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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.

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.

An illustration of a large white tiered cake, with a cherry on top, framed by red curtains, against a pale pink background.
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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.

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.

A painting on black showing the back of a green man, kneeling near a fantasy garden of illuminated plants and vines.
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Fledge Radiance: Tré Turner and E Salmon

A curated exhibition showcasing queer Blakfulla artists in celebration of NAIDOC week

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.

Girl looking out at mini village display in the garden.

The best free and cheap family activities

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A black mannequin displaying the gold hot pants and halter top worn by Kylie Minogue in her famous music video, Spinning Around.
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Encore!

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

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 sunset concert at federation square

What's free in Melbourne this month

Everything to see, do and enjoy in Melbourne for free this month.

Yound adults walking through an exhibition with bright lights on one side.
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MSDx: In the Making

Explore hundreds of design student projects in this behind-the-scenes look at the built environment.

An artwork that features discarded electronic components resembling a robotic creature, part of an exhibition at Science Gallery.

Friday Night Social: Wild Circuits

Enjoy Science Gallery Melbourne’s free Friday night parties with their latest exhibition.

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.

Printed and framed photographs of Opera performers hanging on a gallery wall.
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Behind the Curtain with Victorian Opera

An exhibition offering a rare glimpse into the artistry and dedication of Victorian Opera.

A abstract artwork in shades of cobalt blue, red, and cream.
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Recurring Echoes: Liliana Barbieri

An exhibition celebrating 25 years of artistic practice by Liliana Di Lizio Barbieri.

Colourful glass artwork of four distinct panels.
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Colour of Time Exhibition

Colour of Time is a NAIDOC Exhibition of First Nations culture in glass, at the Athenaeum Library.

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.

People in a corridor viewing artwork the walls.
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We Belong – Art Exhibtiion

Experience the creativity, identity and perspectives of deaf and hard of hearing young people.

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 in oils of a woman viewed in profile with dark hair in a bun.
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Victorian Artists Society Portrait Exhibition

This annual exhibition celebrates portraiture in all genres.

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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.

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.

Colourful Aboriginal mural paintings on electrical boxes.

Revitalise & Reconnect, Mandi Barton

Artist Mandi Barton has transformed three electrical boxes with her site-responsive artworks.