Melbourne's must-see exhibitions

From impressive interactive installations to pop-up galleries featuring internationally renowned art, these exhibitions cannot be missed.

A person is inside a modern art gallery looking up at a towering sculpture behind them is a large banner saying emergency

Free exhibitions

Two women in a gallery with white walls and highly polished black floors observing two pieces of abstract photographic art hung on the wall.
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Andrew Browne: Lux Sublimata

A new exhibition of photo-based imagery on satin banners by Melbourne artist Andrew Browne.

An expressive, semi-abstract oil painting featuring a vibrant crowd of figures in warm red, yellow, and cool blue tones against a glowing background.
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Connections Art Exhibition

Connections is an art exhibition, for a cause that matters.

A woman walking through a display with shelves of military-style food packages.
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Taste of Combat

Honouring the vital work of the Catering Corps and the evolution of military food.

Two young adults observing a sculpture in a gallery space with digital and scupltural displays.
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EMERGENCE[Y]

An exhibition exploring how adaptation in a world of flux unfolds in every layer of life.

Two people seated below a neon sign.
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The Story of the Moving Image

A permanent exhibition that journeys through the past, present and future of the moving image.

Black and white photograph from the 1960s of model, Twiggy, wearing a mini-dress at the Melbourne Cup.
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Swinging 60s

This exhibition looks at what it was like to live in Victoria during the 1960s.

Historic photo of protesters at a women's rights demonstration.
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Protest Melbourne

An exhibition about Victoria's long history of public protest.

Black and white photograph of a busy Melbourne city intersection with trams, cars, people crossing the road, and buildings, dating from around the 1950s or 1960s.
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Making Modern Melbourne

This free exhibition examines the tumultuous twentieth century in Melbourne.

Looking over a blurred shoulder at a table with books displayed.
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World of the Book

Experience the rare, the sacred and the iconic in this one-of-a-kind exibition.

A still from a videogame depicting a Chinese soldier fighting two warriors in front of an ancient Chinese temple.
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Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart

An free exhibition that playfully reimagines modern Chinese history as a videogame.

Old black-and-white photo of people seated on a bus, two women chatting, a man looking straight ahead.
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The Green Bus

Exhibition tracing Andrew Chapman's 55-year photographic journey through the streets of Melbourne.

Installation view of the Spartans & Anzacs exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance, with people walking around the space, reading panels and looking at displays.
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Spartans & Anzacs

This exhibition invites reflection on the enduring values forged in conflict.

A black and white photograph of a family eating a meal at the family dining table circa 1950.
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You Have a New Memory

An exhibition that explores how and why we remember, through the lens of the Library's collections.

Close-up view of a hand-woven wall covering featuring a textured beige background with minimalist geometric designs.
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Camille Laddawan & Kokoro Kimura (JP): Aura

An exhibition of new works by Camille Laddawan and Kokoro Kimura (JP).

A contemporary Indigenous artwork featuring a black cockatoo against a vibrant pink and marbled background.
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Future Dreaming

Explore 217 original small artworks by First Nations artists in Victoria’s prisons.

A large hanging piece of art showing a person lying back on a rock.
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a/part: Hoda Afshar

A selection of photographic and video projects by Melbourne-based artist Hoda Afshar.

Portrait of a woman with her face painted blue and embellished with gold stars, wearing a colourful, fan-like headdress.
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Passage: The Art of Atong Atem

NGV presents the first-ever major solo exhibition of contemporary artist Atong Atem.

Abstract artwork of flowers in reds and pinks.
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Jo Davenport: Under the Same Sky

Capturing the changeable experience of landscape through gesture, colour and embodied memory.

Light grey textured bark fragments placed on a warm, golden-brown metallic or painted surface.
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Jessica Row: If a tree falls in the urban forest

An exhibition by Jessica Row inspired by the trees in naarm/Melbourne.

Head and shoulders of a stuffed thylacine
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Jodie Grillmeier: Remembering the Thylacine

Photographic portraits from museum collections reflecting the legacy of the thylacine.

Painting of a large brick building on a corner with a tree in the foreground and some parked cars.
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Victorian Artists Society Christmas Salon

This showcase celebrates small and affordable artworks perfect for holiday gifting.

A still from a futuristic looking film showing a woman in a green suit running down a green toned streer.
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NGV Triennial

NGV Triennial unfolds across all floors of NGV International, showcasing over 80 works.

Abstract acrylic painting with a blending texture of deep purples, blues, dark browns, and vibrant splashes of fiery red across the canvas.
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Yolanda Scholz Vinall: Echoing Paths (revised)

Echoing Paths explores the evolution of artistic practice through changing ideas and methods.

