RMIT Gallery
Encyclopedia
Storey Hall is home to RMIT Gallery, a public art gallery
, and is located at 342–344 Swanston Street
in Melbourne
, Australia
. It is part of the RMIT City
campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University
).
Storey Hall is a 19th century building once owned by the Ancient Order of Hibernians
, and acquired by RMIT in 1957. Today, RMIT Gallery, which is housed in the building, is considered to be Melbourne's most vibrant art space, with a constantly changing exhibition program of architecture
, craft
, contemporary art
, design
, fashion
, and fine art
.
The architectural design of the refurbished section of the building consists primarily of Penrose tiles
, which are arranged to form pentagons. It was completed in 1995 to the design of Ashton Raggatt McDougall
. The refurbished section is also externally adorned with Penrose tiles and is also styled with ruffles, keys and suspender belts to represent the Suffragettes
—who formally used the building as a meeting hall.
The hall was named after the Storey family; John Storey (Junior), who founded the RMIT Student Union
in 1944, and Sir John Storey (Senior), who left a large bequest to RMIT—in order to found the John Storey Junior Memorial Scholarships in memory of his son, whose studies were cut short in 1947 when he died of leukaemia at age 22.
The vaults of Storey Hall house the smaller RMIT First Site Gallery, which is operated by the RMIT Union
, and has a focus on new media
, as well as a cafe named re:vault.
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, and is located at 342–344 Swanston Street
Swanston Street, Melbourne
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. It is historically one of the main streets of central Melbourne, laid out in 1837 as part of the Hoddle Grid, the layout of major streets that makes up the central business district...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is part of the RMIT City
RMIT City
RMIT City is the original and flagship campus of the Australian public university and vocational education provider, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ....
campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
).
Storey Hall is a 19th century building once owned by the Ancient Order of Hibernians
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...
, and acquired by RMIT in 1957. Today, RMIT Gallery, which is housed in the building, is considered to be Melbourne's most vibrant art space, with a constantly changing exhibition program of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
, contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, and fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
.
The architectural design of the refurbished section of the building consists primarily of Penrose tiles
Penrose tiling
A Penrose tiling is a non-periodic tiling generated by an aperiodic set of prototiles named after Sir Roger Penrose, who investigated these sets in the 1970s. The aperiodicity of the Penrose prototiles implies that a shifted copy of a Penrose tiling will never match the original...
, which are arranged to form pentagons. It was completed in 1995 to the design of Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall or ARM is a firm of architects based in Melbourne, Australia known for "architectural outspokenness". Founded in 1988, the firm has completed internationally renowned design work and the principals are Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt and Ian McDougall...
. The refurbished section is also externally adorned with Penrose tiles and is also styled with ruffles, keys and suspender belts to represent the Suffragettes
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
—who formally used the building as a meeting hall.
The hall was named after the Storey family; John Storey (Junior), who founded the RMIT Student Union
RMIT Student Union
The RMIT Student Union Council, commonly known as the RMIT Student Union or RUSU, is the representative body for all students enrolled at RMITUniversity...
in 1944, and Sir John Storey (Senior), who left a large bequest to RMIT—in order to found the John Storey Junior Memorial Scholarships in memory of his son, whose studies were cut short in 1947 when he died of leukaemia at age 22.
The vaults of Storey Hall house the smaller RMIT First Site Gallery, which is operated by the RMIT Union
RMIT Union
RMIT Union is an unincorporated subsidiary company owned by RMIT University. It was formed in 1968 and currently it consists of Four main branches including RMIT Union Arts, RMIT Sports and Recreation, RMIT City Fitness and RMIT Union Administration. RMIT Union is responsible for running all Arts...
, and has a focus on new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
, as well as a cafe named re:vault.