Photography MAP excursions

As part of our Semester 2 theme, Art and Architecture, our Photography MAP students got out and about on two fantastic excursions. First stop: the McClelland Sculpture Park. The weather was perfect, and while the park is just around the corner, not all students had visited before. We hunted for hidden sculptures tucked throughout the grounds, capturing them in their natural settings—communing with nature, exploring a mix of styles and materials. 

A couple of weeks later, we hit the city, starting from Melbourne Central and making our way to the newly refurbished Ian Potter Museum of Art at Melbourne Uni to see 65,000 Year, A Short History of Australian Art. This colossal exhibition of 400 artworks celebrates the brilliance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art while confronting the dark heart of Australia’s colonial history and proclaims the importance of Indigenous knowledge and agency. Students were blown away by the artworks on display, spanning from traditional to modern and everything in between—an exhibition truly not to be missed!

Next, we hopped on the tram to the RMIT Gallery, where we explored a playful exhibition  Auto-photo: A Life in Portrait. We learned the story of Allan Adler, Australia’s longest-serving photo booth technician. Fun, fascinating, and full of inspiration! Lunch followed at Melbourne Central, where some students couldn’t resist a spontaneous piano performance in the food court—what a classy way to enjoy a bite!

Our whirlwind adventure finished with a quick stop at the State Library to admire the iconic dome. In just a small area of the city, we experienced a feast of art and architecture, tried new ways of seeing, took heaps of photos, and, of course, had an absolute blast.