Melbourne has always been one of Australia’s most culturally diverse cities; it is diverse in fashion, lifestyle, food, music, and art to name a few. The art and music culture is very known throughout Melbourne. Various Band/Gig posters as well as Art/Gallery Events and showcases are advertised on these news stand pillars. Undoubtedly, the art scene within Melbourne is most recognisable from the traditional, contemporary art to the local street art. In the book, Lonely Planet Melbourne & Victoria City Guide (2008, pg.28) Donna states, that the Melbourne art scene is an energetic and intellectually rigorous one, with a flourishing community of artists, experimental exhibition spaces and events. Melbourne has an active network of university art museums and galleries, which often or not are publicly advertised on the newsstand pillars. The pillars play a huge role in advertising for these events. Again, not only do they showcase, advertise and promote these events, the collage of the posters give the street a interesting collage gallery of colours, type and imagery. This makes the pillars become an open canvas and a public street art gallery. From old newspaper booths to new steel-framed poster pillars, Melbourne has opted for newsstand pillars where similar pillars have been seen in cities such as Paris. It has ‘become one of the recognizable icons on our city’s streets. Built to last twenty-five to thirty years, this is a fine piece of design.’ (Contemporary Melbourne Architecture, Joe Rollo pg.100) ‘Seats, kiosks, benches, tree guards, flower containers, litter bins, drinking fountains, lighting etc are the minutiae, the details, that help determine the feel of a city’ quote by Joe Rollo in Contemporary Melbourne Architecture 1992. It is a product of the City of Melbourne’s Urban Design Department and has now become one of Melbourne’s iconic and recognizable pieces.
http://rmit.org.au/browse;ID=kbmuvf3n1y081 Lonely Planet Melbourne & Victoria City Guide By Donna Wheeler (2008) Contemporary Melbourne Architecture, Joe Rollo pg.100