The Australian Museum of Performing Arts’ (AMPA) new exhibition ENCORE! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. has officially opened in Melbourne. On display until 9 May 2027 exclusively at Arts Centre Melbourne, the exhibition brings together 50 remarkable costumes and treasures from incredible moments of live performance in Australia.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Australia’s largest repository of performing arts history, the exhibition focuses on just 50 of more than 875,000 stage costumes, instruments, props, set models, and photographs that are preserved for future generations in the Australian Performing Arts Collection.
Arts Centre Melbourne’s CEO Karen Quinlan AM said it was exciting to be opening the second exhibition at AMPA. “I can’t think of a better exhibition for our new Australian Museum of Performing Arts. ENCORE! is a fantastic celebration of our extraordinary collection,” she said.
“The curators had the daunting task of selecting just 50 objects – truly the tip of what is an absolutely immense iceberg and the end result is a wonderful experience. You’ll discover or perhaps rediscover, treasures old and new that deserve to be honoured, while reconnecting with artists, creatives, and performances from living memory and beyond,” said Ms Quinlan.
Spanning 170 years of Australia’s performing arts history the exhibition is made up of six distinct galleries, each themed with theatrical flair. Australia’s extensive contribution to the world stage is on display in International Icons, a gallery featuring a gold runway lined with elaborate costumes worn by Australians artists whose impact has been felt globally.
The legendary 50-pence gold ruched hot pants worn by Kylie Minogue, the gown Olivia Newton-John wore when she performed beside ABBA and the exhibition’s most lavish item, Dame Nellie Melba’s gold silk satin cloak, praised by the Russian tsarina in 1891 all feature in the exhibition. Also on display is the costume Hugh Jackman wore during 2006 The Boy from Oz arena tour.
The Spectacle on Stage section celebrates the biggest and boldest performances, those that can inspire awe and wonder. The gallery features the Ossie Ostrich puppet from Hey, Hey Its Saturday and the original neon red L’Amour sign Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin created for Opera Australia’s La Bohème. That same design would go on to be referenced in many of their future films including Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom.
The most recent acquisition to be featured in the exhibition is Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst’s Ludwig drum kit. Last year, the band’s fan group, the Powderworkers, donated Hirst’s beloved drum kit to the Australian Performing Arts Collection after crowdfunding and securing it at auction. ENCORE! is the first time the drum kit will be on public display.
A recorded performance by legendary Gunditjmara and Bundjalung singer-songwriter Archie Roach alongside the custom-made vest worn during one of his last performances opens the exhibition’s first gallery, Time & Place.
Taking visitors into key moments in Australia’s performing arts history, the gallery includes the stage costume worn by the late dancer and Bangarra Dance Theatre co-founder Russell Page, the remarkable Wirth’s Circus scrapbook as well as the giant vintage clock from Theatre Royal. It was once a premier Melbourne theatre on Bourke St which was demolished in 1933, notably a Kmart now stands in the same place.
The Finding a Voice gallery introduces visitors to groundbreaking artists who have built performance around their own identities, whilst Relics of Performance presents the sentimental souvenirs and talismanic keepsakes that performers have treasured and preserved after the curtain has fallen. Disruption explores those who have broken the mould and changed our culture forever.
Arts Centre Melbourne’s Dance and Opera Curator Ian Jackson said the curators had a near impossible task selecting just 50 moments for the exhibition from a collection that holds close to a million unique costumes, objects, photographs, and documents.
“All 50 objects displayed in ENCORE! have extraordinary stories to tell. They speak to us of the creativity, inspiration and commitment of the amazing people who have made us laugh, cry, and call for more,” said Jackson.
In celebration of the reopening of one of Melbourne’s most beloved theatres, entry to the ENCORE! exhibition will be free across 10 and 11 October. The Ian Potter State Theatre has been closed for refurbishment since March 2024 as part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation.
ENCORE! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. is on display at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts – Arts Centre Melbourne (Hamer Hall) until 9 May 2027. Entry fees apply! For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.
Images: Installation view of ENCORE! at Australian Museum of Performing Arts, Arts Centre Melbourne – photos by Eugene Hyland