Australian Museum Of Performing Arts To Open DIVA, A New Blockbuster Exhibition

The Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA) will open DIVA, its inaugural large-scale exhibition, featuring more than 250 objects drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Australian Performing Arts Collection, and international lenders.

The exhibition will explore how performers across generations have influenced aesthetics, public imagination, and the evolution of live performance, presenting costumes, archival materials, personal objects, and design elements associated with figures ranging from Maria Callas and Grace Jones to Kylie Minogue and Olivia Newton-John. In addition to historical material, DIVA will examine Australia’s contributions to global performance culture and trace how the definition of “diva” has shifted across time.

The exhibition includes a sound environment designed by Gareth Fry, featuring recordings spanning opera, soul, pop, and contemporary music. AMPA Chief Executive Karen Quinlan said the exhibition reflects artists whose legacies continue to shape Australian and international performance. V&A Senior Curator Kate Bailey noted that the project considers how performers have used their work to challenge expectations and reclaim the term “diva.”

Located within Hamer Hall, the Australian Museum of Performing Arts showcases material from the Australian Performing Arts Collection and international partners through rotating exhibitions. The museum highlights theatre, dance, opera, popular entertainment, and live performance history, drawing from an archive of more than 850,000 objects.

Australia - Melbourne Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL (Regent Theatre, Melbourne)

54.6% of votes

2. TWELFTH NIGHT (St Kilda Botanical Gardens)

18.5% of votes

3. MJ THE MUSICAL (Her Majesty's Theatre)

16.1% of votes

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