The NGV releases a virtual tour of its ‘Collecting Comme’ fashion exhibition
IMAGE BY EUGENE HYLAND
WORDS BY MAGGIE ZHOU
An ode to women and fashion.
We’ve seen Australian artists opening their homes, beloved exhibits digitised and renowned artists offering drawing classes as the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) innovates ways of distributing art to its at-home, sweatpants-wearing, banana-bread-baking audience.
Over on its website, the NGV has launched NGV Channel, a platform for virtual tours, music performances, drawing classes, teaching resources and reading pleasures – an artistic Netflix, if you will.
Content is added weekly, and the latest additions are two virtual tours led by NGV curators. They’ve offered an intimate guided walkthrough of the NGV’s latest acquisitions by female artists in the Women in Art: 17th – 18th Century tour and an in-depth and immersive tour of the Collecting Comme exhibit.
In the nine-minute Women in Art tour, NGV Assistant Curator of Collections and Research Dr. Maria Quirk takes viewers on a historical journey exploring female artists from Europe during the 17th and 18th century. Maria stops by four prominent artworks by Mary Beale, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Lady Elizabeth Templeton and The Birmingham Ladies Society for The Relief of Negro Slaves. From inside the hallowed halls of the NGV, Maria talks about the artists behind the works and the stories that led to their creation.
Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles Danielle Whitefield leads the Collecting Comme exhibition tour. It takes a look at the extensive works of Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, founder of Comme des Garçons. With over 65 outfits from more than 40 collections, Danielle walks through Rei’s various collections, design processes and disruptive ideas. In the 14-minute video, Danielle also acknowledges the generosity of Takamasa Takahashi, an NGV donor who kindly gifted pieces from his own collection for this exhibition.
These educational videos give NGV fans a reminiscent taste of its free guided, in-person tours – just without the clamouring school groups and the hushed whispers of other visitors. Not a bad compromise, really.
Pictured is NGV donor and Comme des Garçons collector Takamasa Takahashi with coat and trousers, 2012 2 Dimensions collection autumn–winter 2012–13.
Collecting Comme opened 31 October 2019 at NGV International, Melbourne.
Liked this? You’ll love these...
