeth Willis
In the early years of European settlement in Port Phillip and Victoria (around 1835–55), a number of ‘gentlemen amateurs’ collected significant items of Victorian Aboriginal material culture, some of which remain in European museum collections. Hear writer Elizabeth Willis, a former Senior Curator at Museum Victoria, discuss her research into the activities and motivations of the collectors.
Time: Tues 20 November, 5–6pm
Venue: Cowen Gallery
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
Courage: Maria Tumarkin
Maria Tumarkin will discuss her new book, Courage (MUP), which explores the contradictory but essentially human nature of courage, drawing upon the author's own experiences as well as accounts from other cultures. She argues that courage is often ‘messy, explosive and morally ambivalent’, rather than inspirational or spectacular. Maria's book Traumascapes was shortlisted in the 2006 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
Time: Thurs 22 November, 5–6pm
Venue: Cowen Gallery
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
The Quests and Questions of Home: Judy Horacek
Judy Horacek is known for her engaging and often hilarious cartoons, as well as children’s picture books, and her work is represented in the State Library's collection. Hear Judy discuss her research for a body of artwork about the concept of ‘home’. She is interested in 'ordinary lives, people whose lives have disappeared except for their presence in the Library’.
Time: Tues 27 November, 5–6pm
Venue: Cowen Gallery
Bookings: 03 8664 7016 or bookings@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
Fractional Identities: The Political Arithmetic of Aboriginal Victorians
Professor Janet McCalman will deliver the 2007 History Council of Victoria Annual Lecture. Professor McCalman is a historian who writes about people and the environments, events and forces that shape them. She has published three award-winning social histories of Melbourne life: Struggletown, Journeyings and Sex and Suffering: Women's health and a women's hospital, 1856–1996.
Time: Thurs 29 November, 6-8pm
Venue: Village Roadshow Theatrette (Entry 3, La Trobe Street)
Bookings: 03 8664 7261 or hcvexecofficer@slv.vic.gov.au (by Fri 23 November)
Cost: $10 ($5 concession)
Tours & Activities
The Summer Read
Take a break with a great Victorian book this summer! The Summer Read is the State Library’s holiday reading program for 2007-08. Choose from a selection of 20 great Victorian books (set in Victoria or by Victorian authors), including novels, stories and non-fiction titles. Vote for your favourite book by 1 February 2008 - you can vote online, by SMS, at your local library or by mail. By voting, you'll be in the running to win fantastic prizes! You can also join in events at public libraries, and share your reading experiences online. Details available online soon.
Library Tour
Join a free, one-hour guided tour to view the famous dome and visit the fascinating permanent exhibitions Mirror of the World: books and ideas and The changing face of Victoria.
Time: Mon–Fri, 2–3pm (except Cup Day)
Venue: Meet in front foyer
Bookings: Only necessary for groups; 03 8664 7279
Free
The Little Prince: A magical opera (music video)
Enjoy a free screening of this delightful children’s opera, based on Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince. This remarkable staged version features Teddy Tahu Rhodes (principal artist, Opera Australia) as the Pilot, and Aled Jones and Lesley Garrett, with supporting singers, children’s chorus and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Music by Rachel Portman; conducted by David Charles Abell.
Time: Wed 7 November, 12–1.30pm
Venue: Arts Reading Room
Bookings: Not required
Free
Great Pas de Deux! (music video)
A great classical ballet treat! This video showcases stunning pas de deux featuring some of the most celebrated ballet partnerships, with appearances by Fonteyn, Nureyev, Makarova, Baryshnikov, Mukhamedov and Bussell. Includes highlights from many of the world’s best-loved classical ballets including Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet and Sleeping Beauty.
Time: Wed 21 November, 12–2pm
Venue: Arts Reading Room
Bookings: Not required
Free
Activities for Kids
Storytime for Diabetes
Children will enjoy storytime and an art-and-craft activity, while parents meet a visiting educator from the Royal Children’s Hospital with information about diabetes and how it affects families. This activity marks World Diabetes Day (gold coin charity donation welcome).
Time: Wed 14 November, 11am–12noon
Venue: Experimedia
Bookings: Not required
Free
Sparky Stories
Free Sunday fun for kids aged 5 to 12! Create a digital story-book, complete with illustrations, based on your favourite story or one you've made up. Limited to seven children, so book soon! (Each child must be accompanied by an adult.)
Time: Sun 10am–12.30pm, weekly
Venue: Experimedia
Bookings: 03 8664 7555 or learning@slv.vic.gov.au
Free
Play Pod: Activities for kids
In the colourful and kid-friendly Play Pod space in Experimedia, children aged 3 to 5 can dip into favourite story-books anytime. For a more structured activity, ask for the Make a Book box to create your own book, or the Ned's Helmet box to make your own Ned Kelly helmet to take home. (Young children should be supervised by an adult.)
Time: During Library hours
Venue: Experimedia
Bookings: Not required
Free
Famous: Dress to impress!
Seen the exhibition Famous: Karin Catt portraits and think you can look better? Create your own celebrity portrait! Choose a costume, pose for our celebrity photographer and take your portrait home.
Time: Until 11 November, 10am–5pm daily
Venue: Experimedia
Bookings: Not required
Free
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