/ Current Exhibitions

SPOOKS
Stories of Haunted Melbourne
4 July to 26 August 2007

Under the watchful eye of the ghost of Old Treasury, Spooks unearths the paranormal goings on of haunted Melbourne. A city bursting with ornate and gothic theatres, abandoned prisons and creaking old mansions – Melbourne offers a wealth of popular ‘haunts’ for those forever caught between here and the afterlife.

Spooks reveals the ghostly stories behind over twenty of our most loved haunted buildings and places, from the Princess Theatre and Old Melbourne Gaol, to Como House, Werribee Park Mansion and beyond. The exhibition recounts the lives of figures from history who lived or worked in these grand buildings, private homes and public spaces – and who may still move among us today.

Threaded amongst these compelling stories is documentary evidence suggesting the existence of ghosts, recorded by paranormal investigators. Spooks also combines moving images with contemporary art and historical artefacts to bring to life Melbourne heritage in an ethereal shroud of mystery and possibility.

EXHIBITION SUPPORTER:

The 2007 Bald Archy Prize
30 June to 29 July 2007

Returning in 2007 by popular demand! It’s irreverent, witty, crazy and ‘just for fun’. It’s the only art competition in the world judged by a sulphur-crested cockatoo, named Maude! Created in 1994 as a spoof of the Archibald Prize, the ‘Bald Archy’ provides artists of all styles and standards with a genuine opportunity, ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar, to create portrait paintings of humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature.

Subjects this year include Jamie Packer, Amanda Vandstone, Julia Gillard, Dame Edna Everage, John Howard and Peter Costello, Hugh Jackman, Bindi Irwin, and Eddie McGuire.

EXHIBITION SUPPORTERS:

Making Melbourne

Tracing the story of the city from early settlement to the present day.

Built on Gold

The story of Victoria’s gold, its journey and legacy in the years 1852-1862.

Growing Up in the Old Treasury

Recreating the caretaker’s apartments, as occupied 1916-1928.

Gold and Prosperity

The Vizard Foundation collection of colonial gold and silver.

/ Coming Up

Artefact
28 July 2007 to 24 February 2008

Artefact is where art meets historical relic in Making Melbourne, City Museum’s chronological survey of Melbourne’s evolution. Thirteen contemporary artists weave their small-scale works through the historical artefacts of the permanent exhibition – works that grapple with questions of narrative, with traditional forms of display, with diorama and the relationship between physical objects and technology.

Artefact enriches Making Melbourne with the mystery and seduction of craft-based art practice, just as the museological context of Old Treasury’s nineteenth century environs inject an elegiac disquiet into the contemporary installations, playing off their allusions to grandeur.

/ Events

Tuesdays at 5.15pm
Haunted City Museum Ghost Tours
Let Guide Drew Sinton lead you on an unforgettable tour to some of Melbourne’s most haunted and mysterious buildings.
Includes a private viewing of Spooks: Stories of Haunted Melbourne.
Tours depart steps of City Museum at Old Treasury at 5.15pm.
July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31, August 7, August 14, August 21.
$20 / $18 concession
Book early – numbers strictly limited

Tuesday 10 July and
Wednesday 11 July
10.30am-noon
Ghost Stories
Is the Old Treasury building haunted? Explore the building and see for yourself. Visit the 'Spooks' exhibition. Listen to ghost stories in a darkened vault and then write your very own ghost story.
$7 per child, for 9-12 year olds

Saturday 21 July
2.00pm
Cartooning Workshop
Join respected cartoonist Richard Mitchell for an insight into the creative processes behind The Bald Archy prize, before creating your own cartoon masterpiece in this all-ages workshop.
$20 / $15 concession

Wednesday 15 August
2.00pm
Floor Talk
Join Stephanie McCormick for an insight into life for the Maynard Family, who lived in the Old Treasury Gold Vaults from 1916 to 1928.
Free with entry

Thursday 23 August
2.00pm
Curator Talk
Join curator Simon Gregg for a tour of Artefact.
Free with entry

For more information and bookings for all events please contact City Museum on (03) 9651 2233.