We need to talk about Science Gallery Melbourne. It sits opposite “Melbourne Connect,” the University of Melbourne’s new development. On the corner of Grattan and Swanston Street in Parkville, it is dedicated to housing a range of companies “of all scales and stages.” Of course, they call it a precinct and employ huge terms on their website like, “programmatic convergence,” “digital innovation ecosystem,” and “emerging technologies to disrupt and transform our society.” In my opinion, investors could have saved $425 million to transform society by turning the university into a non-profit organisation that focuses on improving the creation and transmission of equitable knowledge. However, I’m just an occasional Memo writer, not a scientist in Melbourne Connect’s “dynamic community of innovators,” helping to make the world a more irritating place with OpenAI—I mean, a better place.
Science Gallery Melbourne is the quirky neighbour in this master planning, showing the wider community of the University of Melbourne that scientific and technological progress can be fun too. While the gallery is incredibly outward facing, bearing a large window facade and a massive sign, I find it strangely easy to miss. Every time I visit the space, I take the wrong turn in the brick building that contains it, finding myself lost in front of Master Lanzhou Noodle Express, because everything looks the same (big glass windows in a brick building).
Diego Ramírez is an artist with dreams, a writer with hopes and a facilitator with beliefs. He is represented by MARS Gallery and is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University.
