Discover 50 fascinating objects from five decades of the Australian Performing Arts Collection in AMPA’s second major exhibition, ENCORE! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. From spectacular set pieces to intimate treasures, this exhibition unearths significant items from Australia’s performing arts history and allows them to be seen up-close and in-person, many for the first time ever.
Returning to the spotlight in ENCORE! are the world-conquering gold hot pants worn by Kylie Minogue in the “Spinning Around” music video, the original neon-red L’Amour sign created by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin for Opera Australia’s La Bohème, Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst’s beloved drum kit, a custom-made vest worn by Archie Roach in his landmark Melbourne show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, plus exquisite costumes, instruments, set models, scripts, puppets and personal keepsakes spanning 170 years.
Legendary Australians featured in the world-premiere exhibition include Olivia Newton-John, Hugh Jackman, The Australian Ballet’s first Aboriginal dancer Ella Havelka, Nick Cave, Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Joan Sutherland, Judith Durham of The Seekers, artist Mirka Mora, Tony-award winning set and costume designers Roger Kirk and Brian Thomson, celebrated dancer Russell Page, Helen Reddy, Peter Allen, Ossie Ostrich, Reg Livermore, and playwright Ray Lawler, with a Carlton terrace house set model from Summer of the Seventeenth Doll – one of Australia’s greatest plays.
From sketch to spectacle, discover the creative process, craft, ingenuity and folklore behind some of Australia’s most unforgettable moments on stage. Across opera, ballet, theatre, circus, dance, music and popular entertainment, celebrate the onstage past and present, preserved in the Australian Performing Arts Collection – the largest collection of its kind in the country.
Only at AMPA, Arts Centre Melbourne.
