Monash University Public Art Tour

Architect: Artworks curated by Monash University

Further Afield | F10

Building Description

Contemporary art has played a central role in the life of Monash University. In 1961 with the foundation of the University, Vice Chancellor Sir Louis Matheson established a fund for the acquisition of artworks by living Australian artists, with a view to enriching the cultural life of the institution. Since that time, the University, together with the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), has worked with leading artists to conceive of public artworks that complement the distinctive modern architecture and indigenous landscaping of its campus.

Early works like Leonard French’s majestic stained-glass windows commissioned for the Robert Blackwood Hall (1969–70) have been joined by contemporary artworks that define the character of the University’s public spaces and create new focal points for social engagement. At Clayton, examples include Kulata Tjuta 2012–14, an installation of almost 300 hand-carved spears suspended from the ceiling of Sir Louis Matheson Library; Water-Orb 2018 by Natasha Johns-Messenger, featuring a seemingly gravity-defying flow of water; the startling intervention to the modernist façade of the University’s Biology Building by artist Callum Morton in collaboration with Kosloff Architecture and MAP (Monash Art Projects); and Megan Cope’s Weelam Ngalut (Our Place) 2018, which welcomes students and visitors onto Kulin Country and incorporates languages of the First Peoples of Australia.

What's On

Tours will be led by Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), taking visitors through indoor and outdoor sites on a trail of contemporary art. Book tours of other Monash University sites and make a day of it.