Melbourne is home to a many Aboriginal art galleries showcasing the diverse culture and rich history of Australia's first people.

Public galleries

Birrarung Gallery At Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre
Get an insight into the lives of Victorian Aboriginal people at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre's Birrarung Gallery. The gallery's incredible feature piece 'Wurreka' contains 74 panels of etched designs along a wall that each reflect imagery from the Aboriginal heritage and landscapes of Victoria. Get a national view through the diverse collections of 'Many Nations' which features digital labels that reveal the story of around 500 artefacts from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.

Koorie Heritage Trust
For an understanding of the artwork and cultural objects in Victoria and South-East Australia, visit the Koorie Heritage Trust at Federation Square, where local Victorian Aboriginal history and art is key. The Trust's gallery spans traditional and contemporary works, from carved emu eggs through to photography and ceramics. Its picture collection features around 900 paintings including those of Melbourne Aboriginal leaders William Barak and Tommy McRae.

Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Next door to the Koorie Heritage Trust is the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. The Centre holds a range of Indigenous art and artefacts from Australia's cultural regions from the Torres Strait to Tasmania and Victoria through to the Kimberley. The Indigenous gallery is categorised into four different architecturally designed sections: fire, water, earth and wind, each with Dreaming associations and ancestral narratives.

Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre
Just over an hour from Melbourne, the art gallery at Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre features a range of works in traditional, contemporary and abstract forms from both Victorian and national Indigenous artists.

Buying Aboriginal art

To ensure the artwork you're buying is ethically produced and sold, visit recommended galleries and see the City of Melbourne's buyer's checklist

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What's on

drawing showing the Yarra River in 1837. A line of First Nations people cross a stone bridge.
Yarra: Stories of Melbourne's River
Exhibitions
Until 31 Oct 2022
Melbourne’s Yarra River looks placid most of the time, but it is a river with a turbulent past. A new exhibition at Melbourne’s Old Treasury Building explores...
Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu Wild apple orchard 2008 earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.) 173.9 x 6
Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala
Exhibitions
Until 25 Apr 2022
Bark Ladies is an exhibition that celebrates the NGV’s extraordinary collection of work by Yolngu women artists from the Buku Larrngay Mulka Centre (Buku),...

Explore regional Victoria

Rock art, Grampians, Victoria, Australia
Grampians
See & do
Discover evidence of an ancient past in the Grampians: oven mounds, toolmaking materials and a high concentration of Aboriginal rock art sites.
Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Geelong and the Bellarine, Victoria, Australia
Geelong & the Bellarine
See & do
For an education in local Indigenous culture, visit stunning Narana Creations, an award-winning craft and cultural centre located in Geelong.
Aboriginal art work in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Gippsland
See & do
Hear Dreamtime stories along the Bataluk Cultural Trail, visit the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place and discover the Indigenous history of The Prom.

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