I Could Have Danced All Night at the Jewish Museum of Australia

Family, music and heritage are the inspiration behind a new matriarch-focused exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Australia (JMA). I Could Have Danced All Night is interior designer Danielle Brustman’s newest exhibition, inspired by her two grandmothers, Marta and Dora.

Known for her playful aesthetic and vibrant use of colour, Brustman’s exhibition centres around furniture and personal items from her grandmothers’ lives, with the centrepiece comprising of two intricately designed boxes – one a music box, the other a jewellery box. Through these items, the designer invites visitors to explore the power of objects for holding and sharing stories. Layers of family history, favourite songs and stories from the past infuse the exhibition with themes of legacy and identity.

It’s a timely tribute, as cultural heritage and the preservation of intangible histories are woven into the headlines and questions of the moment. Brustman’s work invites viewers to reflect on how we connect to our pasts and to each other.

Brustman began her design career as a set designer for theatre, before going on to establish her own interior design studio in Melbourne in 2012. Her previous work, Inner-Terior, was a finalist in the Rigg Design Prize 2018, In 2020, she exhibited a large-scale installation, Coloured In, as part of the NGV Triennial and in 2023, her work Ten combs was part of Melbourne Now at NGV Australia. She’s known for her deep engagement with colour, form and narrative-driven design, seen here in her latest work for JMA, where she reflects on the threads that connect us to our past and to each other.

I Could Have Danced All Night opens on Tuesday August 13. Tickets are now available to purchase; JMA members can enter for free.

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