About
Local Government
Our collection
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection
By any standard the City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection is eclectic. Numbering over 13,000 items of historical and cultural significance, its most basic division is between its indoor and outdoor components, between artworks that need to be protected from the elements and those that do not. Other key categories of the indoor collection include artworks and artefacts relating to: the ceremonial and civic functions of Council, including gifts; the multiple branches and activities of the City of Melbourne; events that have taken place in the City, such as the Moomba Festival and the 1956 Olympic Games; historic Melbourne more generally; and a contemporary art collection which favours representations of Melbourne and city life, works by urban Indigenous artists and environmental themes.
In May 2023, the Art and Heritage Collection Store officially opened in its relocated home of the historic and iconic Melbourne Town Hall. Behind-the-scenes tours of the collection store are now available to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Upon ascending to the fourth floor of the Melbourne town hall you will find an eclectic collection waiting to be explored. The collection is displayed across 16 heritage rooms, arranged according to thematic chapters. Each chapter offers a nuanced portrayal of the story of Melbourne, told through artwork and artefact.
Book online: https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/art-and-heritage-collection-tour
Themes: Building towns, cities and the garden state, Building community life, Shaping cultural and creative life
