When it was announced that Solange would headline the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s inaugural Volume festival, the first question was: why? How did the gallery, with no history of producing concerts, snag the Grammy-winning R&B artist (AKA Beyoncé’s sister), who has played Sydney Opera House twice in the past five years but is practically a recluse by pop standards? And for an untried festival, no less.
The answer had to be the Tank: the gallery’s subterranean art space, converted from a second world war oil reservoir. With a concrete floor, lofty seven-metre ceiling and an imposing forest of 125 supporting columns, the 2,200 sq m space is surely one of the world’s more intriguing venues – particularly to a musician who has, in recent years, turned her hand to immersive art performances.
