The best art exhibitions in Melbourne this month

Cai Guo-Qiang is best known for unique, large-scale artworks that draw on his cultural heritage. In this exhibition, part of the National Gallery of Victoria's prestigious Winter Masterpieces series, he's presenting all new works.

The National Gallery of Victoria's latest winter blockbuster was a look back at the last 130 years of modern art, but their major 2019 winter exhibitions are looking a fair bit further back. All the way to the third century BCE.

After beloved Melbourne artist Mirka Mora passed away last year at the age of 90, many of her artworks and personal possessions were put up for public auction. Horrified at the thought of the artist’s legacy being split up, members of Melbourne’s art community set up a crowd funding campaign to allow Heide Museum of Modern Art to purchase a selection of the auction’s contents.

Putting yourself out there – whether in love, work or friendship – is one of most terrifying things a person can do, so it’s the perfect inspiration for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art’s winter exhibition.

White Rabbit, a privately owned four-storey temple to 21st century Chinese art, is a big deal in Sydney. It shows Judith Neilson’s epic and eclectic collection to hordes of Sydneysiders every week, ranging from small-scale works to massive installations. This is the first time the collection is being shown at the NGV, with a selection of 26 artists.

July marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, so what better way to commemorate the occasion than by examining the ways the moon has inspired art over the centuries?

Who doesn’t love seeing the city streets alight with colour and art? From July 26 to August 3, Gertrude Street Projection Festival invites you to open your mind and your imagination as a huge light display takes over the entire length of Fitzroy's Gertrude Street. 

Father and daughter artists Hans and Nora Heysen helped shaped the course of 20th century Australian art. Both accomplished artists in their own right, Hans is recognised as one of the pioneers of Australian landscape painting, while Nora was an established portraitist and still life painter who became the first female winner of the Archibald Prize.

Bill Henson might just be Australia’s greatest living photographer, so you could be forgiven for thinking he has bigger fish to fry than documenting the changes in his own backyard. Not so. 

Art is generally a visual medium, but Linden New Art is focusing on the ears this month, with three new exhibitions dedicated to the power of sound.