New City Gallery exhibition maps Melbourne’s memories from sky to street

A striking new exhibition at City Gallery, Melbourne Town Hall invites visitors to rediscover the city through the lens of memory, mapping and belonging.

Open since October 2, You Are Here: Melbourne Memory-scapes is a powerful meditation on how we locate ourselves – physically, emotionally and imaginatively – within Melbourne’s ever-changing landscape.

Curated by Angela Bailey, the exhibition draws from the City of Melbourne’s vast Art and Heritage Collection, revealing rarely seen black-and-white aerial photographs of the city taken in the 1960s.

Originally captured by survey companies such as Adastra Airways, these images were once tools of measurement and mapping. In You Are Here, they become something far more intimate – a visual archive of collective memory that reveals the city’s expansion, its architecture, and the human stories woven into its streets.

The exhibition juxtaposes these large-scale aerial images with a new commissioned text work by Wergaia/Wemba Wemba poet Susie Anderson, whose lyrical writing forms a bridge between the city’s cartographic and cultural landscapes. Her words flow across the gallery walls and through a projected animation, guiding visitors to consider their own “memory-scapes” – the smells, sounds and sensations that make a place feel like home.

Anchoring the exhibition is Wathaurung Elder Marlene Gilson’s monumental painting, Land Lost, Land Stolen, Treaty, depicting ancestral creators Bunjil (eagle) and Waa (crow) watching over Naarm as Wurundjeri people witness John Batman’s infamous “treaty.” Gilson’s work serves as both a spiritual and historical counterpoint to the mid-century aerial photographs, reminding visitors that every mapped space sits on unceded land with deep First Nations histories.

The exhibition also includes connective works by Joan Ross, Louise Forthun, and miniature sculptors André Bonnice and Anna Jankovic – all drawn from the City’s collection. Together, these artists explore Melbourne as a living palimpsest: a city of sovereignty and survival, migration and memory, queer gathering places, protests and personal landmarks.

Curator Angela Bailey said the exhibition encourages visitors to look beyond the ordered lines of maps to the emotional terrain beneath.

“While mapping technologies fix boundaries and create ordered space, it is our memories – personal and collective – that give these places meaning,” she said. “This exhibition invites viewers to bring their own memory-scapes to the work.”

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said You Are Here reflected the City of Melbourne’s ongoing commitment to preserving and sharing the city’s layered stories.

“It’s an exhibition that connects past and present, place and people, in meaningful ways,” Cr Reece said.

The council’s creative and arts portfolio lead Cr Phillip Le Liu added that Melbourne’s identity continues to evolve through art.

“Melbourne is not just a place on a map, but a place where stories, cultures and communities connect,” he said.

You Are Here: Melbourne Memory-scapes runs until February 6, 2026 at City Gallery, Melbourne Town Hall. Entry is free, with guided tours offered Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Visit citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au for more information.