Victoria’s public arts and cultural institutions welcome millions of visitors

Creative Victoria has advised of the tabling in Parliament today of the state’s 2023-24 Annual Reports.

The reports show that collectively the NGV, State Library Victoria, Melbourne Recital Centre, ACMI, Arts Centre Melbourne, Geelong Arts Centre and Museums Victoria welcomed more than 11.2 million visitors. While 8.6 million people attended festivals and events at Fed Square.

Across all these institutions, more than half a million students from all over Victoria participated in an inspiring offering of creative learning programs.

State Library Victoria celebrated its 170th birthday with its biggest ever annual attendance – welcoming a record breaking 2.65 million visitors throughout the year.

The NGV’s free contemporary art blockbuster NGV Triennial – attracted more than a million visitors, making it one of the most popular exhibitions in NGV’s history, while more than 300,000 visitors made their way to Melbourne Museum to see 200 recovered artefacts for Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition.

Across Arts Centre Melbourne venues, 1.1 million people enjoyed 1,120 performances, including crowds of 232,000 for the summer season at Sidney Myer Music Bowl. ACMI attracted over a million visitors to exhibitions, screenings, programs and more, and Melbourne Recital Centre staged 520 events across a range of musical genres.

Geelong Arts Centre reopened after its $140 million transformation and is now Australia’s biggest dedicated regional arts centre. From sold out events to world premieres, attendance across the year reached over 256,000.

Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation progressed the Victorian Government’s city-shaping Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project, with construction commencing in Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building and the deconstruction of the 77 Southbank Boulevard site to make way for The Fox: NGV Contemporary gallery.

Work on the decking over Kavanagh Street also commenced and will provide the foundation for the new 18,000 sqm public garden, Laak Boorndap.

It was another strong year for Victoria’s screen industry, with VicScreen reporting that Film, television and games projects backed by the Victorian Government generated $331 million for the state and created 6,970 local jobs.

Docklands Studios Melbourne hosted major productions including Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky starring Liam Neeson and Matchbox’s The Survivors, based on the best-selling novel by local author Jane Harper.

Download the Victorian creative industries agencies annual reports 

Image. Melbourne Museum Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition