Melbourne Art Trams Explained

The Melbourne Art Trams is a major public art project in Melbourne, Australia. It is a revival and re-imagining of the Transporting Art project which ran from 1978 to 1993 and saw 36 painted W-class trams rolled out across the Melbourne network.

Melbourne Festival reinvigorated the project in 2013 with an annual expression of interest process from Victorian-based artists.[1] Seven professional and one emerging artist are commissioned each year, with their artwork digitally printed on vinyl and applied to modern trams. The eight designs are released onto the network each October as part of Melbourne Festival's visual art program.[2]

In 2017, one design celebrated the 20 year anniversary of the shared history of tram workers and decorated trams in Melbourne and Kolkata, India.[3] [4] In 2018, the project was renewed for three years.[5]

The project is funded by Melbourne Festival, Creative Victoria, Public Transport Victoria and Yarra Trams.

Artists

Melbourne Art Trams artists 2013-2018!Artist!Project year
Freya Pitt 2013
Brook Andrew2013
Rose Nolan2013
David Wadelton2013
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)2013
Bindi Cole2013
Jon Campbell2013
Joining Forces2013
Jeff Makin2014
Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi2014
Kristin Headlam2014
James Cattell2014
Christian Thompson2014
Janine Daddo2014
Rone2014
Callum Croker2014
Stephen Banham2015
Matthew Bird & Philip Adams2015
Martine Corompt2015
Louise Forthun2015
Amanda Morgan2015
Kathy Temin2015
Tom Vincent2015
James Voller2015
Damiano Bertoli2016
Eddie Botha2016
Jon Cattapan2016
Eliza Dyball2016
Megan Evans and Eve Glenn2016
Jocelin Lee2016
Mimi Leung2016
Reko Rennie2016
Emma Anna2017
Matthew Clarke2017
Bushra Hasan2017
Oliver Hutchison2017
Justine McAllister2017
Josh Muir2017
Robert Owen2017
St Albans Heights Primary School's Community Hub2017
Hayley Millar-Baker2018
David Larwill2018
Nick Howson2018
Oli Ruskidd2018
Oslo Davis2018
Stephen Baker2018
Troy Innocent2018
Valerie Tang2018
Nyein Aung2019
Sophie Westerman2019
Kent Morris2019
Nusra Latif Qureshi2019
Lesley Dumbrell2019
Gene Bawden2019
Tricia Van Der-Kuyp2019
Beaconhills College2019

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Melbourne's art trams back on track. Cuthbertson. Debbie. 2013-05-28. The Age. en. 2018-06-04.
  2. Web site: Subscribe to The Australian Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps. www.theaustralian.com.au. en. 2018-06-04.
  3. News: Change for Kolkata: Melbourne Art Tram's Indian connection. 2017-10-08. ABC News. 2018-06-04. en-AU.
  4. Web site: How a Melbourne 'connie' saved India's tram system. Clifton. Hannah. 2017-10-05. The Age. en. 2018-06-04.
  5. Web site: Melbourne Art Trams EOIs now open ArtsHub Australia. www.artshub.com.au. 2018-05-28.