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

Melbourne's must-see exhibitions

From interactive installations to pop-up art galleries, these exhibitions can't be missed.

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.

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.

An ancient Roman marble bust with its nose chipped off, displayed on a small square plinth.
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Rome: Empire, Power, People

This Melbourne-exclusive exhibition is a vibrant exploration of Ancient Rome.

A woman and child sit in a museum, looking up at a glass case displaying a preserved human body posed in a dramatic leap, with exposed muscles visible.
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Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness

Discover what lies behind the skin to reveal how our health, emotions and environment impact us.

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.

Visitors enjoying an evening event at the National Gallery of Victoria, seated on stools under shadowy lighting.
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NGV Friday Nights: Cartier

NGV Friday Nights shine with Cartier, featuring live music, flims, food and drinks.

A lighting display that shows a red design with a square and a light above and below.
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Now or Never

Twelve days of art, ideas, music and technology await - a festival of new dimensions.

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.

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.

Two three-dimensional botanical sculptural paintings by artist Josh Davison hanging side-by-side on a pale coloured gallery wall.
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Joshua Davison

More Life is a solo exhibition by artist Joshua Davison.

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.

Red laser beams dance across the water’s surface,
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Multimmersion: Upside Down V2

A contemplative exploration of light, space and reflection transforms the Yarra River – Birrarung.

Girl looking out at mini village display in the garden.

The best free and cheap family activities

Find family-friendly fun and free events in Melbourne.

Liza Minelli and Joel Grey performing wearing 1930s vaudeville costume in a still from the movie Cabaret.

Capitol Theatre Orchestra followed by Cabaret Screening

Enjoy a performance of 1920s jazz before entering the decadent world of 1930s Berlin.

Two people standing in front of a large pink spiky wall of speakers in an exhibition space.
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Reverb: A Journey into Sound

ACMI and RISING present Reverb: A Journey Into Sound, a major exhibition of vinyl culture and music.

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.

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.

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.

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 exquisite Cartier diamond tiara, suspended against a black background.
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Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: CARTIER

Featuring nearly 400 extraordinary jewellery objects, alongside rare archival materials.

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.

Exhibition piece of artwork on a blank wall, sepia illustrations with occasional words on an undulating surface.
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Kylie Watson: Love Letters

An exhibition exploring how the artist book has a natural connection with printmaking.

A monumental carved wooden sculpture on display in a gallery setting.
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Impractical Companions

A group exhibition exploring the quiet, often invisible spaces of companionship.

Byzantine icons of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist, their heads haloed in gold.
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Divine Thresholds: Icons and the Orthodox Christian World

Discover centuries of craftsmanship, devotion and momentous history in this new landmark exhibition.

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Brightly coloured artwork on the cream brick facade of the Hero Apartment building, with passers-by and a car on the road below.

Show Me Love

A billboard-sized artwork by Clinton Hayden on the front of the Hero Apartment Building.

Street art mural featuring women's faces.

Street art

Melbourne laneways are filled with street art, stencils, paste-ups and mixed media.

Night view of the Federation brass bells, perched atop metal upright supports.

Federation Bells

The Federation Bells are a set of 39 brass bells located in Birrarung Marr in central Melbourne.

Small screens with birds, along St Kilda Rd, outside National Gallery of Victoria.

Julian Opie's Australian Birds

See the artist's illuminated birds on St Kilda Road.