A couple in a gallery looking up at a sign that says count down.

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. All without spending a cent!

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. 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.

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.

Two people walking past a wall covered in concert posters.

Australian Music Vault

If you’re musically inclined, the Australian Music Vault is a must. It’s a great overview of Melbourne’s backstage sounds and stories. Watch rare footage and see iconic objects like Kylie Minogue’s stage outfits and notebooks belonging to Nick Cave. The free exhibition is permanently on show at Arts Centre Melbourne.

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 woman in a leather trench coat looking at screens showing a man, surrounded by pink curtains.

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. On now is Distraction. Ponder the art of time wasting at this immersive exhibition dedicated to distraction and doom-scrolling.

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.

Contemporary sculptural artworks on display on the floor and wall of a gallery.

Anna Schwartz Gallery

The gallery represents over 30 established and emerging artists on individual projects.

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.

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

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.

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’.

A colourful woven artwork with different textures and patterns representing a map.
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Hyperworlds: Unreal Cartography

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

A drypoint etching in monotones depicting an industrial scene.
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Louise Donovan: Common Ground

Nineteen everyday moments in intimate drypoint by Melbourne artist, Louise Donovan

A person wearing an apron, seated at a table as part of am art workshop, using a paintbrush to apply paint to paper.
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Festival of Veterans Arts

Enjoy this veteran-led arts festival with exhibitions, performances, workshops and family events.

A person holding paintbrushes stands in an art studio with a colorful abstract painting hanging on the wall.
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Anna Pelc: All the Places I’ve Been

A retrospective exhibition that brings together artworks created over the past decade.

Cartoon of a movie camera topped with tiny figures.
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Behind the Lines: Are We Rolling?

An exhibition exploring all the twists and turns of another turbulent year in Australian politics.

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.

An abstract, dark sculpture resembling two seahorses against a bright blue background with wavy lines.
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Frances Loriente: What Would We Be if We Were Under the Sea

This exhibition by Frances Loriente explores our connection to the sea and its creatures.

Korean artwork of a butterfly and tubular flowers.
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Stories of Blessing: Modern Echoes of Minhwa by Minhwa Group

Korea’s traditional folk art, rooted in ancient Goguryeo wall paintings.

A close up of a woman's eye with pink roses beside her face.
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Abundance: The Pleasure of Plenty

Australian artists celebrating beauty and sensory richness.

An artwork featuring a central figure in a red ballet costume with white patterns, set against a brown and gold background with white, ghostly figures and red strings stretched across the composition.
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A Trilogy of Artistry

Paintings and mixed media works from Lauren Wicks, Jane Docherty and Deborah Amon-Cotter.

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.

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.
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Hany Armanious: Stone Soup

An exhibition of ordinary objects transformed into near-perfect doubles that unsettle what we know.

A black and white woodcut print of a forest.
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Robert Mihajlovski: Longing for Belonging

Longing for Belonging, an exhibition of woodcut prints

Flinders Street Station illuminated blue at night.

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A person standing at a podium in front of the Shrine for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service.

ANZAC Day Dawn Service

A solemn early-morning ceremony honouring the service and sacrifice of Australia’s veterans.

A close-up portrait painting in a realistic style, featuring a woman with curly, dark hair looking directly at the viewer.
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Nathalie Anne: Held In Line

An exhibition that explores what endures when materials meet, transform, and leave their traces.

Person looking at a display in a glass case, rows of colourful books in the background.
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World of the Book

Explore the rare, the sacred and the iconic in the 20th anniversary of this annual exhibition.

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.

Male mannequins dressed extravagently in embroidered denim outfits.
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Party Hard: After the Party

An exhibition exploring celebrations from Edwardian times to the first Sydney Mardi Gras and beyond.

A person with headphones on their head, standing in front of a large instrument, a wall behind them displays an image of hands at a control panel.
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Silent Hand Catches Silver Bell

An exhibition showcasing 25 years of Speak Percussion’s boundary-defying experimentation.

Drawing of a person standing on a laneway corner looking at their phone.
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Linda Weil: Dodgy Melbourne

A selection of ink drawings on recycled paper exploring the city and suburbs.

A hand holds a small, lit torch over a textured surface with engraved concentric circles and ripples, creating a dramatic lighting effect.
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Certain Uncertainty Vol.4

333 Lab collaborates with The Level III to present the Certain Uncertainty exhibition series.

Play School exhibition with signature teddy and toys.
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Play School: Come and Play

A hands-on, playful exhibition where families can discover how the beloved TV show comes to life.

Painting of a small Roman bust next to a glass jug.
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Madaline Harris: Ancient Nostalgia

An exhibition of travel journals and oil paintings produced during archaeological excavations.

A completely blurred piece of artwork showing blobs of colour.
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KINGS Artist-Run: April Exhibitions

Presenting shows by Celeste and Lucca de Clario Davis, Gilda Jones and Camille Chapman.

Abstract artwork in shades of red, ochre, blue and grey.
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Philippa Croll: Spectrum

Archaeologist Philippa Croll exhibits her abstracted artworks.

A tan jacket made of squiggly fur on a white dummy torso.
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Let's Party: NGV Fashion for Kids

Step into a vibrant world of colour, creativity and celebration.

Designer Nipa Doshi standing in front of her installation of designed pieces at the National Gallery of Victoria.
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MECCA X NGV Women in Design Commission: Nipa Doshi

Designer Nipa Doshi explores beauty, plurality and diversity in her handcrafted cabinet.

An artist standing, working at a desk with bookshelves and computers in the background.
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Rewind Forward: Creative in Residence Group Exhibition

Drawing from state archives, artists create works that reawaken Victoria’s historical narrative.

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.

Colorful hard plastic suncatchers, including a flamingo shape and one shaped as a disposable cup with the word COFFEE written on it, hanging outdoors.
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Matter of Methods l Methods of Matter

This exhibition reveals the unseen, vulnerable side of creative research.

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.

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.

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

Did the sixties really swing in Victoria? A new exhibition from the Old Treasury Building.

Two women in white bridal dresses next to a smiling man at an expo.

Melbourne's Annual Wedding Expo

Showcasing over 120 of Melbourne's wedding suppliers and vendors.

Aerial photo of a city with streets meeting at a crossroad and buildings.
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KINGS Artist-Run: March Exhibitions

Presenting shows by Subletspace, Ella Pininta and Sherry Quiambao.

A painted artwork that is a mottled blend of greys and white, with some yellow streaks.
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Ria Green: Liminal Fields

A visual arts exhibition by Ria Green exploring the resonance and effect of the environment on self.

A black-and-white street photograph of a high-contrast scene focused on silhouettes and shadows.
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Japan: Photos by Australians - Selections by Japanese

An exhibition of photographs by Australians in Japan, selected by Japanese people.

Last updated on Wed 11 Feb 2026

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A Ferris wheel in the city at sunset with colourful reflections on the river.

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Exterior of Hellenic Museum at twilight, with city buildings visible in the background.

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