The best art exhibitions in Melbourne today

Passage: The Art of Atong Atem is a world-premiere exhibition celebrating the thought-provoking work of South Sudanese-born Melbourne-based contemporary artist Atong Atem. Opening at NGV on October 30, this major solo exhibition brings together more than 65 works spanning the past decade, including a new commission created exclusively for the gallery. Born in Ethiopia to South Sudanese parents, Atem moved to Australia with her family in 1997. Known for her striking photographic self-portraits, Atem transforms herself through colourful textiles, paint, costume and symbolic objects to explore identity, race, gender and colonialism. Her images weave together history, memory and imagination, celebrating the resilience of her Dinka Bor culture and Melbourne’s African diaspora while challenging how identity is represented and performed. Her work honours cultural traditions and ancestral stories that have endured displacement and war. A highlight of the exhibition is As Above, a large-scale wall installation exploring the stories held in the skies and constellations. Blending Dinka dance, traditional beading and Catholic iconography, the world-premiere commission brings together different cultural traditions in a striking visual narrative. The exhibition also presents Banksia (2021), a photographic series made at Melbourne’s Immigration Museum that turns the spotlight on African, African American and Caribbean convicts and free settlers who arrived with the First Fleet. ...

Banksy is renowned for his thought-provoking, boundary-pushing and disruptive works. And now, the elusive, world-famous street artist is bringing his artwork to Melbourne in a new exhibition: Banksy Limitless at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in November 2026. This new showcase features more than 250 works, large-scale installations, sculptures, digital displays – plus an impressive state-of-the-art hologram experience. Visitors can uncover untold stories behind iconic works including Cinderella at Dismaland, London Zoo and Ice Cream Van, while immersive rooms and bold visual storytelling invite audiences to step inside Banksy’s provocative universe. Renowned for his sharp wit and unflinching social commentary, Banksy continues to challenge perspectives on politics, culture and human rights. In keeping with his humanitarian ethos, a portion of proceeds from Banksy Limitless will support the M.V. Louise Michel, an independent high-speed lifeboat rescuing migrants in distress. So much more than a traditional exhibition, Banksy Limitless is a powerful, multi-sensory experience that will pull you in. Don't miss it.  The exhibition will run from November 25 to April 25, 2027, and tickets are on sale now. Adult tickets start at $39, and children at $28. You can get yours here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: A Chapel Street icon is getting a ‘lucky’ makeover after...

There’s more than a good drop on offer at Hanging Rock Winery – this vineyard has morphed into an outdoor gallery. Art in the Vines – Art in Motion 2 is a free outdoor exhibition at Hanging Rock Winery, running daily from 17 October 2026 until the end of April 2027 with Hanging Rock and Mount Macedon providing a spectacular backdrop.  Spanning three acres of the winery’s grounds, the exhibition features more than 20 kinetic sculptures by local, Victorian and interstate artists. With the wind and weather constantly changing, the sculptures will move and interact with their surroundings, meaning no two visits will be quite the same. The standout attraction is a special showcase of five works by acclaimed Australian kinetic sculptor Rudi Jass, whose creations combine precision engineering with an artist’s eye for movement, balance and natural forces. Drawing on skills developed during his years working for Porsche, Jass creates carefully balanced sculptures that respond to the slightest breeze with seemingly effortless grace. The exhibition has already recognised some standout talent, with Mark Reyment winning the Hanging Rock Winery Sculpture Prize for At least you know it’s trying, a quirky work inspired by the Hanging Rock Races. Local chainsaw artist Paul Hurley took home the Arcare Prize for best up-and-coming artist for Black Cockatoo. Curator Malcolm Thomson says the kinetic theme challenged artists to make movement an integral part of their work, producing a...

As Jane Austen wrote in Northanger Abbey, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” So bookworms and bibliophiles, this one's for you. World of the Book, Australia’s largest and longest-running rare book exhibition, returns to State Library Victoria with more than 300 extraordinary works spanning from around 2000 BCE to the present day. This year's exhibition shines a spotlight on some of literature's most influential women writers. We're talking rare and remarkable editions by Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Octavia E. Butler, Virginia Woolf and the Brontë sisters, including a newly acquired first edition of Jane Austen's Emma (1816) in its original Regency-era binding. You'll also be able to admire special versions of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, alongside rare editions of Agatha Christie's best-loved mysteries featuring her legendary detectives, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Head to the beautiful domed La Trobe Reading Room to check out everything from intricate miniature books to Australian punk music fanzines, early comic books and centuries-old treasures. One must-see is The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886) – Melbourne's first publishing blockbuster, which famously outsold Sherlock Holmes. “The Fund’s first ever purchase, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, will be displayed in a space intentionally designed to celebrate extraordinary women writers,” said State...

Love video games? You’re invited to step inside one at ACMI, where acclaimed Chinese artist Feng Mengbo transforms modern Chinese history into a surreal, interactive adventure. Presented by ACMI and the City of Melbourne’s Now or Never festival, Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart reimagines China’s rapid 20th century modernisation through this retro video game. Inspired by the Long March of 1934-36 (the military retreat of the Chinese Red Army that helped establish Mao Zedong’s rise to power), the artwork takes history into unexpected territory. Visitors can guide a Red Army soldier across two giant screens, navigating a pixelated world filled with supernatural creatures, pop culture characters and historical references. The soldier is armed with an unlikely weapon: Coca Cola cans. The visuals draw on iconic 1980s games including Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter II, while the different levels weave together historical landmarks, Cold War science fiction and retro video game imagery. Feng, who grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution and the later period of economic reform, is a pioneering figure in Chinese digital and interactive art. Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart reflects his fascination with how technology and popular culture can reshape the way we understand history. 'Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart' is on now until January 31, 2027, in the foyer near the ACMI Shop. Entry is free; no bookings are required. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne...

Traversing time and space, Wurrdha Marra is an ongoing exhibition celebrating the diversity of First Nations art and design. Since late 2023, the ground floor and foyer of the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia has become home to a dynamic and ever-changing exhibition space that displays masterpieces and never-before-shown works from the NGV’s First Nations collection. Translating to ‘many mobs’ in the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language, Wurrdha Marra showcases pieces from emerging and established artists from across Australia, including Tony Abert, Treahna Hamn, Kent Morris, Marlene Gilson, Rover Thomas, Christian Thompson, Gary Lee, Nicole Monks, Gali Yalkarriwuy, Dhambit Mungunggurr, Nonggirrnga Marawili and more.  Highlights of the free exhibition include a large-scale installation of fish traps produced by Burrara women from Maningrida – the objects have been crafted over weeks using vines from the bush. Also on display is a new collection of contemporary resin boomerangs by Keemon Williams, a First Nations queer artist hailing from Meanjin/Brisbane. Another unseen work is titled History Repeats by Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku Yalanji contemporary artist Tony Albert, who has used mass-produced objects – from tea towels to ashtrays – to reframe Indigenous histories.  More recently, the exhibition has been updated to include the largest-ever display of the NGV's expansive collection of bark paintings. Bark Salon subverts the traditional European salons of the 18th and 19th...