The best free museums and art galleries in Melbourne

Take a cultural tour of Melbourne’s world-class museums, edgy artist-run spaces and blockbuster exhibitions without spending a cent.

A couple in a gallery looking up at a sign that says count down.
A large hall with a stained glass ceiling.

NGV International

Old and new, beautiful and challenging, NGV International brings a world of art to Melbourne. The city’s premier art gallery has an ever-changing slew of free exhibits to peruse. Browse the permanent collection of international art and be sure to mark the huge free Triennial exhibition in your calendar (13 December 2026- 11 April 2027). Then explore homegrown art and exhibitions at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV.

An exhibit displaying old movie cameras and projectors.

ACMI

From films to video games, ACMI celebrates screen culture past and present. Get behind the camera at ACMI’s free exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image. From the birth of film to today’s digital wonders, there’s more than a century of movie history to explore. And you can get hands-on at this fun cinema showcase, with animation and sound effects to play with.

Blurred person in motion walking past a wall of shelving displaying art and craft objects, a wooden service counter in the foreground.

Craft Victoria

This hidden design hub is a shop and a gallery rolled into one. Craft Victoria hosts regular free exhibitions showcasing work by the most talented makers from all over the country. Exhibitions feature the likes of ceramics, woodwork, textiles and one-of-a-kind jewellery. Then peruse the store and pick up your very own treasure to take home. Check the full program for the current and upcoming exhibitions.

A table in a gallery covering in round shell-like coloured glass pieces.

Tolarno Galleries

For a small gallery, Tolarno sure has hosted some big names in art. Step inside this hidden space to see incredible exhibitions of contemporary art and design. The early days saw the likes of Picasso, Bonnard and Matisse gracing the walls of the gallery. More recently, art lovers admired works by legendary Aussie artist Patricia Piccinini. Whoever is showing, you're bound to see something special.

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

Art and Heritage Collection Tour

See a Foster's beer tower from the good old days, retro Moomba Monarch crowns and a bottle of spumante dating back to who knows when. For the first time ever, City of Melbourne's Art and Heritage Collection is opening its doors to the public for free guided tours. This is your chance to access to some of Melbourne’s most weird and wonderful treasures and historical archives.

A large white room in a gallery, with a person looking at an object on a table, while in the background a person is walking past a large artwork on the wall.

Buxton Contemporary

Explore a stunning collection of Australian art at this Southbank gallery. Head to the Buxton Contemporary website to see what exhibitions are coming up. Past shows have featured film, sculptures, photography and more.

People walking past City Gallery, located within the Melbourne Town Hall building in Swanston Street.

City Gallery

The City Gallery presents free, quarterly exhibitions on city life; past and present. Pop in to the gallery at Melbourne Town Hall to see the city's collection, an eclectic range of 13,000 artworks and artefacts.

A tall brick building with people outside and a large detailed entrance.

Science Gallery Melbourne

Mix a dose of science, with a dash of art, and a pinch of innovation and you get Science Gallery Melbourne. This is where art and science meet. A unique cultural space, it aims to inspire curiosity and critical thinking through the fusion of art and science. Part of Melbourne University, it’s designed to engage young people in the creative industries and science.

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)

From music to educational talks, screenings and more the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) will have you coming back again and again. Spot the iconic rust-red building along Southbank and head in to explore local and international art. Keep an eye out for pop-up events and teachings.

The glass-panelled entrance to the Victorian Police Museum.

Victoria Police Museum

Explore the state's crime history at this free museum in Docklands. History buffs will be amazed by Australia's largest collection of Kelly Gang armour. Dig through major investigations and learn how animals have served in the police force all the way back to the 1960s.

Melbourne's best small, independent and artist-run galleries

Person walking past artworks on a gallery wall.

Stephen McLaughlan Gallery

Curated contemporary art space in the iconic Nicholas Building.

The exterior of an art gallery with stained glass arch above the door and art on the walls inside

Flinders Lane Gallery

Exhibiting collectable artworks and featuring solo exhibitions every three weeks.

Framed drawing for sale on the white wall of Outre Gallery.

Outre Gallery

Alternative art gallery specialising in lowbrow, pop surrealism and underground art.

Pictures on a wall in an art gallery.

West End Art Space

A contemporary art gallery with a focus on living artists that strive for excellence.

Interior of Arc One Gallery displaying bright artworks hanging on a white wall.

ARC ONE Gallery

A commercial gallery in Flinders Lane showing contemporary Australian art.

Dark image showing parts a body - leg, arms, torso - against a dark background.

Kings Artist-Run Initiative

Space for contemporary art practice and gallery showcasing experimental projects.

Two people standing in a gallery space with displays of Indian sculptures.

Mystik River Gallery

Specialising in the ancient art of Indian sculpting.

Gallery space displaying framed art on the walls, and small sculptures on shelves and tables.

Bridget McDonnell Gallery

A gallery exhibiting early and modern Australian art.

Exterior of an old building with columns and a modern geometric extension.

RMIT Gallery

Engaging contemporary art exhibitions featuring both emerging and established artists.

More free museums

Neo-classical pediment and columns of College of Surgeons' Museum building.

College of Surgeons Museum

An exhibition of surgical objects and memorabilia.

The glass-panelled entrance to the Victorian Police Museum.

Victoria Police Museum

Explore the social history of policing through interactive displays and over 300 collection items.

Looking out through floor to ceiling glass windows onto buildings around a courtyard, part of the Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre.

Mary MacKillop Spirituality Centre

A place of inspiration and vitality, that promotes the spirit and charism of Saint Mary MacKillop.

Old-fashioned wooden chemist's counter with cabinets containing jars behind.

