Partnerships | Faculty of Fine Arts & Music

The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music is the artistic education and training hub of the Melbourne Arts Precinct in Southbank. It offers students and staff a vibrant, world-class learning environment, nurturing the future of creative practice and enhancing Melbourne's connection to the arts.

Our partners collaborate with us to co-create unique learning opportunities, research impact, and experiences for students and staff with the aim of building the next generation of artists. Spanning across all our artistic disciplines, our partners also work with us on our key strategic focuses including: Indigenous Arts and Cultural Practice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Arts and Health, Widening Participation and Student Pathways.

Our partnerships are strengthened by a diversity of ideas and voices, trust, and positive communication. As a partner we offer collaborators value through our thought leadership, our international network of artists and researchers, and our place within the Precinct.

Read about our partnership stories below.

Partnerships in the Melbourne Arts Precinct

Hear from the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Arts Centre Melbourne and Chunky Move as they talk about the exciting collaboration that has occurred with our faculty and students, and how our students benefit from our partnerships well into their careers.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Since 2020 the University of Melbourne has partnered with the ABC and Creative Australia to present TOP 5 Arts – a media residency for graduate early-career practitioners and PhD researchers working in visual arts, performance, design, architecture and screen. The five successful applicants are offered an intensive two-week residency at the ABC’s Southbank headquarters, during which time they will work alongside some of Australia’s top journalists and broadcasters, training in media communication and developing content for different ABC platforms.

Arts Centre Melbourne

Announced in 2023, the University’s partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne builds on a longstanding relationship between our two organisations, driven by a shared commitment to promoting connection, artistic innovation, and collaboration in the Melbourne Arts Precinct.

Australian World Orchestra

We are the exclusive University Partner of the Australian World Orchestra (AWO), enabling Melbourne Conservatorium of Music students to have unparalleled access to a network of the finest Australian musicians, working in leading orchestras and ensembles around the world and here at home. Students benefit from enrichment opportunities such as instrumental masterclasses and sectional rehearsals with leading AWO musicians and eminent conductors, as well as career development sessions and jointly curated talks.

Chunky Move

Chunky Move is a leading Australian contemporary dance company, creating bold, visually striking and genre defying dance works. Co-located with the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, they provide a gateway for VCA Dance students to build professional networks and develop skills and knowledge beyond their formal studies. The company offers internship opportunities for final year students, who participate full time for the duration of a creative development period, including company morning class alongside professional dancers who are engaged by the company.

ILBIJERRI Theatre Company

ILBIJERRI and the University aim to create a bridge between First Peoples cultural practice, early engagement, tertiary vocational training, and professional employment. We seek to develop culturally safe career pathways and a solid pipeline of practitioners to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry.

Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)

The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is one of the oldest film festivals in the world and the most significant screen event in Australia. MIFF showcases the best in current cinema from around the world as well as retrospectives, tributes, discussion programs and Australia’s largest showcase of new Australian cinema. In partnership with the festival, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music showcases the work of graduating Film and Television students on the MIFF Play platform, and offers students and staff exclusive access to a series of MIFF events and screenings.

Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF)

Our partnership with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) enables students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music to perform at Australia’s largest jazz festival, an annual celebration that showcases the highest calibre of jazz and improvised music in Australia. Alongside performance opportunities, the partnership facilitates workshops, masterclasses, Q&A sessions and instrumental workshops with MIJF artists, giving Conservatorium students further opportunities to connect with creatives from across Australia and all over the world, and gain insight into their creative process.

Melbourne Youth Orchestras (MYO)

Melbourne Youth Orchestras (MYO) is Victoria’s leading provider of ensemble music education for young people aged 8 to 25 years of age. Melbourne Conservatorium Music is an Education Partner for MYO, which hosts its regular programs and annual Summer School at the University's Southbank campus.

National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

The University of Melbourne is the proud learning partner of the National Gallery of Victoria’s summer and winter exhibitions, representing blockbuster events on the city’s art calendar and offering rich learning opportunities for our students.

Learn more about our partnership with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO)

In 2019, the University of Melbourne became the official University Partner of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). This relationship offers unique training opportunities to students at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, who represent the next generation of professional Australian string players. The ACO works with the University to collaborate with our researchers on areas such as talent development pathways, musician and social interaction, early musical interventions, and performer and audience wellbeing.

Partnerships news

26 May 2026

A new art installation highlighting the creative voices of Indigenous student artists from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music will open this week at Melbourne Connect....

21 April 2026

A new music performing ensemble for young people living with disability is currently seeking members for its inaugural cohort....

21 January 2026

Inspired by Hany Armanious' work, Design academic Narelle Desmond at the Victorian College of the Arts developed a new research project in which students were challenged to re...

Partner with us

We partner with a range of institutions across a diverse range of areas, including programming, teaching and learning, research, professional development and more. If you're interested in working with us, please contact: Fine Arts and Music Engagement and Partnerships at fineartsmusic-er@unimelb.edu.au.

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