Potter Museum of Art

Potter Museum of Art Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the gum tree open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. Closing 21 November 2026.

From Yolŋu perspectives on cultural collections to the remarkable resilience of the gum tree, these two upcoming convers...
08/09/2026

From Yolŋu perspectives on cultural collections to the remarkable resilience of the gum tree, these two upcoming conversations at the Potter will give you plenty to think about.

🌿 16 September: Yolŋu leader and artist Yinimala Gumana joins Ashley Perry and Kade McDonald to discuss the University’s Donald Thomson Collection, the cultural knowledge and authority it holds, and the ongoing work of caring for collections in collaboration with community.

🌿 19 September: Curator Alisa Bunbury is joined by Tammy Gilson, Dr Dave Kendal and Jakobi to explore the evolving relationships between eucalypts, people and Country, and what gum trees can teach us about responding to ecological change.

🔗 Register now at: https://potter-museum.unimelb.edu.au/whats-on/events

07/09/2026

Displayed side-by-side, these two works offer two very different interpretations of the Australian bush.

On the left is Frederick McCubbin’s 'Lost', which depicts the story of a young girl who went missing in bushland for three weeks in 1885.

On the right is Dianne Jones’ 'The hidden', which presents the bush as a place of refuge for Blak children, particularly during the Stolen Generation.

Together, the works reveal the competing ways the bush has been imagined within this country: as a site of danger and disappearance, and as a place of protection and survival.

Discover the stories held within the gum trees as part of Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

02/09/2026

Take a walk among the gum trees as part of our latest exhibition Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree.

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

Visit 'Gust' by megan evans Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.
31/08/2026

Visit 'Gust' by megan evans Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

Applications are now open for the Ursula Hoff Fellowship. The Potter Museum of Art invites applications for this presti...
28/08/2026

Applications are now open for the Ursula Hoff Fellowship.

The Potter Museum of Art invites applications for this prestigious 4-6 month fellowship commencing in 2026 which will support independent research into prints and the history of print collections in Australia.

The Fellowship offers:
~ A $30,000 stipend
~ Access to the University of Melbourne Art Collection and the National Gallery of Victoria’s print collection
~ Opportunities to contribute new scholarship on print history and collecting in Australia

Applicants must hold a relevant MA, MFA or PhD from a recognised Australian university and propose a research project making substantial use of the University of Melbourne Art Collection and/or NGV’s print collection.

📆 Applications close 17 September 2026 at 11.59pm
🔗 Learn more and apply at: https://potter-museum.unimelb.edu.au/explore/residencies-and-fellowships/ursula-hoff-fellowship

Smoke is used to mark significant moments and ceremonies across many First Nations cultures, including Wiradjuri culture...
27/08/2026

Smoke is used to mark significant moments and ceremonies across many First Nations cultures, including Wiradjuri culture.

Through ‘in embrance’, Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money draws inspiration from the burning of green gum leaves traditionally used to welcome a new baby into the world.

Listen closely and you’ll hear Money softly reciting their poem. Stay a little longer and you’ll discover another layer to its presentation: a custom smoky gumleaf-inspired scent created by Scent Designer Erin Adams.

Visit Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

〰️

Installation view of Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree, Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne,
2026. Featuring Jazz Money, in embrace 2026, courtesy of the artist and The Commercial, Sydney. Miegunyah Creative Fellowship commission, 2026. Photography by Christian Capurro and William Hamilton Coates.

Today, we celebrate Dolly Parton—an icon whose kindness, strength and spirit have inspired people from around the world....
26/08/2026

Today, we celebrate Dolly Parton—an icon whose kindness, strength and spirit have inspired people from around the world. 💗

Dolly is one of seven women brought together in Kaylene Wh***ey’s ‘Seven Sistas story’, a joyful reimagining of the Seven Sisters, known across many Indigenous cultures as a tale of sisters protecting and looking out for one another.

Here, Kaylene’s sistas are women from pop culture who she admires: strong, glamorous, powerful and, importantly, having a good time together.

“It's one of my dreams for Dolly to come and visit me in Indulkana. I love to listen to her music while I paint: '9 to 5', 'Coat of Many Colours', 'Jolene' and my number one, ‘Islands in the Stream', with Kenny Rogers. I often think, ‘If Dolly came to visit, what would she do? What would she say? And what would she be wearing?’”

‘Seven Sistas story’ by Kaylene Wh***ey was featured in our past exhibition 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art.

〰️

Kaylene Wh***ey, 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 2021. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Exhibited in 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art, Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne, 2025. Featuring Photography by Christian Capurro and Astrid Mulder.

Explore five objects from the University of Melbourne’s cultural collections up close with five leading curators and aca...
21/08/2026

Explore five objects from the University of Melbourne’s cultural collections up close with five leading curators and academics.

Presented by the Potter Museum of Art and the Australian Institute of Art History, Five Objects offers you the chance to go behind-the-scenes of our collections and hear about them from an expert.

🎟️ Free entry but bookings essential
🔗 Register now at: https://potter-museum.unimelb.edu.au/whats-on/events/five-objects

She invented a new photographic process using eucalyptus oil as a developing agent. For World Photography Day, take a cl...
19/08/2026

She invented a new photographic process using eucalyptus oil as a developing agent. 

For World Photography Day, take a closer look at these remarkable works by artist Jane E. Brown.

Brown’s research into the history, chemistry and alchemy of photography led her to experiment with new developing techniques. The result is ‘1,8-Cineole’—a photographic series of gumnuts and gum blossoms that bring together Australia’s eucalypts, photographic history and the chemistry of image-making.

See these works as part of our latest exhibition, Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

📸

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Installation view of Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree, Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne, 2026. Featuring Jane E. Brown, Violet Street, Corymbia ficifolia, Silver princess (Eucalyptus caesia) and Photosynthetic from the series 1,8-Cineole, 2026. Courtesy of Jane E. Brown, Miegunyah Creative Fellowship commission, 2026. Photography by Christian Capurro.

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Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

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