Next Wave comes crashing in

The excitement leading up to the commencement of this year's Next Wave festival is palpable, and us here at CVHQ are even more excited that usual about exhibitions and openings - our wonderful curator Nella Themelios is part Next Wave show The View From Here: 19 Perspectives on Feminism! Hurrah for staff and independent projects!

The View From Here opens at West Space this Friday (tomorrow) from 6-8pm and you bet your Greer we'll be there.



The View from Here is a project curated by Victoria Bennett and Clare Rae (pictured above) and features Jessie Angwin, Emilie Zoey Baker, Laura Castagnini, Brown Council, Madeleine Donovan, Rachel Fuller, Tamsin Green, Anna Greer, Mariam Haji, Kiera Brew Kurec, Jo Latham, Parachute for Ladies, Hannah Raisin, Dunja Rmandic, Jessie Scott, Daine Singer and of course NELLA THEMELIOS!!! Yay Nella!

The second event that we are really looking forward to is one of many performances by High Vis Dandy, who you may remember as using CVHQ as their High Vis sewing HQ. Over five days, High Vis Dandy will be carrying out a fashion performance and installation at the 'Paris end' of Collins Street.

Here are the details:

Performance times: 8.30-9.30am, 12.30-1.30pm and 4.30-5.30pm
Dates: 17-21 May (that's next week!)
Closing runway finale: Friday 21 May at 4.30pm
Location: The footpath of 81 Collins Street, between Russell and Exhibition Street




Next Wave opens this evening at the festival hub at 1000 Pound Bend, but we'll be at the Meat Market in North Melbourne (which once housed Craft Victoria way back in the day) for the opening of very special group exhibition Structural Integrity. See you there!

High Vis Dandy

You may remember the High Vis Dandy series of workshops recently held at Craft Victoria and you may also remember our enthusiastic support of Matthew's safety-first, fashion forward approach to high vis wear.

With Next Wave almost upon us and with High Vis Dandy as one of the jewels in Next Wave's (heavily bejewelled) crown, keep an eye out on the Paris end of Collins Street when High Vis refashions into a haute couture construction site.

In the meantime, High Vis Dandy are on the lookout for volunteers to help out during their performance between 17-21 May. For more information, click here.

High Vis Dandy: this Saturday afternoon!

Man up your high vis wear this Saturday with Matthew Kneale and his band of merry sewing machines.


High Vis Dandy is back and safer than ever in 2010, with garments using 3M Scotchlite Reflective tape and conforming to Australian Standards AS/NZS 4602:1999 High Visibility Safety Garments.

So if you'd like to attend this Saturday's workshop, act fast because there are only two spots left! To see what lies ahead, click here to view coverage from last year's High Vis Dandy workshop.

The workshop runs from 11am to 5pm and costs $10 for Craft Vic members and $15 for non-members. That's $2/$3 an hour! Super cheap workshop prices are due to generous subsidation by City of Melbourne arts funding. Thanks City of Melbourne!

The second workshop has sold out so this is your last chance! (For now at least.)

For more info including how to book, click here.

High Vis Dandy: being safe never looked this good...

A few weekends ago, Matthew Kneale and his crew of High Vis Dandies spent a few happy hours at CVHQ fashioning avant garde garments from everyday safety gear. It was a gay old time and everyone emerged much better dressed (and safer) than when they started out.

Over the course of a not-so-lazy Saturday afternoon, 5 manly men sewed, cut and measured their very own high vis vests under the watchful eye of Matthew and his two lovely lady companions. Here are some images from the day's events... it looked like it was heaps of fun!

High Vis Dandy will form part of the 2010 Next Wave festival program, so make sure you keep an eye out!

hi there

To view images from a previous High Vis Dandy performances, click here.

Season's greetings from the High Vis Dandy team

Photography by Nella Themelios