EnergyAustralia launches Australia’s first permanent and public digital gallery via Leo’s

Leo Burnett, Sydney has worked with EnergyAustralia to launch an Australian first – a permanent and public gallery space dedicated to the exhibition of digital art.

After a four-way pitch, an intriguing and rare brief was presented to Leo Burnett in January 2010. The challenge: to turn a specially-designed wall of an electricity sub-station into a public space. A space that could not only ensure a seamless blending into the cityscape, but also to engage its citizens and major public art bodies.

The agency’s brief from EnergyAustralia was to give the building anidentity; to make it both a physical and virtual experience; to elevateit from screens on a wall to a unique destination for new media and tomake it a public forum – whether it be submitting works, exhibiting, orvoting. The solution was Grid Gallery – a virtual, non-client-brandedexperience.  

Says Todd Sampson, CEO Leo Burnett Sydney: “Leo’swere very excited to have won a project of this nature and to work withour long-standing client, EnergyAustralia. To be able to deliver anAustralian first and show our digital capabilities is an amazingaccomplishment to all involved.”

EnergyAustralia’s CityNorthsubstation is now also Grid Gallery – an architectural, physical andvirtually situated gallery. To ensure relevance and uniqueness,exhibitions will rotate monthly and artists are called to submit to abespoke monthly brief. Submissions and public voting occur online at www.gridgallery.com.au

Apanel of curators will select the top ten submissions deemed to be ofthe highest artistic merit, and exhibit these on the Grid Gallerywebsite. The public will then weigh in, and vote for the People’sChoice award. After careful assessment, the curators will award theFinal Four. These four works will be exhibited at the physical GridGallery, located at the corner of Sussex and Erskine Streets, Sydney.

Aspart of the collaboration, EnergyAustralia brought together Leo Burnettand New Media Curation, to provide a well-rounded solution and ensureemerging and established media artists were involved with the projectfrom day one. The agency also facilitated the partnership of VIVIDSydney 2010 for the inaugural launch. Grid Gallery will act as abridging site from Darling Harbour through the CBD and up intoMacquarie Street.

It will feature footage used within VIVIDSydney 2010 from both Macquarie Visions and VIVID Live, along with upto date photo and video footage of the event itself.

The worksof digital artists Ernest Edmonds, Ian Gwilt, Chris Bowman and StephRajalingham will be the first featured at Grid Gallery. These artistsperform practise-based research in computational, augmented andinteractive art at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Says EnergyAustralia managing director George Maltabarow: “Grid Gallery is about powerand light. It’s located on the external wall of our eight storey CityNorth Zone Substation – the largest substation our city has ever seen.We believe it’s a world first – to combine electrical infrastructurewith cutting edge media-based art in a public gallery.”

GridGallery LED screen is 15 metres long and one metre wide, and theelectricity used to light it will be matched with 100% GreenPower.

EnergyAustralia:

Client: Lorraine Maroun

Leo Burnett:

Group Business Director: Paul Everson

Digital Director: Ella Lymbereas

Digital Producer: Shani Tomkins

Art Director: Kieran Antill

Creative Group head: Digital: Kieran Otts

Digital Creative: Andrew Jones

New Media Creation:

Digital Curator: Deborah Turnbull