The Melbourne Arts Precinct is home to a series of galleries, performing arts venues and spaces located in the Southbank district of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, in Australia. It includes such publicly-funded venues as

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

, and Southbank Theatre, along with various offices and training institutions of arts organisations. As of 2022 the precinct is undergoing a major transformation, including the build of Australia’s largest

contemporary art gallery A contemporary art gallery is normally a commercial art gallery operated by an art dealer which specializes in displaying for sale contemporary art, usually new works of art by living artists. This approach has been called the "Castelli Method" ...

, The Fox: NGV Contemporary.

History

In 2008, it was announced by the Government of Victoria the precinct would receive a A$128 million upgrade, with the major refurbishment of Hamer Hall as its centrepiece. The combined

Melbourne Recital Centre Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in Melbourne and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classi ...

and MTC Theatre complex, which opened in February 2009, won the Moore Stephens Award for Public Buildings at the Property Council of Australia - the country's highest award for a public building. In 2014, the Victorian government released the Melbourne Arts Precinct Blueprint, initiated by the former state Premier and Minister for the Arts

Ted Ballieu TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

for a cost of $900,000 (given by both federal and state government). Led by Creative Victoria, its intention was to establish a vision for the precinct along with prioritising any future development. In 2018, the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

announced an initial $208 million investment in the first phase of a major redevelopment of the precinct, including a new contemporary art gallery, NGV Contemporary; significant upgrades to Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre, back-of-house facilities, and critical maintenance works; and of new and renewed public space. This initial investment also included the purchase of the building at 77 Southbank Boulevard, to be demolished so NGV Contemporary could be built. This investment was increased to $1.46 billion in the Victorian Budget 2020/21. and lifted further to $1.7 billion in November 2021.

Description

The Melbourne Arts Precinct is located in Southbank, centred on St Kilda Road. It differs from the East End Theatre District in the city centre, as most of the galleries and venues in the precinct are publicly funded. Administrative offices, broadcast studios, schools and training institutions of many arts organisations are also located in the precinct.

Transformation project

The transformation project, which was announced in 2018, is being overseen by a new government corporation, the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), which is also responsible for the revitalisation of

Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...

. Katrina Sedgwick, former CEO of ACMI, was appointed as the inaugural CEO of MAP Co in March 2022. In April 2022, it was announced that the new gallery, part of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) would be named The Fox: NGV Contemporary, in recognition of a $100 million donation from

Lindsay Fox Lindsay Edward Fox (born ) is an Australian businessman. In 1956, Fox founded the Australian logistics company Linfox, where as of 2015 he serves as non-executive chairman. Early life Lindsay Fox was born around 1937 and brought up in Pra ...

and his wife Paula Fox . The gallery is designed by Angelo Candalepas and Associates, leading a collective of 20 architectural, design and engineering firms which won a national competition.

Public venues and galleries

, including Hamer Hall, the State Theatre, the Playhouse, the Fairfax Studio and other venues *

*Various venues at the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

, including Grant Street Theatre, Space 28, Federation Hall and the Margaret Lawrence Gallery *Buxton Contemporary * Southbank Theatre *

* Iwaki Auditorium at the ABC Centre * Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), with its building also referred to as Ngargee (a

Bunurong The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the c ...

word for describing "gathering for celebration") * The Coopers Malthouse *

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinc ...

, which is home to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, ACMI (formerly the Australian Centre for the Moving Image), and the Koorie Heritage Trust.

Arts administration and education

* ABC Centre of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, including **

Studio 31 A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

(MSO) *

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direc ...

, including the Australian Ballet School *

Chunky Move Chunky Move is an Australian contemporary dance company from Southbank, Victoria It was founded in 1995 and debuted at the Melbourne International Arts Festival with artistic director Gideon Obarzanek. The company's work is diverse and has includ ...

at ACCA *

Creative Victoria Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * Creative (song), "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic ter ...

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is the music school at the University of Melbourne and part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne City Centre on the Southbank campus of the University of Melbourne. Degree ...

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

(MTC). *

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. A ...

* Musica Viva *

(

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

) * Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS)

References