Local eyes sought for new NGV Contemporary in Southbank

By Ellen Blake

A competition to design Southbank’s new NGV Contemporary gallery has been launched by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and the state government.

Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said the competition to design the country’s largest public gallery of contemporary art was only open to Australian entrants.

“This landmark project offers an extraordinary opportunity for Victoria and Australia’s architectural community to shape our creative state for decades to come,” Mr Pearson said.

NGV Trustee Corbett Lyon chairs the competition’s jury, which also includes NGV director Tony Ellwood and Victorian government architect Jill Garner.

Located at Southbank Boulevard, the gallery would span 30,000 sqm and house NGV’s growing collection of Australian and global contemporary art, design, fashion and architecture.

The new gallery provides extra space to display art and design from NGV’s permanent collection and large-scale exhibitions, such as the Triennial series.

NGV Contemporary will connect the Southbank neighbourhood and St Kilda Rd through 18,000 sqm of new elevated public gardens.

Premier Daniel Andrews described NGV Contemporary as an “Australian-designed global icon” that would help reinvigorate the state’s economy.

“In its design, construction, operations, exhibitions and programs, the gallery will create thousands of local jobs and boost our economic recovery,” Mr Andrews said.

NGV Contemporary is part of the first phase of the $1.46 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, which will redevelop the face of Southbank’s Arts Precinct.

The second phase of the transformation will see a new building developed for Arts Centre Melbourne at 1 City Rd, as well an upgrade to the theatre buildings •