Sydney – Leo Burnett has worked with EnergyAustralia to launch an Australian first–a permanent and public gallery space dedicated to the exhibition of digital art.
After a four-way pitch, an intriguing and rare brief was presented to Leo Burnett in January 2010. The challenge: to turn a specially-designed wall of an electricity sub-station into a public space. A space that could not only ensure a seamless blending into the cityscape, but also to engage its citizens and major public art bodies.
The agency’s brief from EnergyAustralia was to give the building an identity; to make it both a physical and virtual experience; to elevate it from screens on a wall to a unique destination for new media and to make it a public forum – whether it be submitting works, exhibiting, or voting. The solution was Grid Gallery – a virtual, non-client-branded experience.
Todd Sampson, CEO Leo Burnett Sydney said, “Leo’s were very excited to have won a project of this nature and to work with our long-standing client, EnergyAustralia. To be able to deliver an Australian first and show our digital capabilities is an amazing accomplishment to all involved.”
EnergyAustralia’s CityNorth substation is now also Grid Gallery–an architectural, physical and virtually situated gallery.
To ensure relevance and uniqueness, exhibitions will rotate monthly and artists are called to submit to a bespoke monthly brief. Submissions and public voting occur online at www.gridgallery.com.au
A panel of curators will select the top ten submissions deemed to be of the highest artistic merit, and exhibit these on the Grid Gallery website. The public will then weigh in, and vote for the People’s Choice award. After careful assessment, the curators will award the Final Four. These four works will be exhibited at the physical Grid Gallery, located at the corner of Sussex and Erskine Streets, Sydney.
As part of the collaboration, EnergyAustralia brought together Leo Burnett and New Media Curation, to provide a well-rounded solution and ensure emerging and established media artists were involved with the project from day one. The agency also facilitated the partnership of VIVID Sydney 2010 for the inaugural launch. Grid Gallery will act as a bridging site from Darling Harbour through the CBD and up into Macquarie Street.
It will feature footage used within VIVID Sydney 2010 from both Macquarie Visions and VIVID Live, along with up to date photo and video footage of the event itself.
The works of digital artists Ernest Edmonds, Ian Gwilt, Chris Bowman and Steph Rajalingham will be the first featured at Grid Gallery. These artists perform practise-based research in computational, augmented and interactive art at the University of Technology, Sydney.
EnergyAustralia Managing Director George Maltabarow said, “Grid Gallery is about power and light. It’s located on the external wall of our eight storey City North Zone Substation – the largest substation our city has ever seen. We believe it’s a world first – to combine electrical infrastructure with cutting edge media-based art in a public gallery.”
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