Medical History Museum

A free museum focusing on medicine's contribution to scientific discovery and community wellbeing.

The best free exhibitions

Man wearing traditional Italian dress - red hat, green waistcoat, holding an Italian flag in front of the Exhibition Building.
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Italian Festa and Expo

Celebrating all thing Italian at the Royal Exhibition Building and Museum Plaza.

An oil painting depicting a scene from a Moroccan courtyard in earthy warm tones.
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Susannah Bond and Melissa Fraser: Oceans Apart

Contemporary oil paintings capturing the recent travels of artists Melissa Fraser and Susannah Bond.

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.

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.

A little girl looking at a colourful display of cushions in an art gallery.
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Children's Play: Ragnar Kjartansson

A new children's exhibition by Ragnar Kjartansson, inspired by the idea of a theatrical feast.

A delicately painted porcelain plate with a blue design depicting waves around the outside and a burning landscape in the centre.
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Margaret Ackland: Reflections

Margaret Ackland’s elegant still lifes serve up the uneasy truths of contemporary life.

An Australian landscape watercolour painting by Maxine Wade, of a large gum tree by a body of water, in muted shades of green, blue, tan and cream.
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Maxine Wade: Land For Sale

This exhibition features Australian landscapes painted in watercolour.

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.

A painting of a woman in a pink dress, against a blue background.
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Emily Dober: My World

Enjoy the world of artist Emily Dober in The Gallery at City Library.

Inside a large, darkened gallery space with projected artwork on the walls and a single person viewing.
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Occupation Studies: ngayanhurra bayarral Birrarung

A new multichannel audiovisual artwork by artist Tahlia Palmer.

A geometric-shaped portrait of a seated woman with red hair wearing a green dress.
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Mark Niehus: Different Midnights

A collection of paintings, moving image and free verse that explore the experience of solitude.

Mossy bird's nest balanced between twig branches on a tree.
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Design X Nature

An outdoor exhibition of artworks exploring how natural systems inform creative practice.

A person in a gallery setting looking at a sculpture of an oversize wooden pipe with a sculpture of a giant peeled mandarin balanced on the pipe.
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Poetry Goes No Further Than Language

Explore a moment in mid-1980s China when a group of artists began to question values about art.

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.

Layered satin fabric in yellow and pink with embossed pattern.
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Design X Nature Artist-in-Residence: Pastures

Visit artist Cara Johnson as she adds to her artwork, Pastures.

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.

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.

Flinders Street Station illuminated blue at night.

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Two First Nations individuals sitting back to back on the ground outdoors, engaged in a traditional weaving activity near a body of water.
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FUTURE COUNTRY: Country Road + NGV First Nations Commissions

The second iteration of the Country Road and NGV First Nations Commission initiative.

An illuminated textile sculpture in white / cream with a yellow glow.
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Arabella Strachan: Natural Light

An exhibition featuring illuminated textile sculptures exploring the natural world.

The lower half of three people modelling upcycled patchwork trousers and skirts on a runway.

ReWear Runway

An upcycled and sustainable fashion show and part of the Zero Waste Festival.

A young boy and girl pointing to triceratops bones in the Museum.

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A mixed-media artwork depicting a rocky coastline with green foliage under a blue sky.
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Winsome Spiller: Seeing Place

A solo exhibition exploring the many ways a place can be experienced, remembered and reimagined.

View of Melbourne from across the Yarra River

Creativa: XI – Opening

An exhibition that explores finding order in chaos.

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.

Historical technical drawing of a rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer.

Albrecht Dürer: Treasures from the NGV Collection

Go behind the scenes at the NGV for a rare look at highlights from its Albrecht Dürer collection.

A botanical illustration of a red native plant with seed pods visible.
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The Art of Botanical Illustration

An exhibition that celebrates the beauty and scientific tradition of botanical art.

A painting of a red kangaroo against a dark green textured background.
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Clare Callinan Recent Paintings

A solo exhibition of Australian trees and wildlife by Clare Callinan.

Detail of artwork with scalloped edges.
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Maddison Kitching: Memento

An exhibition of new drawings and paintings by Maddison Kitching.

A close up of a hand embroidered handkerchief showing a yellow star with blue outline and small floral motifs on a black fabric.
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Sparks in the Dark: 260 Weeks of Resilience

Celebrating the resilience of women living with the enduring impacts of the War in Afghanistan.

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 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.

Artwork of a rocky grey outcrop or cliff jutting out over a blue ocean.
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Victorian Artists Society: Maritime Exhibition

A maritime themed exhibition of artworks at the Victorian Artists Society.

Animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot working on a claymation set, adjusting characters.
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Making Memoir of a Snail

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

Dark artwork installation.
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KINGS Artist-Run: September Exhibitions

See shows by Georgia Hayward, Soyo Paek & Hoi Ni Jess Chow and James Nunn.

Selection of cassette tapees with handmade covers.
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Rebel Heart: Love Letters and Other Declarations

A stirring exhibition exploring romantic love through the State Library's extraordinary archive.

The facade of Melbourne Town Hall illuminated in colours, with a blurred tram going past.
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Light Up Melbourne After-dark Projections

See immersive art projections light up some of the city's most iconic landmarks.

A smiling woman in an Australian military uniform, adorned with medals, holding a large cardboard box.
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HERstory: Remembering Australia’s Military Women

This exhibition highlights women in Victoria and their stories of service 1942 to the present day.

The interior of a ply-lined warehouse with artworks displayed on ply shelves and benches and people walking around.
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Loose Fit: Contemporary Architecture Projects from East Asia

An exhibition exploring alternative approaches to architecture in an era of climate change.

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.

Last updated on Thu 11 Jun 2026

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