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Talk | Growing up Modern: Alex Jelinek and Canberra's Round House

  • Canberra Museum and Gallery 176 London Circuit Canberra, ACT, 2601 Australia (map)

Professor of Art History, Roger Benjamin grew up in, and later restored, one of Canberra’s most iconic mid-century buildings – the Alex Jelinek designed Round House. In this talk, and the associated exhibition, we discover how the Round House came to be designed, built and made into a home. Alex Jelinek was a Czech refugee who studied and practiced Modernist Architecture in Prague before fleeing his homeland. Benjamin’s parents, philosopher Bruce Benjamin and his wife Audrey commissioned the house in 1956. It includes a glass cylinder down its centre, mahogany beams and handmade furniture by Schulim Krimper. Roger Benjamin bought the property back in 1999 and lovingly restored it.

In this talk, and the associated exhibition, discover how the Round House came to be designed, built and made into a home including commissioned furniture by Krimper, original paintings and objects from the house as well as archival material of the construction, public and industry response and the creative life of the Benjamin family.

Tickets | General Admission $10 | Concession/Student $8 | Bookings Essential

Image Credit: Alex Jelinek | Benjamin House, Deakin Canberra, 1957 | Photograph by Darren Bradley 
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4 November

Workshop | Regenerate and Play: Vintage Glass Construction | Siru Tuomisto