NGV FRIDAY NIGHTS: ALEXANDER McQUEEN
Start your weekend with a visit to NGV Friday Nights and the groundbreaking exhibition, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse. NGV’s Great Hall and Garden are transformed with live-music and pop-up bars inspired by ‘90s London and the innovation, romance and theatricality of McQueen’s work. See Melbourne’s best DJs take residence in the 2022 Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom as well as a line-up of unmissable bands performing in the Great Hall, alongside rare screenings of some of McQueen’s most iconic runway collections. Music sounds better on a Friday night.
PERFORMANCES
NAI PALM
Great Hall
8–9pm
Nai Palm is the kind of artist that arrives once in a generation. A three-time Grammy nominated songwriter from Australia. She is a composer, instrumentalist, producer, vocalist and poet who approaches these self-taught disciplines with an intuitive, infectious grace, which has sent her on a journey to sculpt songs that have been received and treasured across the world. Her band Hiatus Kaiyote’s records and live shows won them raves in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and in the New York Times, where Jon Pareles wrote that “Hiatus Kaiyote’s music stretches and bends every parameter.”
C.FRIM
2022 NGV Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom, Grollo Equiset Garden
6–8pm
9–10pm
C.FRIM bellows a massive sound, spinning drum-driven cuts that step, bounce, sway, and shuffle. As a DJ, she draws from her own singular blueprint — with taste shaped by her perspective as a member of the Ghanaian-Filipina diaspora, growing up on a healthy diet of hybridized musical styles. C.FRIM blends global club sounds that are urgent and forward-thinking, while evoking deep feelings of nostalgia. Her eclecticism reflects an artist and DJ with a confidence in vision and a desire to keep pushing boundaries, collapsing walls between cultural silos and championing her own refreshingly distinct style.
EXHIBITIONS
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
See the first major Australian exhibition to focus on Alexander McQueen, one of the most extraordinary and significant fashion designers in recent memory. McQueen’s far-reaching sources of inspiration, his creative process and his capacity for story-telling are showcased across 120 garments and accessories alongside more than 80 artworks, including painting, sculpture, photography and more. Your NGV Friday Nights ticket includes entry to the exhibition.
Freedom of Movement: Contemporary Art and Design from the NGV Collection
Don’t miss Freedom of Movement, a new exhibition featuring more than 60 works of contemporary art and design by some of the most recognisable names working today, including Patricia Piccinini, KAWS, nendo, Paola Pivi, Nick Cave, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Shilpa Gupta, Alicja Kwade, Daniel Arsham and Alex Prager.
2022 NGV Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom | Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang
Grab a cocktail and enjoy the sunset from Temple of Boom, a newly built reimagining of the Parthenon situated in the garden. Over the summer, Melbourne-based artists will take turns painting the installation with overlapping large-scale artworks, creating an ever-changing backdrop for the line-up of Friday Nights DJs.
DINING
Enjoy English classics all night, in celebration of McQueen’s childhood in East London. Snack on your choice of fish and chips, crispy pork belly, cheese selections and more.
Yering Station Wine Bar
Complete your after-hours experience by visiting the Yering Station Wine Bar in the Great Hall. Choose from a menu of fine wines from the Yarra Valley or a selection of three for a memorable wine-tasting experience.
Moët Champagne Bar
Let Moët & Chandon light up your NGV Fridays experience; serving the iconic Moët Impérial, the glamourous Moët Rosé Impérial and the famed Moët Minis from the Moët Mini-Matic.
Four Pillars Gin Bar
Make the most of the longer days and relax in the Grollo Equiset Garden with the Four Pillars bar serving up gin cocktails and good times. Enjoy a classic and refreshing G&T or try a Four Pillars original cocktail.