About

Arts Centre Melbourne

The Arts Centre Melbourne, legally the Victorian Arts Centre Trust, has responsibility for the operation and programming of the publicly owned performing arts spaces that make up the Victorian Arts Centre - the Theatres Building beneath the Spire, Hamer Hall and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

The Arts Centre was set up under the Victorian Arts Centre Act 1979. Trustees are appointed by the Governor in Council, with the recommendation of the Minister
for the Arts.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)

ACMI is the agency responsible for the operation and programming as well as development and research at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The centre is Australia's only venue dedicated to screen culture and creates and exhibits the moving image in many forms. ACMI also gives the public access
to its collections, conducts research and hosts education activities.

The ACMI agency was created by the Film Act 2001, and is governed by the ACMI Board.

Federation Square

Federation Square is unique civic and cultural destination on the banks of the Yarra River, and an important gathering place for Melbourne. It hosts arts, cultural and public events and experiences and is home major cultural institutions such as the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, ACMI and the Koorie Heritage Trust. Federation Square opened in 2002 and covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres).

Federation Square became part of the Creative Industries portfolio in 2020.

Geelong Arts Centre

Geelong Arts Centre was established under the Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trust Act 1980. The agency oversees the operation of Geelong Arts Centre's extensive programs, functions, conferences and events.

Museums Victoria

This institution is responsible for Victoria's scientific and cultural collections. Museums Victoria oversees three sites: the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum.

Since 1996, Museums Victoria has also been responsible for the Royal Exhibition Building.

The agency runs a diverse range of research programs and projects across all of their sites. They are also responsible for the ongoing development, exhibition and preservation of the State's collections and run education and research-based websites.

Museums Victoria was established under the Museums Act 1983, and is governed by Museums Board Victoria.

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

The NGV oversees the operations, programming, development and display of the state's art works across the two NGV sites: the National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, housed within Federation Square.

The State Library of Victoria

This institution is responsible for the operation and activities of the State Library. Set up by the Libraries Act 1988 and governed by the Library Board of Victoria, State Library of Victoria manages the library, its collections and
programs.

Melbourne Recital Centre

Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) holds one of the finest acoustic spaces in the world and hosts a program of concerts, events and activities across many forms and genres. MRC nurtures the development of artists and artistic expression and rejoices in the diversity of music from all corners of the world.

Screen agencies

Film Victoria

Film Victoria, established under the Film Victoria Act 1981 is Victoria's funding and advisory body for the film, television and digital media sectors. It aims to support local film, television and digital media industry professionals to develop talent, ideas, projects and businesses and provides assistance for Australian and
International productions to film in Melbourne and greater Victoria.

Dockland Studios Melbourne

Docklands Studios Melbourne is a complex which consists of five film and television sound stages which are available to local, national and international productions. The studios were completed in 2004 and were purchased by the Victorian Government in 2008.

Creative Victoria is responsible for Victoria's portfolio of State-owned cultural facilities and assets. These are:

• Arts Centre Melbourne - Hamer Hall and Theatres Building
• Arts Centre Melbourne - Sidney Myer Music Bowl
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image
• Federation Bells - Birrarung Marr
• Geelong Performing Arts Centre
• Heide Museum of Modern Art
• Malthouse Theatre
• Meat Market
• Melbourne Recital Centre/Melbourne Theatre Company
• Museums Victoria - Immigration Museum
• Museums Victoria - Melbourne Museum
• Museums Victoria - Royal Exhibition Building
• Museums Victoria - Scienceworks/The Melbourne Planetarium
• National Gallery of Victoria - NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
• Ngargee - Location of Chunky Move, Malthouse Theatre staging workshop and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
• State Circus Facility - Home of Circus Oz
• St Martins Youth Arts Centre
• The Drill Hall
• The State Library of Victoria
• The State Library of Victoria - Ballarat storage facility

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE - THEATRES BUILDING AND HAMER HALL

The site of Arts Centre Melbourne has a long history as a home to the arts. The site was home to a circus, theatre, roller and ice skating rink, cinema and dance hall until 1973 when construction began on a publicly owned performing arts centre. Originally, Arts Centre Melbourne was conceived as one  building; however, due to the geology of the site, the plans were split in two, a building focused on music and another focused on performing arts.

Hamer Hall - originally called the Melbourne Concert Hall - is positioned alongside the Yarra River. It opened in 1982.

The Theatres Building - beneath the iconic spire, designed to replicate the folds of a ballerina's tutu - opened in 1984. Further structural improvements were made to the spire in 1996 with the world-class light display revealed for the first time on Australia Day 1997.

