COMING TOGETHER

How can we bring people together through design, and honour the stories that connect us?

WHAT
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A LARGE-SCALE PLACEMAKING ARTWORK

Coming Together is a large-scale, hand-tufted tapestry produced by UnitedMake in collaboration with Marcus Lee Design and Tuft and Touch, commissioned for Australia Post’s Town Hall at the Melbourne Support Centre in Burnley.

Installed at the heart of the organisation’s communal space, the artwork invites people to gather, reflect, and connect - transforming the Town Hall into a living symbol of unity. Through colour, geometry, and motion, the tapestry expresses the act of people coming together - circles and pathways interwoven to represent movement, energy, and belonging. Its material softness contrasts with the corporate architecture surrounding it, grounding the space in warmth, culture, and storytelling.

The work bridges contemporary design and traditional symbolism, making the Town Hall more than a meeting space - a place for dialogue and shared understanding.

WHY
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WEAVING ART INTO PLACE

The tapestry’s circular motif symbolises gathering and exchange - a continuous rhythm with no beginning or end - while the gradient blue river represents the flow of messages and relationships across Australia’s cities, regions, and remote communities.

Artist Marcus Lee, whose cultural ties extend from Darwin to the Pilbara, describes the work as a reflection of “interconnectedness - colourful, strong, and acknowledging Country.”

In this sense, Coming Together is both a visual and emotional landmark - an expression of inclusion and collective belonging within a national workplace.

The commission began with a question: How can we bring people together through design, and honour the stories that connect us?

Australia Post wanted an artwork that did more than decorate - it needed to embody the organisation’s purpose of connection and its role in linking people across the nation.

For UnitedMake, this became a study in art as placemaking — using creative practice to build identity, atmosphere, and community in a space defined by movement and communication.

HOW
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DESIGN & FABRICATION

The artwork was developed through a rich, multi-layered collaboration between Marcus Lee Design, Tuft and Touch Studio’s textile artist, and UnitedMake’s design and fabrication team.

Over four months, Tuft and Touch Studio produced the vibrant tufted panels by hand in their North Melbourne studio, exploring new methods of gradient blending and colour transitions. Each section was later assembled and mounted by UnitedMake onto a custom backing board designed to preserve the tactility and dimensionality of the textile.

The composition draws inspiration from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, weaving together bold tones of black, white, yellow, blue, and green. These colours interact across the surface, shifting with the light and creating a kinetic quality that enlivens the surrounding architecture.

Beyond its visual impact, the soft textile absorbs sound, improving the acoustics of the Town Hall, while also inviting touch, warmth, and a sense of approachability.

Once installed, Coming Together became a living element of the space: a gathering point, a backdrop for dialogue, and a reminder that art can be both a connector and a catalyst for community.