Five eclectic acts have been chosen to perform as part of the project.
Earlier this year, MPavilion, Melbourne Music Week and Open House Melbourne invited Melbourne-based musicians to apply to take part in MERGE, a new collaborative music and design initiative.
After an overwhelming response to the call-out, Hachiku, The Opals, IJALE, Mara Schwerdtfeger and Shelly Senbei have been selected to take part in the unique project which will unfold in two parts in July and November.
Part one will see each act perform and record an existing musical work in one of four heritage locations, including Villa Alba Museum, Waller House, Australian Tapestry Workshop and Trades Hall, to be streamed online as part of Open House Melbourne – a digital celebration of Melbourne’s architecture.
For part two, the artists will perform a new musical work at MPavilion 2015 by Amanda Levete in Docklands as part of MPavilion’s expanded 2020 program and this year’s Melbourne Music Week.
The initiative aims to represent the eclectic musical talent that has made Melbourne a global music hub while also showcasing architectural delights scattered across the city.
“In a time of huge global challenges and shifts, our three organisations are specially placed to come together to provide some stability and support for local creatives,” said the MERGE selection panel, consisting of MPavilion Creative Director, Jen Zielinska, Melbourne Music Week Event Coordinator Anna Paterson, and Open House Melbourne Program Manager Brianna Carroll.
“The artists who have been selected to take part in MERGE embody so much of the artistic spirit of this city—its vibrancy, its diversity and its endless ability to take you by surprise.”
“This project is an exciting way of championing their practices while amplifying the unique qualities of Open House Melbourne, Melbourne Music Week and MPavilion,” they added.
For more information, visit the MPavilion website.
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