Stephanie attended NGVI and NGVA on the weekend, in the company of Friend of No Award Zoe, Official Potato Moya and Friend of No Award Ashleigh.

Exhibits attended: Bunyips and Dragons (Australian Children’s Picture Books, NGVA, do it, so good. So worth it); something with mobiles that are cymbals; Transmission (NGVI, a trap);  Gods, Heroes and Clowns, Monsters of SEAz (DO IT, OMG).

The NGV bookshop receives many points (added potatoes) for the excellent array of children’s books at both NGVI and NGVA, with many Australian (including Indigenous Australian) books at NGVA and many books about introducing kiddies to ~art~ of many styles.

As a connoisseur of art nerd jewellery in museums and art gallery shops, I was disappointed by the lack of excellent art nerd jewellery. However there were some great postcards and also some hilariously expensive crockery and cutlery.

Ashleigh notes: Most of NGV’s positive rating comes from the outstanding kids book sections at both NGVI and NGVA, which was particularly relevant to the exhibition currently on (Bunyips and Dragons, Illustrations in Australians’ Children Books), but as that is their standard selection it was very impressive. If not for that, however, they would rank only 3 potatoes because their overall selection of things on sale lacks the critical desk toy/fiddly things section, which is the actual highlight of museum gift shops for me.

Moya Notes: The gift shop lost a potato because I feel like $24.95 is too much to pay for a coffee mug, even one with MODERN ART = I COULD’VE DONE THAT + YEAH BUT YOU DIDN’T, which is my favourite modern art joke of all time. Like, there should be a standard that printed coffee mugs without anything special about them are $20?  Even $20 is a lot for a mug which you could buy at KMart for $1 (albeit without hilars printing on), but it seems to be common. $25 is just pushing it.

Gained a potato for having a weird fleshy lump in the corner.  We think it was a beanbag.  Ashleigh made me touch it and come judgment day, there will be a RECKONING for that, Ashleigh. Plus one potato for the chair that was basically, like, a butcher’s fly-strip door thing laid over a frame.  It would be very uncomfortable to sit in and it was very funny looking but I liked it. Lost a potato for stocking a poor-quality calligraphy set and jacking up the price.

Museum: National Gallery of Victoria, both the International and Australia locations

Layout: Nice and spacious, enough room to cluster together and look at hilarious things without banging into other people. Loses a potato overall for NGVA being in Fed Square which is ugly and weird and full of people (direct quote from Professional Potato Moya).

Day and time visited: Sunday, early to mid-afternoon.

Purchases: Stephanie purchased young nibling’s first art book for a nibling (it has non-western art! Good work, art book). No other purchases were made.

Rating: 4 potatoes out of 5

Location: NGVI is located on St Kilda Road, and NGVA is located at Federation Square. Get there on almost any tram or train in the entire tram and train grid. I’m not even kidding. It’s all accessible, good work NGV.