Incinerator Gallery installs accessible lift, launches new exhibitions
City of Moonee Valley’s flagship visual arts venue, Incinerator Gallery, is pleased to announce that an accessible lift has been installed and will be ready for use from Friday 31 January, to coincide with the launch of a series of brand-new exhibitions showing from 1 February – 30 March 2025.
Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC) received $211,750 in funding from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing for the purchase and installation of an accessible lift at the Incinerator Gallery Complex as part of the Universal Design Funding Round 2022.
As part of developing MVCC’s long term strategy, MV2040, council sought extensive community input including pop-up events, a community symposium, consultations with the Disability Advisory Committee, YourSay website engagement and more. This helped Council develop five healthy city themes. One of these is ‘fair’. For the estimated five per cent of people in Moonee Valley with disability and their Carers, ‘fair’ means having access to popular facilities. It means feeling safe, included and engaged.
The Incinerator Gallery curatorial approach is underpinned by the idea of art for social change. Through its exhibitions, workshops and events, the gallery brings together diverse artists with a wide range of creative practices, many of whom live with disability. As such, it is vital that the gallery offers artists equal access to its spaces. Installing a DDA compliant lift directly addresses access needs identified by the community and is an important step in achieving a fair city.
The DDA compliant lift has automatic doors, ensuring that all people can easily and independently access the lift, and spaces throughout the Incinerator Gallery. By improving the accessibility of the building, the gallery will become a more inclusive space for people with disability to work in, thus offering greater employment and economic benefits to people with disabilities across Moonee Valley. It will improve access for Council staff with disabilities, artists working in the space and for the public.
The brand-new lift will be ready for use from the Opening Night Event on 31 January 2025, 6pm – 8pm, where audiences can also view the new exhibitions:
CHTHONIC CHORUS
The new group exhibition, CHTHONIC CHORUS, is part of Midsumma Festival’s 2025 keynote program, Midsumma Presents, and is curated by Jake Treacy, Exhibition Curator, Incinerator Gallery, Moonee Valley City Council. CHTHONIC CHORUS unfolds as an imagined archaeological site, where queer theories unsettle normative, binary views of the past. Location: Main Gallery.
From Things Flow What We Call Time
In this exhibition, visual artist John Brooks’ textile practice explores the entanglements between ancient weaving technologies, industrial history, and contemporary digital culture. Location: The Atrium
A Gift of Cherry Guavas and Hibiscus Flowers
This exhibition by artist Kieran Butler reflects on the complexities of gift economies within cultural, environmental, familial, generational, and queer contexts. The work functions as a meditation on gifts as both acts of love letters and survival strategies, posing them as provocations for deeper reflection. Location: Boadle Hall
Incinerator Gallery is a platform for unique cultural experiences that connects society through art and design. It welcomes communities, art professionals, and people of all ages interested in art and design. Incinerator Gallery champions new creative perspectives that strengthen communities.
Sam Petersen, ‘You Need Us’, 2024 (Incinerator Art Award 2024 Winner). Photo © Gianna Rizzo, courtesy Incinerator Gallery/MVCC.
Incinerator Gallery
A: 180 Holmes Road, Aberfeldie, VIC, 3040
PH: 9243 1750
W: incineratorgallery.com.au
E: incinerator@mvcc.vic.gov.au
For more details, please contact Moonee Valley City Council Media Lead at media@mvcc.vic.gov.au or 0447 198 653.