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE - SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL

The Sidney Myer Music Bowl, located within Melbourne's Kings Domain Gardens was presented to the people of Melbourne in 1959 by the Sidney Myer Charity Trust. The Bowl is a public outdoor amphitheatre which has been used for a variety of theatre, concerts and festivals. It became a responsibility of  Arts Centre Melbourne when it was handed over by the Myer Trust in 1980.

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR THE MOVING IMAGE

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image opened in 2002 as part of the Federation Square development. It is a gallery and cinema complex dedicated to the moving image in all its forms. ACMI has two cinemas, the world's largest dedicated screen gallery for exhibitions, education and even production.

FEDERATION BELLS - BIRRARUNG MARR

The Federation Bells are a public art installation and instrument that was commissioned by the Victorian Government, through the Melbourne Festival, to commemorate the centenary of Federation. The installation was unveiled in 2002 and comprises of 39 free standing, motor-operated bells, each with a  unique tone.

GEELONG PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

A 1967 letter by Geelong resident, Richard Annois to Geelong's The Advertiser newspaper urged the people of Geelong to turn their 'golden vision' for a performance centre into 'bricks and mortar.'

The community rallied together and their vision was realised when the Geelong Performing Arts Centre opened its doors in 1981. GPAC is the performing arts hub for Geelong and district. It was the first performance centre in regional Australia to run a theatre series with a mix of programs. GPAC comprises  of two theatres, studios, rehearsal spaces, gallery and a function centre.

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HEIDE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

The Heide Museum of Modern Art comprises 16 acres of buildings, gardens and a sculpture park. Heide, named after the nearby suburb of Heidelberg, was purchased by prominent Melbourne art enthusiasts and supporters, John and Sunday Reed in 1934. The property was a home to the Reeds and became synonymous  with cutting edge Australian art as several artists, writers, musicians and poets were invited to spend time, find inspiration and work at the property.

Heide was purchased in 1980 by the Victorian Government and opened in 1981 as a public gallery which continues the legacy of the Reeds.

MALTHOUSE THEATRE

The Malthouse Theatre was previously a brewery and malting house built in 1892 by Barrett Brothers & Burston.

In 1986, Elders IXL, owners of Carlton and United Breweries, who had acquired Barrett Brothers & Burston, donated the malting house to Melbourne's Playbox Theatre Company, which had been without a home since the Playbox Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1984.

The Barrett Brothers & Burston malting house was renamed the CUB Malthouse was redeveloped into a two theatre complex under the supervision of theatre designer John Beckett and was officially opened in August 1990.

MEAT MARKET

Opened in 1880 as Melbourne's only purpose built wholesale meat market and distribution centre, the then derelict Metropolitan Meat Market was purchased by the Hamer Government in 1977 and relaunched as the Meat Market Craft Centre in 1979. After a name change in 1998, which saw the site known as Metro  Craft Centre, the site was closed for redevelopment in 2001 and reopened in 2004 as the Meat Market - a multi-genre contemporary arts space.

The Meat Market has the capacity to house up to 30 organisations with purpose-built administration facilities, and offers ten diverse spaces for creative development including galleries, workshop spaces and a rehearsal room.

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MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE/MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY

Melbourne's newest cultural facilities, the Melbourne Recital Centre and new home to Melbourne Theatre Company opened in early 2009. The buildings are located in Melbourne's arts precinct, behind the Victorian College of the Arts.

The Melbourne Recital Centre comprises of two spaces, the 1000-seat Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Hall and The Salon, a smaller, flexible performance and rehearsal space. Both spaces have world class acoustics and opened to the public in time for Dame Elisabeth's 100th birthday in February 2009.

Melbourne Theatre Company's new home is a joint project between the University of Melbourne and the Victorian Government. It boasts a 500 seat theatre, The Sumner Theatre, named after the company's founding Director John Sumner AO, CBE. The building also includes a 160 seat performance studio and space  for functions, VIP rooms and several hospitality options.

MUSEUMS VICTORIA - IMMIGRATION MUSEUM

The Immigration Museum - Museums Victoria's youngest campus - was established in 1998. The Museum is housed in Melbourne's oldest public building, Old Customs House built in 1839 during Melbourne's life as a busy portside city.

MUSEUMS VICTORIA - MELBOURNE MUSEUM

Melbourne Museum dates back to 1854 when the Government Assay Office, which housed geological and natural science collections, opened on the same site as the State Library. From 1856 the collections were housed in a purpose-built facility at the University of Melbourne, before moving back to the library  site 1899.

