Welcome to the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music

Latest News

• In conversation with Bachelor of Design graduate and Broadway Tarot creator Ella Witchell

  19 June 2025

  Ella Witchell graduated in 2023 from the Bachelor of Design (Graphic Design & Performance Design). On the same week she graduated, she was offered a job at Broadsheet Media, where she has worked on two magazines for Domain Real Estate, and events for global companies like Netflix and Mastercard.

  • Design

  View article

• Faculty of Fine Arts and Music alumni receive 2025 King’s Birthday Honours

  13 June 2025

  The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music extends its congratulations to alumni recognised in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours.

  • News

  View article

• VCA50 Creative Development Grants: Enabling artists to innovate and inspire

  10 June 2025

  A creative practice grants scheme for graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) has recently been significantly expanded to support 16 talented artists this year.

  • Victorian College of the Arts

  View article

• VCA graduate and John Truscott Prize winner Ishan Vivekanantham designs ‘The Lyrebird’s Voice’ for Victorian Opera

  29 May 2025

  Master of Design and Production graduate, Ishan Vivekanantham is the 2024-2025 winner of the John Truscott Prize. This prize is part of a new, five-year collaboration with the Victorian Opera and the University of Melbourne, supporting graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts.

  • Design

  View article

• Vivid, thrilling and ghastly: new theatrical adaptation of The Birds evokes climate disaster, terrorism and lockdown

  29 May 2025

  Malthouse’s new production of The Birds is a thrillingly realised take on the 1952 short story by Daphne Du Maurier. Adapted by Louise Fox and directed by Matthew Lutton, this vivid realisation is a chilling treatise on fear and resilience in the face of an external threat.

  • Theatre

  View article

• The one-two punch threatening to knock out the Australian film industry

  28 May 2025

  A 100 per cent tariff on films and a streaming market saturated with overseas content threatens not only Australia’s film industry, but also our unique film culture, writes Stephen Luby.

  • Film and Television

  View article

• Familiar songs may help maximise recovery in children with brain injuries

  19 May 2025

  A simple nursery rhyme can elicit brain responses that other stimuli cannot in children with severe brain injuries, a new study led by the University of Melbourne has found. The research provides hope for families and clinicians seeking non-invasive ways to reach children in states of reduced consci...

  • Music Therapy

  View article

• New exhibition Sounds of Clouds explores hidden worlds of clouds

  13 May 2025

  Project8 Gallery will this week launch the new exhibition Sounds of Clouds, a meditation on clouds and the limits of interpretation.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• Exhibit combines sound art and ecology at Venice Biennale

  07 May 2025

  University of Melbourne researchers will unveil the ‘Song of the Cricket’ at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, opening in Venice Saturday 10 May. The exhibit blends ecological conservation and interactive sound art in the heart of the Venice lagoon...

  • Composition

  View article

• The subtle theatre of Australia’s election season

  28 April 2025

  Australian politics tends to shy away from grand spectacle, but Albanese and Dutton both need to reassure a restless public that, amid global chaos, Australia remains anchored in pragmatism.

  • Victorian College of the Arts

  View article

• Floribunda: Capturing an entire world through flowers

  15 April 2025

  “In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends,” wrote the Japanese scholar and critic Okakura Kakuzō.Associate Professor David Sequeira from the Victorian College of the Arts — who has curated the new exhibition Floribunda, exploring the enduring connection between humans an...

  • Visual Art

  View article

• Left Write Hook now streaming on Netflix

  11 April 2025

  Award-winning feature documentary Left Write Hook, directed by Dr Shannon Owen, is now streaming on Netflix Australia.

  • Film and Television

  View article

• By filming in a single shot, Adolescence is choreographed with the precision of live theatre

  09 April 2025

  Each one-hour episode of Netflix’s Adolescence is realised in a single, unbroken take. No edits. No resets.

  • Film and Television

  View article

• Apple Cider Vinegar is part of a trend of ‘true-ish’ TV shows

  03 April 2025

  Hit shows like Apple Cider Vinegar and Baby Reindeer may be pulling in big audiences, but for the creative teams behind them, they come with a risk.

  • Victorian College of the Arts

  View article

• One-night-only exhibition Next to Nothing explores the limits of performance

  19 March 2025

  Project8 Gallery will this week host a special one-off exhibition exploring the nature of performance and its central role in the generation and presentation of the creative arts.

  • Victorian College of the Arts

  View article

• New play The Robot Dog reminds us there are some knowledges we hold that AI will never have

  12 March 2025

  Set in 2042, new play The Robot Dog revolves around Janelle (Kristie Nguy), of Cantonese heritage, and her partner Harry (Ari Maza Long), a First Nations man.

