Seven of the Best Ways to Get Your Art and Culture Fix at Home in Melbourne

The National Gallery of Victoria has been serving up an art fix you can enjoy from the comfort of home since lockdown 1.0, with a jam-packed digital program of virtual tours. And now it’s hosting an online surrealism art course, to help see your creative mind through these looming weeks of lockdown. Dubbed ‘Surrealism — 1920s to Now’, the self-guided course will run over eight weeks, delivered by the NGV’s expert curators and special guests through a program of videos, quizzes, readings and activities. Learn under the likes of acclaimed art critic Dr Andrew Frost and La Trobe University lecturer in Screen Studies Dr Anna Dzenis, while exploring key NGV works like Salvador Dalí’s 1946 painting Trilogy of the desert: Mirage.

Image: Trilogy of the Desert: Mirage (1946), Salvador Dali, courtesy of NGV

Hamer Hall’s doors might be physically closed to the public, but its music vault is very much open. And it’s pumping out a cracking lineup of virtual gigs to see you happily through the next few weeks of lockdown. The Vault Sessions are now streaming every Thursday evening, featuring a curation of much-loved local artists teleported right to your living room. Arts Centre Melbourne has assembled a top-notch collection of home-grown talent for this weekly digital concert series. On the lineup: the blissful sounds of rising star singer-songwriter Alice Skye, Sydney hip hop artist Ziggy Ramo and the legendary Cash Savage and The Last Drinks. The virtual gigs are free to watch and will kick around online for two weeks after the initial stream goes live. And best of all, you won’t have to battle anyone for a front-row seat.

Image: Ziggy Ramo by Teresa Noble

Museum lovers, we know you miss visiting your favourite galleries and taking in all the beautiful art the world has to offer, so we have some good news for you. You can now join The Museum of Modern Art’s top curators every Friday to explore the famed museum’s current exhibits. Different gallery tours will be uploaded to the museum’s website every week, ranging from film exhibitions to deep dives into the work of some of America’s most iconic artists, including Great Depression photographer Dorothea Langue and sculptor Donald Judd. If you prefer to get a bit more hands-on with your art, the gallery is also offering a heap of free online courses, covering everything from postwar abstract painting to fashion and photography.

Image: MoMA by Gorup de Besanez for WikiCommons

This July sees the return of another packed program from Open House Melbourne. If you’re not familiar with the annual event, it opens up some of the city’s most iconic buildings, new structures and urban environments for the public to explore and appreciate. And this year, it’s all happening virtually. Eighty-eight buildings are included in this first-time digital program, which kicks off from July 16 and remains online until the end of August. Fire up that device and get ready to scope out architectural gems from all over the Melbourne region. A highlight of the program will be the chance to take a virtual tour through the grand expanse of Studley Park’s Villa Alba — an 1880s Italianate mansion bearing some of this country’s most significant examples of late nineteenth century decoration.

Image: Australian Islamic Centre courtesy of AIC

What do you do when a global pandemic cancels Melbourne’s annual film festival? If you’re the folks at MIFF, you move the show online. Like Sydney Film Festival, this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival is going virtual. So if you usually spend most of August watching new movies from around the world, you can still look forward to doing just that. Running at the same time the physical festival would’ve — so, between Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23 — this socially distant fest has been dubbed MIFF 68 1/2. 2020 should mark the event’s 69th year, but it’s keeping that label for next year’s in-person fest. Still, cinephiles across Australia will still be able to get a MIFF experience, complete with a ticketed program. On the bill: new flicks, fresh discoveries from emerging filmmakers, and a range of Australian, international, documentary and animation shorts. You can check out the full lineup right here.

Realscape and Darkfield (UK creators) have teamed up for a brand-new audio experience fans can enjoy from home. This one’s called Double and, while it’s delivered remotely, it’s geared to be every bit as creepy and unsettling as its IRL predecessors. It’s presented via the producers’ new digital project Darkfield Radio. Like its siblings, it plunges participants deep into an immersive experience by perplexing the senses — this time, with the use of a 360-degree binaural sound, played through your own headphones. Double pulls inspiration from the Capgras delusion, a condition which sees a sufferer convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an imposter (sometimes an evil-intentioned one). Prepare to have your truths shaken and the familiar warped, right there at your kitchen table.

Image: Alex Purcell

On Sunday, August 2, ceramics studio Céramiques is teaming up with Vino Quarantino and Ellie’s Table to offer Melburnians a unique way to spend an afternoon. For $180 for two people, you’ll receive a Ceramiques claykit, a two-litre bottle of Vino Quarantino’s cabernet sauvignon from Somerset Crossing Winery and two three-course dinners from Ellie’s Table. On the food menu: focaccia, creamy seasonal beans and toasted artichoke hearts, homemade pappardelle with vodka sauce, plus toasted hazelnut tiramisu. And, if there’s four of you, it’ll cost you double, and you’ll obviously receive double the clay, wine and meals as well. Available to order now, the Wine, Dine and Claytime Experience will be brought to your door via contactless delivery between 1–6pm on the day — and you’ll need to live in Melbourne metropolitan and its surrounding suburbs. Once you’ve feasted, downed your vino and moulded your clay, you’ll be able to Céramiques to arrange glazing and firing of your handcrafted pieces, too.