Several of Melbourne’s major cultural institutions announced today that they will shut their doors temporarily to help contain the spread of COVID-19. The National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Recital Centre, State Library of Victoria and all Museums Victoria sites will close to proactively help stop the spread of the virus. The closures are in effect from March 16 until April 13.
The NGV will close both the NGV International and the Ian Potter Centre from today but says it is committed to providing support for its employees during this time. The galleries will be shut until at least April 13. However, 75,000 works from the collection are available online for you to peruse virtually.
As of midnight on Sunday, March 15, the Arts Centre Melbourne has cancelled all scheduled performances and ticket holders for performances up until April 12 will be refunded. The Arts Centre venues affected include the State Theatre, Playhouse, Fairfax Studio, Australian Music Vault, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Hamer Hall, the Channel creative learning space, food and beverage outlets within buildings and all function spaces. The car park will remain open, as will the Protagonist café located in the Arts Centre forecourt.
Museums Victoria is closing all its venues, meaning Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum, Royal Exhibition Building and IMAX from March 16. A reopening date has not been announced but visitors are advised to keep updated via the Museums Victoria website and social media pages.
Melbourne Recital Centre has suspended all performances for four weeks from midnight Sunday, March 15. Performances have either been cancelled or postponed and ticket holders will be contacted to arrange refunds and exchanges.
All public spaces at State Library Victoria will be shut as of today, and all planned events cancelled or postponed. No reopening date has been announced but you can still access much of the library’s resources (including free ebooks and journals) online.
The closures come at the same time that premier Daniel Andrew and minister for health Jenny Mikakos announced that Victoria is under a state of emergency as of midday on Monday, March 16.