A competition in conjunction with Melbourne Museum’s blockbuster exhibition A Day in Pompeii asked Melbournians to take photographs of what they think makes Melbourne Italian. The top entries go on display at the Museum until 25 October.
The Museum received nearly 200 entries that reveal the ways in which Italian culture is embedded in the rich fabric of Melbourne life through food and dining, design and language.
The winning photograph, “Gelato” by Amy Calton of Northcote, captures a scene that is familiar to many Melburnians: people enjoying gelati in warm sunshine.
“The Italian ice-cream shop on Station St was a favourite hangout during a hot summer in Fairfield,” says Calton. “And, of course, I’m quietly over the moon about having a picture in the exhibition!”
“Gelato really captures what is Italian about Melbourne,” says Deborah Tout-Smith, Senior Curator, Museum Victoria. “Many of the photographs celebrate the rich contribution of Italian food and we’re thrilled that Melburnians will get a chance to see this display.”
Italians have been part of Melburnian life since the early days of settlement. Hundreds were lured to Victoria in the 1850s gold rushes, and a century later, tens of thousands arrived in Melbourne to start a new life after World War II.
Today they are the second-largest immigrant community in Victoria after the English, with nearly one in ten Melburnians either born in Italy or having Italian parents.
Take a closer look at the impact of Italian culture on Melbourne at the exhibition.
Shutter Up You Face will be on view at Melbourne Museum until A Day in Pompeii exhibition closes on 25 October.
Shutter Up You Face – Until 25 October 2009 (free with general admission)
Melbourne Museum, Nicholson Street, Carlton
Adults $8, children and concessions FREE
For further information visit museumvictoria.com.au or phone 13 11 02.
A Day in Pompeii is presented in association with the Soprintendenza Speciale per I Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei (SANP). Adults $20, concession $14, children $12, family $54 (all tickets include entry to Melbourne Museum).