About us

At Arts Centre Melbourne, we bring people together for remarkable experiences.

Arts Centre Melbourne sits on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People. The site has been a gathering place for storytelling, community and culture for First Nations people for millennia. In recent times, the same place has become home to the Melbourne Arts Precinct – one of the largest concentrations of cultural and creative organisations and artists in the world. Built into the banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River) and extending below the water table, Arts Centre Melbourne was constructed with ingenuity, guts and sheer determination. This limitless imagination and creativity are reflected in the performances, events and experiences on and beyond our stages.

As we reimagine what a future performing arts centre could look like, we are approaching our future with the same ambition, faith and courage with which we were founded. Our ever-evolving program speaks as much to who we are, as to who we could be. Our partnerships, government and philanthropic support, commissions, education, and digital offers see the best emerging and established artists, makers and presenters bring their art to life.

Together we inspire and connect audiences, no matter who or where they are. We are proudly home to four Resident Companies: The Australian Ballet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company and Opera Australia. We are also home to many of our state and national performing arts companies and major festivals including Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ilbijerri Theatre Company, Victorian Opera, Circa, Bell Shakespeare, RISING and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

We invest in world-leading technical capability and training through our Arts Industry Learning program to provide the performing arts sector with more of the skills it needs to flourish. We support the mental health and wellbeing of our sector through the Arts Wellbeing Collective – a preventative health initiative that promotes positive mental health in the performing arts industry. We share stories of contemporary Australian performing and visual arts through our custodianship and display of the world-class Australian Performing Arts Collection, Australian Music Vault and Public Art Collection. We believe that hospitality is at the heart of a shared experience – from the moment we welcome visitors until they head home.