Detail view of a complex gold-coloured steel lattice roof structure above concrete walls, exposed pipes, and maintenance platforms
Wide view of an active construction site with drilling rigs, excavators, cranes, temporary barriers, and buildings surrounding the site
Urban construction site beside a large building with a gold lattice roof structure, blue safety fencing, and city skyscrapers in the background
Close-up view beneath a concrete structure showing orange steel pipework and scaffolding against angled concrete surfaces
Outdoor view of a construction site with concrete terraces in the foreground, blue safety barriers, exposed metal piping, and scaffolding between two large modern buildings, one with a partially open roof structure under a cloudy sky.

Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation Tour

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Architect/Designer: NH Architecture, Snøhetta, Fender Katsalidis, Trethowan, Angelo Candalepas and Associates, Hassell, SO-IL, Super Bloom, Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough

Description

The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a city-defining project delivering The Fox: NGV Contemporary, a new gallery dedicated to contemporary art and design, significant upgrades to Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building, and a new 18,000-square-metre urban garden, Laak Boorndap, for people to enjoy.

The project will transform the arts precinct, attracting millions more visitors, providing better connectivity from St Kilda Road to Southbank, providing more food and drink options, providing more garden space for health and wellbeing and cementing Melbourne’s reputation as an international cultural capital.

What's On

Join us for a tour through the Melbourne Arts Precinct and explore how a single continuous arts, civic and cultural precinct will be brought to life through a major rejuvenation.

Participants will hear about the latest updates from experts involved with the project and visit key sites of the transformation. This is a rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes to learn more about exciting upcoming changes, including the new urban garden Laak Boorndap, significant upgrades to Arts Centre Melbourne and the new contemporary art and design gallery The Fox: NGV Contemporary.

A booking fee waiver for this program is made possible thanks to Melbourne Arts Precinct.

Images: (1-5) The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation construction site in 2025. All photos: Sarah Pannell.

Important Details

Tour/event summary information

Saturday 25 July + Sunday 26 July
Tours run 10am, 11.30am + 1pm
Running for 60 minutes in groups of 30

Bookings

Bookings required—$7 booking fee waived
First release tickets: 12pm Wednesday 1 July
Second release tickets: 10am Saturday 4 July

Book

Meeting Point

Entry via Kavanagh Street: Take the lift to Level 4. Entry via St Kilda Road: Walk between Arts Centre Melbourne and National Gallery of Victoria and follow signage over footbridge for The Australian Ballet

Accessibility

Auslan interpreter available on request

Participants are advised that this tour includes staircases and tight spaces and may encounter construction noise.

Location

What's on nearby

Explore Precinct
A dancer in mid‑movement wearing a flowing sheer yellow costume, with fabric extending outward against a plain light background.
The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre

Friday 24 July, Saturday 25 July

A man stands with his back to the camera, wearing Arts Centre Melbourne protective gear, looking out into the auditorium of the Ian Potter State Theatre.
Arts Centre Melbourne: the Refurbishment of the Ian Potter State Theatre

Saturday 25 July, Sunday 26 July

The exterior of Melbourne Recital Centre sits to the right of frame, with its polygon windows reflecting a clear blue sky. In the foreground, to the left of frame, sits a green tram turning past the building.
Melbourne Recital Centre

Saturday 25 July

The first image shows a person walking past a bright orange abstract sculpture on a smooth floor, next to a white wall with text in English and Chinese, including
Buxton Contemporary: Poetry Goes No Further than Language

Friday 24 July, Saturday 25 July

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