MARS Melbourne Art Rooms facts for kids

[MARS] Gallery, Australia

[MARS] Melbourne Art Rooms is a contemporary commercial art gallery in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. MARS specialises in exhibiting, promoting and building the careers of contemporary Australian and International artists.

History

[MARS] was established by gallerist Andy Dinan in 2004, who converted a former dairy in Port Melbourne into a two-level contemporary gallery. In 2014, [MARS] relocated to a new purpose-built gallery at 7 James St, Windsor, (in the City of Stonnington).

MARS specialises in exhibiting, promoting and building the careers of contemporary Australian artists. The gallery has participated in a number of national art fairs including the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring 1883 and Sydney Contemporary. MARS also exhibits in international art fairs.

[MARS] is a member of ACGA, the leading national body and collective voice representing commercial art galleries in Australia.

Building

The new [MARS] at Windsor was designed by Chris Manton of Jam Architects. The three-level space incorporates amenities for showing new media such as sound sculpture, video and light art. The gallery has four distinct exhibition spaces, including a custom black-box gallery committed to the exhibition of contemporary video art, a light-box room for the display of light and sound works, a drawing room to exhibit works on paper as well as a rooftop sculpture garden accessible by an elevator with a light artwork installed into the elevator shaft by artist Jason Sims.

[MARS] is committed to environmental sustainability, and the gallery features a number of environmental design elements including recycled timber floors, solar roof panels and rainwater collection and harvesting.

Artists

MARS represents the careers of a select group of emerging to mid-career, contemporary artists; Daniel Agdag, Atong Atem, Simon Finn, Stephen Haley, Sophia Hewson, Tony Lloyd, Dani McKenzie, Hannah Raisin, Diego Ramirez, Cameron Robbins, Damien Shen, Jason Sims, Brie Trenerry, and Tricky Walsh.

MARS works with associate artists; Jo Bertini, Penelope Davis, Domenico de Clario, Julie Irving, Allan Mitelman, Nick Mourtzakis, Giles Ryder, Camilla Tadich, Jud Wimhurst, Shevaun Wright.

Public Art & Rent Art

In addition to a regular exhibition program, [MARS] offers a public art consultancy and works alongside artists, property developers, architects and local councils to implement Public Art projects throughout Melbourne under the title Andy Dinan Art Consulting or ADA Consulting. Some of the public art commissions curated by ADA Consulting are featured on the following buildings in Melbourne: 50 Albert Rd, Albert Park with artists Emma Davies, Jeremy Kibel and Dr James Hullick, Eden and Haven residential developments with artwork by artists Priscilla Bracks, Daniel Agdag and Alexis Beckett; Smith Street Collingwood (The Smith Street Portrait Project by photographer Jacqueline Mitelman), the Domenico De Clario Project and installation by David Burrows ; Footscray Plaza redevelopment featuring a 240-square-metre artwork by Melbourne Artist Matthew Harding on the façade of No.18 Albert; Port Melbourne and Melbourne CBD.

[MARS] also offers a rental art program, which seeks to support contemporary artists, through the acquisition and placement of artworks in private and public spaces.

International Art fairs

MARS Gallery has participated in three consecutive years at Art Central Hong Kong (2017-2019). In 2018 the gallery was invited to Volta 14, Basel where MARS was the only Australian gallery to exhibit at the art fair. MARS also exhibited at Art Fair Tokyo (2016) and Korean International Art Fair (2012).