  • News

  View article

• Melbourne Conservatorium of Music appoints Sophie Rowell as Associate Professor in Violin

  05 March 2025

  The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is thrilled to announce Sophie Rowell’s appointment as Associate Professor in Violin.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• Why does music make us feel things?

  27 February 2025

  Imagine a scene from the movie Jaws, with the great white shark closing in on another helpless victim. The iconic semi-tone pattern builds and your heartbeat rises with it; the suspense pulls you further to the edge of your seat.Now picture that scene without the score. Much of the tension evaporate...

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• Renowned violinist Wilma Smith receives 2025 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

  19 February 2025

  Distinguished violinist Wilma Smith has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• University of Melbourne and Australian Chamber Orchestra launch life-changing music program for Victorian primary school students

  11 February 2025

  The University of Melbourne and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) have launched an award-winning music and string instrument learning program, ACO Foundations, at Melbourne’s Belle Vue Park Primary School in Glenroy.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• Dindin Jingyi Wang wins 2025 Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship

  04 February 2025

  Dindin Jingyi Wang has been awarded the 2025 Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship, Australia’s richest prize for young violinists.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• Flashover — Multimedia artwork provides unique insights into bushfires

  04 February 2025

  An innovative University of Melbourne multimedia project, which harnessed the latest visual effects technology to offer new insights into the ferocity of bushfires, was exhibited at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music in February.

  • Victorian College of the Arts

  View article

• When does an actor stop, and AI begin? What The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez tell us about AI in Hollywood

  29 January 2025

  The Brutalist has drawn attention this week for its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to refine some of the actors’ dialogue. Emilia Pérez, a musical crime comedy, also used AI to extend lead star Karla Sofía Gascón’s vocal range. Her singing voice was blended with that of French popstar Camille, ...

  • News

  View article

• Nicholas Currie: Don’t look in the dark or something will look back at ya: Paintings by a ghost fella

  19 December 2024

  In Glossary of a Haunting, Eve Tuck and C. Ree describe the structure of settler colonialism as “an ongoing horror made invisible by its persistence.”

  • Visual Art

  View article

• 'Young artists should have a right to invent the world, rather than just receive it': Meet Honours coordinator Dane Mitchell

  18 December 2024

  Dane Mitchell is a multi-award-winning artist and Head of Honours at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). He answered some questions for us about his own practice and the enriching possibilities that arise through pursuing an Honours year in Visual Art.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• 'Research for me starts with the body': Meet Honours (Visual Art) graduate Nicole Goode

  18 December 2024

  Nicole Goode and I are at the 2024 Grad Show, sitting on the grind rail she had made in the metal workshop, as part of her final Honours work.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• University of Melbourne confers Honorary Doctorate on music education leader Professor André de Quadros

  17 December 2024

  The University of Melbourne has conferred an honorary doctorate on Professor André de Quadros, a childhood refugee and now senior international leader in music education, conducting, ethnomusicology and human rights activism.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• Melbourne Conservatorium of Music students present two versions of the opera Hänsel und Gretel

  29 November 2024

  Two versions of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1893 opera Hänsel und Gretel will be performed by Melbourne Conservatorium of Music students in December — one for children and a darker version for adults.

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

  View article

• ‘Remember who you are and where you come from’: Meet VCA graduating artist Nicholas Currie

  26 November 2024

  Meet Nicholas Currie, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) student in the Painting department. Nicholas’ work is deeply reflective of the experiences of his community around him.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• ‘Everyday objects are given new meaning’: Meet VCA graduating artist Rachel Rovira

  26 November 2024

  Rachel Rovira is a graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts student at the VCA. Rachel’s work uncovers the harm of extractivism through her own experiences undertaking fieldwork.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• ‘It’s in unexpected places that you will find exactly what you’re looking for’: Meet VCA graduating artist Tess Rogers

  25 November 2024

  Bachelor of Fine Arts student Tess Rogers explores the way fabric can evoke lost emotions and memories in her latest photography series, inspecting the boundaries of social reproduction and femininity. We spoke to Tess ahead of the 2024 VCA Art Grad Show.

  • Visual Art

  View article

• ‘There is an immense sense of fulfilment that comes as a result of resonating with art’: Meet VCA graduating artist Baillie Jackson

  25 November 2024

  For graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts student Baillie Jackson, identity sits at the forefront of their photography practice. We spoke to Baillie ahead of the 2024 VCA Art Grad Show.

  • Visual Art

  View article