We acknowledge and pay respect to the elders, families and ancestors of the Bunurong and Wadawurrung people, who have been and continue to be the custodians of the land on which the Treatment Project creates.

Treatment Logo
The Treatment project celebrates the unique features, communities, technologies and ecologies along the path of Melbourne’s waste water through the commissioning of ambitious temporary public artwork.

The third installment of the ongoing Treatment public art projects, which engage with waste water infrastructure in Melbourne's Western suburbs.

TREATMENT III DATES

17 March - 30 April 2023

ONLINE LAUNCH

Friday 17 March

SCIENCEWORKS LAUNCH

Wednesday 5 April

WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT

NIGHT + DAY EVENT
21-22 April

ARTISTS

Anindita Banerjee
Edwina Stevens
Eugenia Lim
Fiona Hillary
Georgina Lewis
James Nguyen
Linda Tegg
Mick Douglas
Peter Burke
Robert Andrew
Rogue Academy
Zanny Begg

Treatment III is the third instalment of an ambitious public art project at Melbourne Water’s Western Treatment Plant (WTP) in Werribee, first initiated in 2015. Focusing on the histories, technologies and communities of our wastewater infrastructure in Melbourne’s west, twelve leading and emerging artists from the region and across Australia will develop public installation, film, sound, sculpture, and performance works over the course of a month.  

Expanding on this sustained exploration of the WTP, from 17 March Treatment III will also bring commissioned works to sites further north. Along the historical Main Sewer Outfall, artists Linda Tegg, James Nguyen, Robert Andrew and Zanny Begg will install and perform works at locations in Spotswood and Brooklyn, including the Pumping Station at Scienceworks. 

Treatment III will ultimately culminate with a major new video commission by artist Eugenia Lim and a Night + Day event at the Western Treatment Plant which will run from sunset to sunset, April 21-22. Celebrating a day in the life of the plant, this event will draw attention to the way our wastewater technologies connect us all, using innovative public artworks to cast light on the important role they play in managing public health, the environment and our relationships with each other. Artists and performers in the Night + Day event include Eugenia Lim, Mick Douglas, Anindita Banerjee, Fiona Hillary, Edwina Stevens, Rogue Academy, local community groups and emerging creatives from the Wyndham and Wadawurrung communities.   

Treatment III is curated by Public Art Commission (Deakin University) in partnership with Wyndham City and Hobsons Bay City, supported the West Gate Neighbourhood Fund, Melbourne Water, and Scienceworks Museum.

Treatment III - Image 1

Treatment III EVENT PROGRAM

Join project curators Cameron Bishop and David Cross for the digital launch of Treatment III, a public art project that celebrates the histories, technologies and communities of Melbourne’s West.
17 MARCH : ONLINE
DIGITAL PROGRAM LAUNCH
Linda Tegg’s establishment of a species-rich plant community in a ‘vacant lot’ prompts new patterns of boundary-making, reciprocity, and care.
17 MAR – 28 APRIL : SPOTSWOOD
TENDING A LINE IN THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT
Join Linda Tegg for an artist talk and site tour of her work Tending a line in the year of the rabbit.
01 APRIL : SPOTSWOOD
ARTIST TALK WITH LINDA TEGG
Join Public Art Commission and partners for the opening event of Treatment III, a public art project that celebrates the histories, technologies and communities of Melbourne’s West.
05 APRIL : SPOTSWOOD
TREATMENT III OPENING EVENT
Deliberately blurring the “invisible line” between documentary and fiction Prisoners explores the mythologizing of the prison complex within Australian culture.
05-28 APRIL : SPOTSWOOD
PRISONERS
Yawuru artist Robert Andrew’s work for Treatment III seeks to make visible the knowledge systems held within the land beneath our feet.
05-28 APRIL : SPOTSWOOD
A PERPETUAL REVEAL
Join artist James Nguyen for an artist talk with curators Cameron Bishop and David Cross, prior to the commencement of his two-day durational project NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN.
15 APRIL : BROOKLYN
CURATOR TALK + PROVOCATION
Through walking conversations with collaborators and strangers, James Nguyen seeks to unravel ideas about public health, community, culture and infrastructure in Melbourne’s west.
15-16 APRIL : BROOKLYN
NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN
Anindita Banerjee invites audiences to encounter the shared experience of an adapted cleansing ritual in HOLM.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
ANINDITA BANERJEE
The Treatment project celebrates the unique features, communities, technologies and ecologies along the path of Melbourne’s waste water through the commissioning of ambitious temporary public artwork.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
EDWINA STEVENS
A portrait of a living, working ecology and the multi-species it sustains.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
EUGENIA LIM
A 360° sound and film experience that meditates on human and non-human entanglements in climate change.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
FIONA HILLARY
From sunset on 21 April, a host of musicians will play overlapping sets of improvised and composed music from within the bluestone water tower of the Cocoroc township.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
GEORGINA LEWIS
How might we attune with all that is turning?
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
MICK DOUGLAS
The Treatment project celebrates the unique features, communities, technologies and ecologies along the path of Melbourne’s waste water through the commissioning of ambitious temporary public artwork.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
PETER BURKE
Artists Amanda Shone and Fiona Lee invite you to sit, eat, digest and take part in cultivating conversations while sharing food.
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
ROGUE ACADEMY
21-22 APRIL : WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT
THE IMPROVISORS
Join Public Art Commission for an online conversation reflecting on works commissioned and presented as part of the Treatment III program.
18 MAY : ONLINE
FORUM: ART, HEALTH & HERITAGE

night + day event

Treatment III: Night + Day is a unique event featuring 9 newly commissioned artworks to be experienced across the remarkable Western Treatment Plant in Werribee.

 

Celebrating a day in the life of the plant and responding to the extraordinary landscape, technologies and community surrounding Melbourne’s oldest and largest waste treatment facility, TIII: Night + Day will bring the site alive through live music, sculpture, film and performance works from sunset on Friday 21 April and sunrise on Saturday 22 April.

Expressions of Interest

For those interested in contemporary art, we currently have opportunities to collaborate with artists James Nguyen and Georgina Lewis.  

 

There are also a range of volunteer opportunities available for the Treatment III: Night + Day Event – a mini festival of innovative contemporary artwork taking place on 21 & 22 April at the Western Treatment Plant, Werribee. 

THE TEAM

PARTNERS

Hobsons Bay City Council
Greening the Pipeline
Melbourne Water
Scienceworks
West Gate Neighbourhood Fund
Wyndham City

CURATORS

Cameron Bishop
David Cross

PRODUCERS

Lauren Clelland
Sarah Jones
Simon Reis

MEDIA

Rachel Morley

DESIGN

Maria Bates

WEB DEVELOPMENT

Dennis Ioannou

Treatment III received funding from the Victorian Government through the West Gate Tunnel Project's West Gate Neighbourhood Fund. This project is also supported by Hobsons Bay City Council, Wyndham City, Melbourne Water, Scienceworks Museum and Greening the Pipeline.

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