MELBOURNE.- Light: Works from Tate’s Collection, the Australian-exclusive exhibition curated by Tate (UK) featuring 70+ exceptional works harnessing the phenomenon of light across 200 years of art history, is now open at ACMI until 13 November 2022. New additions to the Light events program, including more details for the Light Cinematographer Program featuring Oscar nominee Ari Wegner and award-winning filmmaker Warwick Thornton, have also been announced with all tickets now on sale.

Part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, presented by Visit Victoria, Light: Works from Tate’s Collection features paintings, photography, sculpture, drawing, installation and the moving image, from world-renowned artists including Joseph Mallord William Turner, John Constable, Bridget Riley and Claude Monet juxtaposed against more contemporary works by Olafur Eliasson, Yayoi Kusama, Tacita Dean and James Turrell.

Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said: “Melbourne is coming alive this winter with a host of amazing creative experiences.”

“Spanning 200 years of art and packed with light-fuelled masterpieces, this exhibition is the perfect reason to visit the new ACMI and enjoy Melbourne at its creative best."

ACMI’s Acting Director & CEO Graham Jephcott said: “After much anticipation, the time has arrived for ACMI audiences to experience an unforgettable collection from Tate. With Turner’s monumental painting The Deluge on display in Australia for the first time, alongside 70+ works dedicated to exploring an elemental force so vital to moving image creation, ACMI is overjoyed to be presenting a dazzling exhibition that encourages us all to see art in a new light.”

The exhibition’s opening coincides with the announcement of several new additions to the Light events program, each designed to enhance the visitor experience and audiences’ understanding of light through the lens of art.

Leading the events line-up is the Light Cinematographer Program, which will feature an in-conversation event with Kaytetye-born (Alice Springs) multi-award-winning director and cinematographer Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah, Sweet Country) on 15 July in Warwick Thornton x LIGHT. Thornton will discuss his craft and career, before two double bills are screened over the weekend, featuring a film from his back catalogue and a film that inspired him. Audiences can catch Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country (2017) and Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law (1986) on 16 July, plus Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984) and Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah (2009) on 17 July.

A second edition of the Light Cinematographer Program will feature an in-conversation event with Oscar nominee Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog, Zola) on 4 November in Ari Wegner x LIGHT. Wegner will also discuss her craft and career before two double bills screenings over the weekend - each featuring a film from her back catalogue and a film that inspired her. Audiences can experience Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped (1956) with Dustin Feneley's Stray (2018) on 5 November. The 6 November double bill screening will feature Peter Strickland’s In Fabric (2018) and Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace.

The previously announced Liquid Architecture x Light program, an evening of experimental sound and cinema inspired by Lis Rhodes’ 1975 film installation Light Music, now moves to 15 October.

Visitors to ACMI are also invited to discover stories, techniques and the history of key exhibition works through a special in-gallery talk by ACMI Curator Laura Castagnini as part of a monthly Light: ACMI Curator Tour. These tours, offering audiences a deeper dive into the themes and historical context of Light, take place from August to November and will be followed by an opportunity to wander through the exhibition in an exclusive after-hours viewing session.