A colourful art exhibition with a sculpture and letter painting on the walls.

Melbourne's must-see exhibitions

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

Free exhibitions

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

Swinging 60s

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

An artist painting in a workshop with brightly coloured murals on the wall, artist's materials on the floor.
Until

Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations

Step inside the unseen inner worlds of artists at State Library Victoria.

Two people seated below a neon sign.
Until

The Story of the Moving Image

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

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

Protest Melbourne

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

Animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot working on a claymation set, adjusting characters.
Until

Making Memoir of a Snail

Explore handmade sets, props and characters from Adam Elliot's claymation film Memoir of a Snail.

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.

An early watercolour painting of Melbourne's Yarra River.
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Yarra: Stories of Melbourne's River

Explores the chequered history of the stream we call the ‘city’s river’.

Overhead view of a crowd of people browsing books at book stalls in an interior setting.
Until

Melbourne Art Book Fair

Engage with and collect unique publications from leading local and international practitioners.

An abstract artwork with red, white, black and yellow lines.
Until

Matthew Simpson: Serendipitous Painting

Artist Matthew Simpson's fifth solo exhibition showing high impact abstracts and graphic animation.

A colourful woven artwork with different textures and patterns representing a map.
Until

Hyperworlds: Unreal Cartography

An exhibition from Allanah Sarafian exploring maps as emotional and ideological objects.

An obscure image with monochrome tones resembling plumes of smoke.
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Kate Hunter: Unicellular

Unicellular intersects personal stories with sounds and images that reflect the overlooked.

Display of sculptural moulded clay figures.
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Are You Lonely Tonight? I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

A group exhibition around the theme of loneliness, at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

A smiling woman sitting in a fluffy white armchair with her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees; there is a white curtain. an artwork and a vase of flowers behind her.

Melbourne Design Week: Panel Discussion with Swee Lim

A talk exploring how past styles shape contemporary art and creative reinvention.

Small sculpture made from coloured glass displayed on a wooden base and white pedestal.
Until

Robert Croft and Cam Michael

Artists Robert Croft and Cam Michael present their solo exhibitions at Jump Left.

Renaissance-style painting of a woman screened onto a window frame.
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Fuga: Art Soirée by Drasko Boljevic

View the windows in the laneway of Melbourne Place and meet the artist.

A black and white detail of a bridge pylon showing metal and stone construction.
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Greg Branson: Manifesto Melbourne

This exhibition invites viewers to see Melbourne through the lens of influential photographers.

A collection of vintage Furby electronic robotic toys displayed on wooden shelves.
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RISING: Furby Chorus and FRIENDs

Domestic robots gather to converse through synchronistic movement for the Australian Dance Biennale.

An exhibition of contemporary wall-based artworks in a gallery space, with a person in the foreground.
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A Family Gathering: Asian Heritage Week Exhibition

A group art exhibition celebrating Asian Heritage Week, featuring artists across the Asian diaspora.

A printed swatch of fabric hanging from a solid concrete wall and draped over a wooden easel.
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Elizabeth West: Beyond The Frame

Beyond the Frame examines the shifting boundary between seeing and being.

A black and white photograph of gnarled, weathered trees on a sloping, sandy embankment.
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After the Gold Rush: Victorian Landscape

An exhibition survey of photographic interpretations of the Victorian landscape.

Blockbuster exhibitions

Two individuals talking to each other inside Melbourne Museum at night, with blue lighting.
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Nocturnal: Museum After Dark

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

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 tour at the Immigration Museum, looking over a table with a video display.

Immigration Museum Guided Highlights Tour

Immigration Museum Guided Highlights Tour

Last updated on Mon 3 Nov 2025

Only In The City

Only in this City of Ours
The red-lit interior of the Royal Exhibition Building, with people seated on the plastic-covered floor.
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Now or Never

Arts, ideas, sound, technology; a festival of new dimensions for Melbourne/Narrm.

People milling around Fed Square at night.

Melbourne's essential night-time events

From hidden laneway markets to epic pop-ups, Melbourne gets lit once the lights go out.

Flinders street station lit up in blue lights at night

7 things Melburnians will do even if it's raining

From AFL games and night markets to winter festivals and theatre shows.

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An ant moving a green circle on a rock.
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A velvet ant, a flower and a bird

Step into a garden of knowledge anchored by three familiar figures from nature.

An abstract landscape painting in green and earthy tones.
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Melissa Boughey: Step Outside

Melissa Boughey’s wetland studio offers new way of seeing.

Painting of two individuals in a parking lot setting. A woman in a red top is perched on the roof of a vehicle, while a man stands nearby looking toward her.
Until

Top Arts

Top Arts 2026 offers a captivating look into the inventive and imaginative spirit of young artists.

Abstract 2D line drawing or print of a mother feeding a baby in a high chair.
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Mother: Stories from the NGV Collection

Mother presents diverse stories drawn from across the NGV Collection.