Arts in Regional Victoria

Victoria is rich with arts and culture. Public and private art galleries, performing arts centres and museums can be found in almost every large regional city or town in the state, giving residents and visitors to regional Victoria access to excellent art experiences that are generally only available in capital cities.

In this section is an overview of:

• the network of public art galleries and museums
• regional performing arts centres
• regionally based art projects
• the Regional Partnerships Program which is helping to make quality arts experiences accessible to everyone across the state.

Public Art Galleries: The unique nature of each gallery's collection, and the variety, range and quality of exhibitions and programming attracts patronage from beyond their immediate regions, with about 10% of visitors coming from Melbourne and 6% from interstate or overseas.

Museums: Victoria has over 740 community museums, two thirds in regional towns and cities. Together they hold an estimated that 1.5 million cultural heritage items their collections.

Performing Arts Centres: In 2006-07, these facitilites and their programs attracted more than half a million visitors. Local audiences enjoy a mix of local productions as well as touring shows from Melbourne and overseas.

Regional Arts Projects: Arts Victoria is involved in a wide range of regionally based art projects, some of which are spotlighted here.