Sunday Arts Magazine

2 Aug 2021

Patricia Piccinini’s Exhibition extended

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Patricia Piccinini’s Exhibition extended

In welcome news for Australian art and architecture lovers, RISING has announced that the season for A Miracle Constantly Repeated, leading visual artist Patricia Piccinini’s immersive takeover of the long-shuttered and mysterious ballroom and upper level of Flinders Street Station, will be extended to 16 January, 2022.

Presented in partnership with the State Government and City of Melbourne, the extension will give audiences more opportunities to glimpse inside the fabled spaces of Australia’s oldest and most recognisable train station as they explore Piccinini’s first hometown exhibition in more than two decades.

“In an era marked by cancellations, shortened seasons and sudden ends, we are so delighted by the degree to which audiences have embraced this stunning exhibition by one of Australia’s foremost artists,” says RISING co-artistic director Hannah Fox. “That we are able to extend the season for A Miracle Constantly Repeated, ensuring more people get to experience this incredible space, while continuing to draw visitors back to the CBD as the city continues to recover and rebuild, is all the more gratifying”.

Despite lockdown measures pausing operations, A Miracle Constantly Repeated has continued to see sell-out sessions, and since its opening with the launch of RISING in May, has been experienced by close to 20,000 visitors.

The once in a generation art event marks the first time Flinders Street Station’s famed ballroom and surrounding rooms have been open to the public in over 30 years. The 10 rooms on display were once home to dances, library books, night classes, a nursery, billiards room and offices, and have been transformed into an immersive world that celebrates and showcases the historic space. Responding to the station as an organic environment, which her creatures have fled to or sprung from, Piccinini has left the spaces within the upper level virtually untouched, allowing the peeling paint and left-behind filing cabinets to take on a symbiotic relationship with the works.

As visitors move through the space, they can access a personal tour from Patricia Piccinini herself — through an audio guide, direct from the artist’s mouth and accessible via QR codes throughout the exhibition.