Gold for Metro Tunnel Creative Program

While digging twin nine-kilometre tunnels and building five new train stations up to 40 metres below Melbourne’s streets has brought some challenges, it’s also led to an explosion of public art. Now the Metro Tunnel Creative Program has been recognised with a gold award in the Urban Design category of the Melbourne Design Awards 2021. The program runs free activities, events and public art exhibitions to bring life and colour to the city during construction of the Metro Tunnel. Works have included the PHOTO 2021 exhibition Alpine Moth in the Royal Botanic Gardens, the massive rainbow design spatial deconstruction #23 (resilience) on the Town Hall acoustic shed on Swanston St, and pop-up parks at Albert Road Reserve and Domain Rd. The gold award celebrates creativity and innovation in designing and shaping cities, towns, and villages. Director of communications and creative at Cross Yarra Partnership Mary Parker said the award showed the importance of art to construction projects. “The program is getting more and more recognition – nationally and internationally,” she said. “It’s being seen as a best practice place-making program, delivering art and activations, business support and improved public spaces around our construction sites.” “This is another well-deserved award for the program which continues to keep the city vibrant during such a tricky period – particularly for our city businesses and creative industries.” Artists for Creative Program works are chosen after registering for an artist pool, with more than 64 artists and performers receiving commissions through the program so far. Highlights of the program have included the life-sized photographic portraits of medical staff that adorned hoardings near the Parkville Station construction site, which even featured on a New York Times front page. More recently The Flinders Quarter Augmented Art Walk in Melbourne’s CBD was an art exhibition that used augmented reality (AR) to bring artworks to life through digital animation and sound using a smartphone. If you’d like to keep up with what’s happening in the Metro Tunnel Creative Program, you can go to metrotunnel.vic.gov.au •