A treasure trove of priceless items tracing Australia’s performing arts history is set to go on show like never before, at the new Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA) at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Work is underway on a new drawcard exhibition space for Victorians and visitors to explore Australia’s history of circus, dance, music, opera, and theatre, bringing even more visitors to the Melbourne Arts Precinct.
The new space will host exhibitions that showcase items from the Australian Performing Arts Collection – a collection of almost 850,000 items carefully curated and cared for by Arts Centre Melbourne for 50 years.
From Peter Allen’s famous maracas to Nick Cave’s visual journal, Kylie Minogue’s iconic gold hot pants and a cloak worn by Nellie Melba as Elsa in 1891, the collections traces Australia’s performing arts history.
It includes items from performing arts luminaries ranging from Dame Joan Sutherland to Chrissy Amphlett, AC/DC to the Australian Ballet.
The Australian Performing Arts Collection is internationally recognised, with a value of close to $80 million.
Set to open in December 2025, AMPA will be located in a former hospitality space at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall upper terrace, and will also include space for international touring exhibitions.
The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a $1.7 billion city-shaping project that will create 11,000 new direct and indirect jobs. The project will cement Melbourne’s reputation as an international cultural capital and is set to attract millions more visitors to the precinct every year.
Find out more about the Australian Museum of Performing Arts