There's a new winter show in Southbank that's entirely about being lonely. And it might be the cure.
Feeling a bit alone lately? ACCA’s new show Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry leans in.
ACCA’s new Art and Emotion series opens with Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry., a group show about modern loneliness.
Running 3 July–30 August, Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry. is the opening act in ACCA’s new Art and Emotion series, a fresh strand of programming built around big shared feelings. It pulls together 11 artists from across the world, working in tapestry, painting, sculpture, installation and moving image.
Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry.
- What: Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry., a group show featuring 11 artists
- Where: ACCA, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank
- When: 3 July–30 August
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
View this post on Instagram
The group show sits with how loneliness gets felt, performed, softened and resisted today, taking in doomscrolling, online oversharing, late nights out, memory, intimacy and the small poetry tucked inside everyday objects. The lineup runs Gideon Appah, Polly Borland, Seth Brown, Lucy Liu, Natasha Matila-Smith, Kayla Mattes, Callum McGrath, Nick Mullaly, Melissa Nguyen, Patrick Pound and Kelly Yu.
The opening weekend stacks three free events on 4 July, all leaning hard into the theme. Things start at 11:30am with The Lonely Archive, where Kayla Mattes and Patrick Pound talk through their new commissions with Myles Russell-Cook, unpacking how each builds fresh work out of digital and physical collections.
At 2pm, curators Sophie Prince and Myles Russell-Cook steer a walkthrough with floor talks from Polly Borland, Kayla Mattes, Callum McGrath, Nick Mullaly, Melissa Nguyen and Patrick Pound. From 3pm, J Davies takes over the foyer with the video work Do you still think of me?, a growing archive of contemporary queer life that needs no booking. It’s a one-day-only activation, so the foyer becomes its own small show within the show.
After opening weekend, the exhibition settles in at ACCA in Southbank through 30 August, with the Art and Emotion series rolling on from there. With 11 artists spanning continents and five mediums under one roof, there’s plenty to sit with whether you’re feeling the theme or just there for the art.
For more information, head here.
