{"id":396393,"date":"2026-04-17T04:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T04:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/396393\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T04:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T04:11:21","slug":"the-melbourne-rich-listers-behind-gallery-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/396393\/","title":{"rendered":"The Melbourne rich listers behind gallery event"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 16, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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The deep-pocketed supporters of the National Gallery of Victoria\u2019s latest blockbuster contemporary art Triennial have been revealed and it is a who\u2019s who of some of Melbourne\u2019s wealthiest families and private foundations.<\/p>\n

The details of the exhibition, which will open in December, were unveiled at the St Kilda Road gallery on Wednesday, in a space where guests were surrounded by large \u2013 occasionally floating \u2013 inflatable penguins.<\/p>\n

\"DirectorDirector of the NGV Tony Ellwood, surrounded by inflatable penguins, at the announcement of the gallery\u2019s 2026 Triennial.AAP<\/p>\n

In what read like a mini Rolodex of the top end of Melbourne, Triennial backers including Lisa Fox<\/a>, Alana Kirby on behalf of the Sun Foundation, Connie and Craig Kimberley, Tania Austin\u2019s Decjuba Foundation, the Fox Family Foundation, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty,<\/a> property developer Michael Gannon, Carol and Alan Schwartz\u2019s Trawalla Foundation, the Loti and Victor Smorgon Fund and the Bowness Family Foundation among many others, were thanked in a cinematic snapshot of the exhibition shown at the launch.<\/p>\n

NGV director Tony Ellwood<\/a> told CBD that this fourth edition of the NGV\u2019s Triennial had attracted $17 million of private support from the gallery\u2019s donors and benefactors, enabling the gallery to commission, as well as buy, major art works.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people don\u2019t realise the government, as great as they have been for the arts here, they don\u2019t give money for acquisitions,\u201d Ellwood said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to do an ambitious exhibition and have a legacy from it and acquire, we have to go to the community and for this Triennial it is around $17 million [that has been donated]. We are very proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Some<\/a><\/p>\n

Ellwood launched the first Triennial in 2017, with the aim of elevating contemporary art at the NGV. That goal is being furthered with the construction of the NGV Contemporary,<\/a> a gallery dedicated to contemporary art and design.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the legacy of Triennial, and the other collecting that we have been quietly doing, it will be a magnificent building with one of the best contemporary art collections in the world, no question,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Contemporary art is a broad and wild playing field, with highlights of this year\u2019s Triennial exhibition to include a ceramic urinal bubbling rose scented water, and a kinetic sculpture named WTF featuring a swinging LED sign displaying tweets from US President Donald Trump during his first term in office, along with social media posts from a conspiracy theorist.<\/p>\n

And then there are the helium-filled penguins. The blow-up birds are apparently a statement by Danish artist Benedikte Bjerre on the impact of climate change on penguins \u2013 when they are not going rogue and floating in the face of MPs as happened at Wednesday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

Virgin Australia exec feels cancellation pain<\/p>\n

Virgin Australia\u2019s corporate affairs boss Christian Bennett appears to have only just discovered how annoying cancellations can be.<\/p>\n

\"Virgin\u2019sVirgin\u2019s corporate affairs chief Christian Bennett pictured in 2023.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

In a sprawling post to LinkedIn earlier this week, clocking in at more than 300 words, Bennett was outraged about how an Airbnb host cancelled accommodation for he and his wife for their trip to the United States next month to celebrate their son\u2019s college graduation. The post described Airbnb as \u201ca bad gamble at best, and mercenary at worst\u201d, before calling on hosts who cancel to be \u201cpenalised\u201d.<\/p>\n

A little too on the nose, even for us! This from a guy who, in his day job, is the mouthpiece for an airline that spent years resisting stronger passenger rights in the aviation sector, which loves a cancelled flight.<\/p>\n

In its submission to the 2023 Aviation Green Paper, Virgin Australia argued that Australian consumer law was \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d and suggested that industry-specific regimes \u201csuch as a Passenger Bill of Rights or a fixed compensation regime\u201d could negatively impact customer outcomes and operational performance.<\/p>\n

Of course, the airline has since warmed up to the idea of strengthening consumer rights. Earlier this month, the Albanese government introduced new legislation aiming to establish a new Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson to help resolve complaints; a new Aviation Consumer Protections Charter, to set minimum standards for airlines and airport services; and a new Aviation Consumer Protection Authority, to enforce compliance.<\/p>\n

Bennett snapped into action to remind us of how \u201cconstructively and co-operatively\u201d Virgin has been in its engagement with the federal government. It was the first airline to invest in \u201cgreat customer-centric IT solutions\u201d, Bennett said, and was \u201cthe fastest airline to resolve complaints to the customer advocate last year\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut is my employer perfect? Of course not \u2013 but what I like about them is that it does try to constantly learn and improve wherever it falls short, and deliver on its value promise to customers,\u201d Bennett told CBD.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid we feel that in dealing with Airbnb over the last 12 months trying to prepare for an important family event? No.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victorian made \u2018Thrash\u2019 a turn on for streamers<\/p>\n

The reviews might be less than stellar, but Thrash, the big budget film thriller starring Bridgerton\u2019s Phoebe Dynevor and shot in Melbourne, has turned into a global hit for Netflix.<\/p>\n

The project has landed on top of Netflix\u2019s English film list with 37.7 million views in its first week on the platform and is the number one most viewed new release movie in 82 countries. The success of the film comes hot on the heels of the extraordinary success of War Machine,<\/a> another Netflix offering shot in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\"PhoebePhoebe Dynevor, who made her name in Bridgerton, stars in the shark thriller Thrash. Alberto Pezzali<\/p>\n

<\/a>War Machine was released on March 6 and debuted as the No.1 English film in 93 countries with 39.3 million views according to figures released by Netflix last month.<\/p>\n

While Thrash, which was filmed at the Dockland Studios, in Maling Road, Canterbury, and in Mornington in 2024, has attracted plenty of eyeballs, it has been deemed rubbish by some critics. Melbourne doubled for South Carolina in the flick where a coastal town is terrorised by sharks after being flooded by a colossal hurricane \u2013 you read that right.<\/p>\n

Thrash was spruiked as injecting more than $30 million into the economy when it was shooting in Victoria, and reportedly generated almost 700 jobs.<\/p>\n

VicScreen chief executive Caroline Pitcher said the film was a calling card for the Victorian film industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stretched every single screen worker\u2019s craft and that is what is so exciting about Thrash and also War Machine. Victoria has a beautifully balanced screen ecosystem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"FionaFiona Byrne<\/a> is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.\"JohnJohn Buckley<\/a> is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 16, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,438,146,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-396393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}