Creative Victoria delivers a multifaceted program of funding and support for the creative industries while managing a large portfolio of State-owned assets. Below are some of our flagship projects.
Cultural Infrastructure Projects
State Library of Victoria Redevelopment
The State Library of Victoria will undergo a huge transformation with the help of a $60.4 million investment from the Victorian Government and almost $28 million in philanthropic support. The redevelopment will open up 40 percent more of the iconic building to families, students, researchers and visitors of all ages. Staged over five years, the project will revitalise, and create new, public spaces while also transforming the Library's programs and services. Read more on the State Library of Victoria website.
Geelong Performing Arts Centre Redevelopment
The Geelong Performing Arts Centre will undergo a major $38.5 million redevelopment, transforming the Ryrie Street side of the centre. The project will create a striking new building on Ryrie Street that reveals an historic church and integrates it into the modern complex. The redevelopment will improve the visitor experience, with universal access to and within the new building as well as two new foyers and updated facilities. It will also include four new state-of-the-art studios for rehearsals and creative development, and new spaces for creative practitioners and organisations. A key project in the revitalisation of Geelong's CBD, the redevelopment will transform and reinvigorate Ryrie Street and create a landmark arts centre for the region.
Collingwood Arts Precinct
Located at 35 Johnston Street, the former Collingwood Technical School site in inner city Melbourne has been a place of creativity, collaboration and inspiration for more than 140 years. Made safe by a $2 million capital investment by the Victorian Government, the site is now slated to become a contemporary creative precinct; a home for small and medium creative organisations as well as artists and complementary businesses.
Testing Grounds
Testing Grounds is a free outdoor space established to foster experimentation, explore new ideas and encourage calculated risks. Since opening in late 2013, this once-vacant lot hidden at the back of Melbourne's Southbank Arts Precinct has hosted over 300 projects and events. The site is open to all uses across arts, design, architectural and educational practices, by an open application process. An experiment in the use of public space, Testing Grounds is operated by These Are The Projects We Do Together with support from Creative Victoria.
Major Cultural Initiatives
Regional Centre for Culture
Regional Centre for Culture is a year-long celebration of arts, culture and community in Victoria's regions.
Inspired by a European Union 'Capital of Culture' initiative, the Regional Centre for Culture program will focus on a specific geographical area, shining a spotlight on local creativity, culture and events. The program will also include specially commissioned artworks, activities and community-based projects by local artists as well as leading Victorian creative practitioners. Find out more about the Regional Centre for Culture Initiative.
Melbourne Winter Masterpieces
Introduced in 2004, Melbourne Winter Masterpieces is the name for an annual series of major exhibitions which balance curatorial excellence with popular appeal. Highlights from more than a decade of Melbourne Winter Masterpieces include Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay, Tim Burton: The Exhibition, Game Masters and Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. These blockbuster events have brought the richness of international collections to Victorian audiences and drawn record-breaking crowds.
UNESCO City of Literature
In 2008, Melbourne was named the second City of Literature within UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. UNESCO Cities of Literature work together to build strong global partnerships: encouraging literary exchanges, creating cross-cultural initiatives and developing local, national and international literary links. Each city is also dedicated to pursuing excellence in literature on a local level, engaging citizens in a dynamic culture of words.
Collections & Digitisation
Victorian Culture Network/Culture Victoria
A collaborative partnership between five of the State-owned arts agencies - Arts Centre Melbourne, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Museums Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria and State Library of Victoria - the Victorian Cultural Network (VCN) provides public access to Victorian cultural content. It enabling organisations to make their collection, research and other information more readily available.
The public face of the VCN is Culture Victoria which breaks new ground delivering broad and diverse access to the digital collections of all the VCN partners and a range of metropolitan and regional organisations through a single website. Visit the Culture Victoria website.