Overview
Come October, there'll be more than a splash of colour added to your daily commute, when eight of the city's trams are transformed into giant, moving artworks, for the seventh annual edition of Melbourne Art Trams.
Announced this week, the lineup of seven new artworks that'll cover the trams have been created by a crew of both emerging and established artists. An eighth tram will be decked out with a recreation of Lesley Dumbrell's 1986 design for Transporting Art – Melbourne's original tram art program, which ran from 1978 to 1993.
A collaboration between Melbourne International Arts Festival, Creative Victoria, Yarra Trams and Public Transport Victoria, the project sees local artists submit their own original tram-inspired designs, with a selection of these chosen to grace vehicles across the network for the next ten months.
This year, keep an eye out for the vibrant Marbaamarbaa garingali (multi-coloured native dog) by stencil artist Vandal, a photograph-inspired piece from Barkindji man Kent Morris, and Nyein Chan Aung's play on The Last Supper (below) featuring diners at Melbourne's legendary Supper Inn Chinese restaurant.
Nyein Chan Aung's design
The Beaconhills Year 3 Collective has created a Keith Haring-style tribute to friendship, Gene Bawden's work Yours, mine, ours celebrates moves towards diversity, Sophie Westerman's colourful design embraces both connection and isolation, and an intricate piece by Nusra Latif Qureshi nods to Melbourne's culture. Lesley Dumbrell's original design features a bold, geometric style, inspired by a long-ago trip to Italy.
The first of Melbourne's vibrant art trams will hit the tracks from October 8, with the fleet running until August 2020.
Images: Lesley Dumbrell's 1986 tram courtesy of the Public Record Office Victoria; designs by Vandal, Sophie Westerman, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Kent Morris, Gene Bawden and the Beaconhills Year 3 Collective.