Welcome to the Cultural Collections of the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne owns 30 Cultural Collections. The origins of some lie in the earliest years of the University's establishment in the 1850s, while regular new acquisitions keep the collections dynamic and relevant.
The Cultural Collections embody the history of many of the academic disciplines taught at the University of Melbourne, including law, classics, history, languages, medicine, dentistry, botany, zoology, physics, fine arts, music and engineering. Object types include rare books and manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, archives, photographs, medical and dental implements, scientific apparatus, musical instruments, mineral, plant and animal specimens, and ethnographic and archaeological artefacts.
The University encourages the use of the collections by students, staff and the wider community, whether for research, teaching, conversation or enjoyment.
Supporting the Cultural Collections
The University’s 30 cultural collections benefit from the support of alumni, students, staff, philanthropic trusts, corporate sponsors, friends groups and many interested individuals. More information on how you can contribute.
News and Events
University of Melbourne Cultural Treasures Festival
The biennial University of Melbourne Cultural Treasures Festival is a free program of exhibitions, thematic walks, talks and seminars, demonstrations and displays, and guided tours which showcases the University's rich array of museums and collections.
The Cultural Treasures Festival is a free two-day event and will take place over the weekend of 28 and 29 July, 2012.
The Redmond Barry Fellowship for 2012 is now open for applications. The Fellowship shall be awarded to scholars and writers to facilitate research and the production of works of literature that utilise the superb collections of the State Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne. Up to $20,000 shall be awarded to the successful applicant to assist with travel, living and research expenses.
Applications close 27 April 2012.
Critical environment history comes to archives
As featured in Alumni eNews, The University of Melbourne Archives will soon be receiving the records of the Australian Club of Rome, an important record of the early environmental movement in Australia.
New Exhibitions
Face to face: portraits of artists, 12 April to 9 June, Ground Floor, Baillieu Library
Exhibitions which explore portraiture are currently featuring across the University at the Ian Potter Museum of Art and the Dax Centre. The Baillieu Library Print Collection also contains a variety of portraits depicting famous faces, mainly European, from the 15th century onwards; a number of these are artists. The prints on view are often after paintings and many are self portraits. These images convey the face the artist wished to present to the world. They are faces which represent some extraordinary stories.
A Med Student's Life, 20 March to 24 August, Medical History Museum, 2nd Floor, Brownless Biomedical Library, The University of Melbourne
Memories, ephemera and photographs of student days collected from Melbourne medical graduates from the 1860s to today.
Adventure & Art: the fine press book from 1450 to 2011, 1 March to 27 May, Leigh Scott Gallery, Level 1, Baillieu Library
Adventure & Art, curated by poet and fine press printer Alan Loney, is about the printer’s craft, evidenced from the first printed books in the 15th century, and given a hugely influential impetus by William Morris and the Arts & Craft movement at the end of the 19th. This exhibition shows how a number of technologies that are obsolete in commercial terms are still current in creative & craft terms in the 21st century. Exhibited are books from the Baillieu Special Collections from Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia.
A Symposium discussing fine press books will be held from 2-5pm on March 9th 2012 in the Leigh Scott Room in the Baillieu Library. Speakers at the Symposium are Alan Loney, Andrew Schuller, Peter Vangioni, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Carolyn Fraser and Caren Florance.
More information and bookings: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/exhibitions/
New Publications
Managing volunteers in museums and cultural collections: ten things you should know by Helen Arnoldi
Helen Arnoldi’s splendid new publication Managing volunteers in museums and cultural collections: ten things you should know was launched by Margaret Birtley, General Manager of Heritage and Tourism, Melbourne Cricket Club, on 22 September in the Leigh Scott Room, Baillieu Library. This practical, comprehensive and user-friendly publication is now available as a downloadable PDF under Research and Publications on the Cultural Collections website.
Hoard House, issue 12
The latest issue of Hoard House, the bulletin of the Grainger Museum, has been published and is now available online.
University of Melbourne Archives Bulletin 30
The latest edition of the University of Melbourne Archives Bulletin (No. 30, February 2012) has been published, and is available from the University of Melbourne Archives website.
University of Melbourne Collections 9
| Issue 9, the new edition of University of Melbourne Collections, has been published and is now available. |  |
Cultural Policy
| The University's Cultural Policy sets out the guiding principles which assist the University to configure its cultural resources, including its Cultural Collections, to best serve the whole community. |  |