Things to do in Melbourne today

As a chill settles over the city each winter, Rising returns with a nocturnal vengeance. This year, the much-loved arts festival will take place across twelve nights from June 4-15, with a red-hot program featuring 65 events, 327 artists and nine world premieres. Musical highlights include an exclusive Australian performance by British indie-pop girlie Suki Waterhouse; a one-off show by Beth Gibbons of Portishead fame, who will bring her haunting solo album Lives Outgrown to Hamer Hall; and Brooklyn rap legends Black Star (aka Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli) live on stage in Melbourne for the first time ever. Joining them on the line-up will also be Japanese Breakfast, Marlon Williams, Forest Swords and Mount Kimbie. On the first Saturday of the festival (June 7), Fed Square will be taken over by Blockbuster – a vibrant celebration of South Asian culture featuring contemporary Pakistani music, an eye-catching Punjabi truck art installation and plenty of delicious street food.  Flinders Street Station will double as a mini golf course when Swingers – The Art of Mini Golf takes over. This immersive (and fully playable) exhibition will include works by some of the world’s most dynamic and boundary-pushing female-identifying artists. The Capitol Theatre will also be transformed thanks to a massive kinetic light installation by Shohei Fujimoto. If it's a break from the hustle and bustle of life you're after, Korean artist Woopsyang's viral “do nothing” challenge comes to QV Square,...

Snakes have curled their way around mythology for millennia. Present in countless creation stories from Egyptian, Greek and Indian to Norse and First Nations cultures (including the Rainbow Serpent), the loaded symbolism of this coiled creature clasping its tail between its fangs – the ouroboros – evokes eternity.  Sometimes the serpent holds the world together. Other times, it’s a constricting chaos agent. Either way, the fireside nature of myths, oft-shared in storytelling sessions spun under the stars, is inherently unending, melding anew with each retelling. Tackled by everyone from Roman poets Virgil and Ovid to Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire and Katee Robert’s queered novel, Midnight Ruin, the myth of Eurydice and her Orpheus finds new life in the hands of folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. Her eight Tony Award-winning smash-hit musical Hadestown began life as a sung-through community project before she turned it into a concept album, and then a Broadway smash with help from director Rachel Chavkin. In most Greek tales, Eurydice and her Orpheus are happily married, torn apart by a cruel twist of fate: a viper’s bite (sometimes while pursued by toxic dudebro Aristaeus), not even a malicious god in disguise. As she fades into the Underworld, ruled over by Hades and his niece/abducted wife Persephone (!!!), a desolate Orpheus, son of a musical muse, plays his lyre like her life depends on it. Descending into the abyss and crossing the River Styx, he makes a...

May the 4th is a special date for any Star Wars fan, but this year it'll be one to remember. A brand-new Lego Star Wars exhibition is making its world premiere, and it won't be in a galaxy far, far away but right here in Melbourne.  Lego Star Wars: the Exhibition at Melbourne Museum comes from revered Lego genius Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, who's back with his latest mind-boggling project of massive Star Wars brick creations – some standing at a whopping four metres tall.  There'll be Lego replicas of many of the iconic characters, fan favourite scenes, spacecraft and more, from both the classic films and newer releases. Plus, the exhibition will include interactive brick-based activities inclusive of all ages.  While there's still some time to wait for the exhibition opening, building has already begun, and it's expected it'll take more than 25,000 hours to finish and use a wild 8 million Lego bricks. One of the most monumental creations is a three-metre-tall red X-wing spacecraft, made of an astonishing 64,759 bricks, taking 382 hours to build.  "Fans will be blown away by the scale of the experience," Brickman says. "Building these iconic scenes and characters in Lego Star Wars form is an extremely complex task – taking the humble Lego brick and using it by the millions to translate into Star Wars builds and models at an epic scale the world has never seen before.  "My team and I are super excited to launch this mind-blowing experience right here in Melbourne. My inner...

Australia’s longest-running short film festival, the St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) returns this winter for its landmark 41st year. From June 5-15, the festival is set to showcase more than 150 films across 34 sessions to cast a light on Australia’s best local short filmmakers.  From family dramas to gothic horrors and brilliant animations, you can catch the films at sessions across the City of Port Phillip, which presents the festival. There are screenings at famous venues such as the Astor Theatre, Palais Theatre and South Melbourne Market, plus (for the first time since 2019) the St Kilda Town Hall.  Highlights from the 2025 SKFF program include the heartfelt documentary See Me: A Film About Redro Redriguez; Unspoken, by acclaimed actor Damian Walshe-Howling; Rage, a snapshot of the Sharpie subculture in 1970s Melbourne; and Born to Hustle, about jeweller, artist and entrepreneur Emma Addams. All the familiar showcases will also return in 2025, including the Australian Comedy Showcase; Pride Without Prejudice hosted by Victorian Pride Centre; the Documentary Showcase; Brave New Worlds; Shifting The Gaze; Under The Radar and more.  This year, the line-up will feature the festival’s largest First Nations program to date, with a particular focus on stories of motherhood and birthing by First Nations female filmmakers. There's also been a resurgence in Super 8 and 16mm filmmaking, with 12 titles shot on film, illustrating how the next generation of filmmakers are embracing...

