A five minute meander from Apartment Alkira, along the banks of the Yarra and over to the other side brings you to an odd space that is the Victorian Arts Centre’s “Blackbox”. This dark cavernous space seems to have multiple personalities – theatre venue for the odd fledgling production, cabaret venue from time to time, and her current incarnation as gallery space for a contemporary new media art show.

Way ‘funner’ than its title would suggest Experimena Utopia Now, International Biennial of Media Art uses ‘new media’ – digital, robotic, internet, screen-based, interactive – to mull over the fact that our lives are constantly being altered by new forms of technology.  No biggie, I know.  But there are some fun interpretations, including a hanging garden of plants that respond musically to human touch and movement and an animated impression of your facial expressions via a direct link from you sitting in a chair to an on-screen animation.  Thirty international artists are involved in this playful show which showcases current thinking in new media art.

So maybe you wouldn’t normally hunt something like this down, but with a healthy dose of humor and at the very affordable price of…well…nothing, this free show is worth poking your head into (en route to a glass of bubbles or a cooling lager at Southbank perhaps?).

Experimenta Utopia Now
International Biennial of media art
The Arts Centre,  Blackbox
12 February 2010 – 14 March 2010
FREE!

Experimenta Website

Another “what’s on in Melbourne” update by the short letting
accommodation specialists at Apartment Alkira – have fun!