In late 1994, discussions began about the need for a new home for the museum's ever expanding collections and exhibitions. A site at the centre of Melbourne's Carlton Gardens was selected and the Melbourne Museum opened in 2000.

Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere and also includes Melbourne's IMAX Theatre and Bunjilaka the museum's Aboriginal cultural centre.

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MUSEUMS VICTORIA - ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDING

Opened in 1880, the Royal Exhibition Building was the first non-Aboriginal cultural site in Australia to achieve a World Heritage listing. The building has hosted numerous local, national and international events - including the opening of Australia's first Commonwealth Parliament of Australia on 9  May 1901. Museums Victoria became the custodians of the Royal Exhibition Building in 1996.

MUSEUMS VICTORIA - SCIENCEWORKS/THE MELBOURNE PLANETARIUM

Museums Victoria's science and technology campus - Scienceworks - opened in 1992. The building, on the banks of the Yarra River in the Melbourne suburb of Spotswood, was formerly a sewerage pumping station.

In 1999 the Melbourne Planetarium joined Scienceworks in Spotswood. The planetarium had previously been located at the Melbourne Museum/State Library site from 1965 to 1997.

The Spotswood site includes another Museums Victoria building, the Spotswood Storage Facility.

A further collections storage facility for Museums Victoria - the Moreland Annex - is located in Coburg.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA

NGV INTERNATIONAL AND THE IAN POTTER CENTRE: NGV AUSTRALIA

Established in 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria was originally housed within the same building as the State Library of Victoria. The gallery moved to its St Kilda Road location in 1968.

By the middle of the 1990's the gallery needed additional space to house its growing collection. The St Kilda Road gallery was extensively renovated and reopened in 2003 as NGV International, the home to international artworks and exhibitions.

A second site, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia opened in 2002 as a part of Federation Square. NGV Australia houses Australian art collections.

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NGARGEE

LOCATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, CHUNKY MOVE AND MALTHOUSE THEATRE STAGING WORKSHOP

The Ngargee precinct houses the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Chunky Move's headquarters and performance space, Malthouse Theatre's staging and set construction workshop and a large forecourt. It was named after a word of the local Boonerwrung people which means 'gathering for celebration  in dance, story and song'.

STATE CIRCUS FACILITY - HOME OF CIRCUS OZ

A portion of the Old Collingwood TAFE site at 35 Johnston Street Collingwood has been developed as a state-owned arts facility purpose built to accommodate circus arts, including a new home for Circus Oz.

This is the first time in Circus Oz's history that they have been housed in a facility designed specifically to support their work and the development of contemporary circus and physical theatre. The $15 million redevelopment is now complete; Circus Oz moved in during February 2014.

ST MARTINS YOUTH ARTS CENTRE

The site of St Martins Youth Arts Centre, in South Yarra, Melbourne has a long history of arts activity. From 1900 to 1929 it was a cultural education centre for parishioners of St Chad's Chapel of Ease. The site was then a home to Melbourne Little Theatre who after extensive fundraising built the  St Martins Theatre in 1956.

By 1977, spiralling production costs forced Melbourne Little Theatre to sell the site and it was purchased by the Victorian Government for redevelopment with the intention of establishing a youth arts centre. Youth theatre group, St Martins took up residence at the site in 1978 and the completed St  Martins Youth Arts Centre was officially opened in 1982.

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THE DRILL HALL

The Port Melbourne Drill Hall, built in 1912, was one of the first buildings constructed for the Royal Australian Navy. During the wars, the Drill Hall was a recruiting centre and in peacetime it was used for Navy Reserve training. It was decommissioned in 1942 when a new Navy base, HMAS Lonsdale was  built.

In 1997, the Drill Hall was purchased by the Victorian Government as a home and training facility for Circus Oz.

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THE STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA

Opening in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, the State Library of Victoria is Australia's oldest free public library. In fact, the library was among one of the first in the world to be entirely funded by Government with free public access.

The first library Board of Trustees held a competition to design the library building. Joseph Reed's design was judged the winner and Reed went on to design several landmark buildings around Victoria including the Melbourne Town Hall and the Royal Exhibition Building.

Originally holding 3846 volumes, today the Library holds over two million books and serials, hundreds of thousands of pictures, maps, manuscripts, artefacts and digital or multimedia items and one of the largest collections of newspapers in the country.

Creative Victoria is also responsible for the State Library of Victoria's Ballarat Storage Facility building.

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