The Immigration Museum on Flinders Street is getting its first major exhibition in several years and it’s all about leaning into what makes us happy. The exhibition, called Joy, will run through until August 29, 2025. Joy features seven brand new commissioned installations from leading Victorian-based creatives, each expressing the artists’ own personal joy. You can expect an emotive adventure where colour and storytelling combine, and big happy moments that sit alongside more reflective ones. Experience the vibrant power of joy as you walk amongst room-sized interactive artworks, or contribute your own joy with the collaborative ‘share your joy’ wall. Venezuelan-born Australian artist Nadia Hernández has filled the Immigration Museum’s hallway with bold collage works, ‘future positive’ fashion designer Nixi Killick has created a ‘joy generator’ and queer artist Spencer Harrison has created a runway where you can strut your stuff. Jazz Money, a Wiradjuri poet and artist, has fused sculpture, audio and mural for a work reflecting the history of the museum site, while local artist Beci Orpin has taken over a room with a giant toy rabbit made to be hugged. Afghanistan-Australian visual artist and poet Elyas Alavi and Sher Ali have also created a large-scale mural illustrating a Persian myth.  Lastly, much-loved pop artist and designer Callum Preston has constructed a full-scale replica of a nineties video store, a joy he never thought he would miss until he realised it was...

Do you have golden retriever energy, or are you more of a black cat kind of person? Felines and canines form an important part of the everyday lives, pop culture and mythology of humans, and the latest exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria celebrates the role of these animals.  Cats and Dogs is now showing at the NGV’s Ian Potter Centre until July 2025. The exhibition will feature more than 250 works of art, design and fashion spanning diverse periods and media, all drawn from the NGV’s own collection.  One side of the exhibition is dedicated to all things dogs, with the other side to our feline friends. The cross-cultural and transhistorical collection of artworks spotlights the cultural symbolism of cats and dogs, from their significance in religion, spirituality and the occult, to their appearances in pop culture.  The multifaceted line-up of artists includes Pierre Bonnard, Rembrandt van Rijn, David Hockney and Jeff Koons, as well as local talents Atong Atem, Grace Cossington Smith and Trevor Turbo Brown. In terms of fashion, there are also impressive pieces from Romance Was Born and Alexander McQueen. Find out more about Cats and Dogs including ticket information over here. Feeling arty? Check out the best art and exhibitions happening in Melbourne this month.

For the First Peoples of so-called Australia, the term ‘Country’ describes much more than simply a place or nation. Instead, it describes a deep connection to land, animals and plants, ancestors, language, culture and the wisdom of the land itself. Relationships to Country are individual and dinstinct, but always grounded in mutual respect. A new installation within Melbourne Museum called Biik Milboo Dhumba – Country is Always Talking encourages visitors to consider what it means to listen to Country. As you enter the tranquil space of the museum’s living Forest Gallery, you’ll encounter portraits of Elders and community members of the Eastern Kulin Nations. Use your phone to listen to their stories, detailing their unique and personal relationships to Country. Wander among the tall trees as you learn about cultural practices including scarring trees, seed collecting and cultural burning. A towering new sculpture by artist Robert Young provides the perfect place to stop and reflect on your journey. In the words of senior Elder N’Arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs: “‘We have to sit with Country and understand how it talks to us. The landscape informs us if we learn to see and hear it.” This installation is now open and access is included with museum entry. You can find out more at the Melbourne Museum website. Want more? Check out the best art and exhibitions happening in Melbourne this month.

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...

French Impressionism is host to arguably some of the most famous (and most loved) artists of all time. Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Van Gogh and Degas are just some of the artists who achieved such acclaim that they remain household names even a century after their deaths. And this winter, you can see some of the artist's most beautiful and well-known works right here in Melbourne at the NGV's new exhibition, French Impressionism: From the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. From June 5 to October 5, 2025, the NGV will host more than 100 French Impressionist works by artists like Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne and Mary Cassatt – including works never before seen in Australia. The exhibition is running in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which is well regarded for its collection of French Impressionist masterpieces.    A highlight is the display of 16 canvases in one gallery, painted over a 30-year period, by Claude Monet. These works depict many of Monet’s most beloved scenes of nature in Argenteuil, the Normandy coast, the Mediterranean coast and his famous garden in Giverny.  One of the best things about this exhibition is that you will also learn the stories of the artists, exhibitions and collectors that shaped this significant movement in art history. Originally brought to the NGV back in 2021, this exhibition had to close just after it opened due to (yep, you guessed it), the...

Despite the Holocaust occurring halfway across the globe 80 years ago, its lessons continue to be crucially important to Australians today. Melbourne Holocaust Museum’s Hidden: Seven Children Saved exhibition is focused on educating Melburnians on the Holocaust experiences of seven (now-local) children, to inspire greater understanding of these vital lessons. Interactive displays show visitors what it would have been like for a child to hide in such a volatile time, and how acts of kindness from the community made all the difference. Replica rooms, mini towns, soundscapes, moving images and projections make it an interesting and educational display for families (with kids ten years plus) to visit during the school holidays. The immersive storytelling of the exhibition is so powerful that it won the esteemed Victorian Museums and Galleries Award and the Social Impact Award from the Australian Museums and Galleries Association in 2024. You can find the Melbourne Holocaust Museum in the vibrant suburb of Elsternwick, just 15 minutes from Flinders Street Station. Child and concession tickets are just $10, and adults $12. Book yours here.