Oil painting of a still life featuring red flowers in a dark vase, paired with ceramic jars, a red book, and scattered red apples on a red tabletop.
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The Victorian Artists Society Studio

Showcase of the range of artistic practices that continue to be taught in the historic VAS Studio.

An oil painting of a woman with a kimono draped around her shoulders.
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Send Nudes

A knowing wink at a modern cliché, and a celebration of the oldest subject in the history of art.

Artwork showing a composite of illustrations of heads and portraits with wooden planks.
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5/6: A Celebration of Friendship Through Art

Five individuals working in different ways, showing their distinct views of the world through art.

An oil painting depicting a side-profile view of a woman with short dark hair, rendered in warm, soft lighting, with a classical sculpted bust in the background.
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The Figure From Life

An exhibition honouring the enduring discipline of drawing and painting from the living model.

View of Melbourne from across the Yarra River
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Catalyst Exhibition

An exhibition by the graduating class of the Melbourne Polytechnic Bachelor of Illustration.

Blockbuster exhibitions

Two theatrical costumes on display in front of a red curtain, featured in the ENCORE! exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts.
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Encore!

50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. Treasures from the Australian Museum of Performing Arts.

A dimly lit exhibition space with a large, brightly illuminated dinosaur skeleton in the centre, with several people in silhouette sitting or standing around the exhibit on a reflective floor.

Nocturnal: Museum After Dark

Experience Melbourne Museum after hours, when the doors stay open and the night belongs to adults.

Barbie dolls from an exhibition, specifically featuring a light-skinned doll with a 1959-inspired look and a dark-skinned doll with braided hair, against a pink background.
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Barbie: The Exhibition at Melbourne Museum

Barbie: The Exhibition makes its Australian debut at the Melbourne Museum.

Events, talks and tours

A wall covered in framed images and photographs and displayed very close together.

Art and Heritage Collection Tour

Take a free guided tour of the art and heritage collection at Melbourne Town Hall.

People on a small tour at the Immigration Museum, in an empty room with columns and a tiled floor.

Immigration Museum Guided Highlights Tour

Gain new perspectives on immigrant life at this must-visit destination.

A group of people listening to a guide speaking in the forecourt of the Shrine.

Shrine Tours

Experience more at the Shrine with a guided tour.

Outside of the Melbourne Town Hall building, as seen from Swanston Street.

Melbourne Town Hall Tours

Take a tour of one of Melbourne's most iconic buildings.

The back of a group of people on a walking tour in front of a group leader with his hands in the air at Parliament House.
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Nick's City Hour: Nick Walks Melbourne

See interesting Melbourne architecture in your lunch break.

A tour guide with his hand in the air working in Melbourne's City Square.
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Building Creative Melbourne

A walking tour exploring how architecture, art and big ideas shaped Melbourne.

The retro interior of a 1950s home with red carpet and amber chairs.
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Walsh Street Guided Tour

Explore Robin Boyd’s iconic residence at 290 Walsh Street on a guided tour.

People walking past stencil artwork of cats on a white wall in a Melbourne laneway.
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Art, History, Food and Wine Tour

The perfect introduction to Melbourne – street art, curious tales, wine tasting and tapas.

A drawer with compartments containing novelty glasses.
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Collection Store Tours

Experience unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Australian Performing Arts Collection.

A gold-coloured metal pendant with a circular top section and a rectangular bottom section, featuring embossed abstract patterns, with blurred people working at a craft table in the background.

Tokens, Talismans and Tamata

Create your own ornaments inspired by historic offerings and imagery in this festive workshop.

Last updated on Mon 19 Oct 2026

Only In The City

Only in the City
Inside a bustling market hall

Things you can only see in the city

Uncover secret rooms, historic architecture and iconic landmarks found only in the city.

A family of four standing in a grand library with antique desks, large white walls and a dome ceiling.

Things you can only do in the city

There's only one place to find these rare Melbourne experiences and secret spots.

Multiple plates on a white table cloth.

Things you can only eat in the city

Where to find the city's most iconic dishes.

Discover more

Art photograph of a female floating on water viewed from above.
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Physis: Elemental Bodies

An exhibition of works by photographic artist Lilli Waters.

An abstract oil painting depicting a dark, surreal bar or restaurant scene filled with stylised, ghost-like figures.
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Stirling Caiulo: There’s No Hiding From the Blood Moon

An exhibition of visual art, text and sound from artist Stirling Caiulo.

Artwork by Margaret Preston depicting Banksia flowers in a pot.
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Margaret Preston

NGV's new retrospective exhibition on Margaret Preston.

A gallery space with paintings displayed on one white and one yellow wall, plus a series of totems or tree trunks displayed in a white stand in the middle.
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Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the Gum Tree

Discover how the iconic gum tree has inspired centuries of Australian art and culture.