Fine Arts and Music at Melbourne - VCA & Conservatorium

Hit shows like Apple Cider Vinegar and Baby Reindeer may be pulling in big audiences, but there's a risk for the creative teams behind them.

Dr Georgie Harriss from our School of Film and Television unpacks the challenges of blurring fact and fiction onscreen → unimelb.me/4hC4h7w

How many of these handcrafted Japanese egg-shaped tiles cover the Ian Potter Southbank Centre?

The building's tiles and carefully placed windows are designed to encourage those passing by to take a peek inside and maybe even spot our musicians in action as they rehearse and perform.

Answer: 66,000 tiles

What an incredible week it’s been welcoming our amazing new students during Orientation 🎉

From Southbank Welcome Day to the excitement of the Melbourne Commencement Celebration, it’s been a packed week of making new friends and exploring our vibrant Southbank campus.

We’re excited to see your creativity flourish this year 💙

This week, we visited Belle Vue Park Primary School in Melbourne with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) to launch ACO Foundations, a music program now expanding to Victoria 🎻

Students received their very own violin or cello and enjoyed a special performance by ACO musicians.

This research-based program is the only one of its kind in Australia, proven to improve children's cognitive, emotional and behavioural development through playing a musical instrument in the classroom.

"The research has shown that access to a quality music education has far-reaching benefits in children’s lives. The results are life changing," said ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti.

Tap through to read more → unimelb.me/3CX9VTq

📷 Charlie Kinross

What happens when we curate Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian art together?

Proud Palawa/Pallawah woman Dr Jessica Clark pursued a PhD to expand curatorship models for Australian art and shift narratives about what Aboriginal art is and can be.

“Historically, exhibitions of Australian art have approached Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal art as separate and operating in parallel to one another."

Dr Clark curated three exhibitions throughout her practice-led research, each exploring different ways these works could interact side by side.

“The PhD gave me the time, space and resources to develop critical thinking about my curatorship as an expressive practice.”

Learn about her life after graduate research → unimelb.me/4aRRQCM

We're thrilled to announce the winner and finalists of the 2025 Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship, one of Australia’s most prestigious awards for young violinists 🎻

Last week, six incredible violinists took the stage at the Ian Potter Centre’s Hanson Dyer Hall, presenting full-length recitals across the semifinal and finale concerts.

Finalists (pictured left to right)👇
🥇 Dindin Jingyi Wang
🥈 Beatrice Colombis
🥉 Dandan Jingfei Wang

The scholarship is all about supporting talented emerging violinists, awarding recipients with financial assistance to study overseas at leading conservatories.

Tap through to learn more → unimelb.me/42IF5bG

📸 Gregory Lorenzutti

Congratulations to our Master of Music (Opera Performance), Master of Production (Stage), and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Orchestra students for their stellar work on Hänsel und Gretel 🎭

This production of Engelbert Humperdinck's 1893 opera, adapted from the Grimm Brothers' folktale, presented a darker and more mature interpretation of the beloved opera, performed in German with English subtitles.

📷 Ben Fon

Together with The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, we've launched the Lionel Gell Foundation Art in Science Initiative, a new residency program combining art and science.

Honouring the legacy of longtime VCA and Doherty Institute donor Lionel Gell, five residencies will be awarded to accomplished visual artists trained at the VCA, offering them an opportunity to explore the dynamic intersection of creativity and science.

Learn more about the initiative → unimelb.me/4fX2g5W

And that's a wrap on our 2024 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Grad Showcase 🎵

We were in awe of the talent and passion of our graduating students across a wide range of specialisations, including Performance, Opera, Composition, Interactive Composition, Jazz & Improvisation, and IgniteLAB. The future of music has never looked brighter!

📸 Gregory Lorenzutti

We're thrilled to announce that, together with The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, we've launched the Lionel Gell Foundation Art in Science Initiative, a new residency program combining art and science.

Honouring the legacy of longtime VCA and Doherty Institute donor Lionel Gell, five residencies will be awarded to accomplished visual artists trained at the VCA, offering them an opportunity to explore the dynamic intersection of creativity and science.

Learn more about the initiative → unimelb.me/4fX2g5W

For young musicians with disability, playing in school bands can be a challenging, even alienating experience.

Together with Melbourne Youth Orchestras, our Adaptive Music Bridging Program has been working to change that - bringing together students with disability for weekly band practice and providing a pathway to join mainstream music education at Melbourne Youth Orchestras.

Dr Anthea Skinner launched the program three years ago and says, "This ensemble is in some ways what I would have liked to have been there when I was a kid. It’s based on the idea that every child has a right to an instrumental music education."

Learn more → unimelb.me/49iQcJz

Staged at Space 28 this month, (Un)Tethered featured new choreography from Sarah Aiken, Luke George, David Prakash and Chimene Steele-Prior.

Our Dance and Design and Production students collaborated on presenting the contemporary works – evoking community and intimacy, the mythic and real. Congratulations to all involved in a scintillating and successful Graduate Season.

📷 Greg Lorenzutti.

Experience performance and multimedia art that explores disability, neurodivergence and Deafness at this year’s International Day of People with Disability concert. Featuring MCM and VCA students and staff, shows will be held across the Ian Potter Southbank Centre on 1 December. Tap to register ➡️ https://unimelb.me/3CBmTWA

The VCA Art Grad Show is back this week, showcasing over 160 new works in one of Australia's largest exhibitions of emerging visual art 🎨

From painting and printmaking to sculpture, installation and photography, learn more about what's on display by this year's graduating art students → unimelb.me/4hUDy7O