Where does creativity come from? It’s a question as elusive as it is compelling – and one that State Library Victoria explores with profound insight in its captivating new exhibition, Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations, opening 15 August.
Spanning sculpture, storytelling, performance and painting, the exhibition draws from rare archival materials and brand-new commissions by five Australian artists – including literary titan Peter Carey and Wadawurrung artist Deanne Gilson – to explore the rituals, obsessions, and otherworldly visions that fuel artistic creation.
Trace Peter Carey’s decades-long fascination with Ned Kelly through original manuscripts and research for True History of the Kelly Gang shown alongside Kelly’s famed Jerilderie Letter. Step inside Vali Myers’ dazzling, intimate universe, with never-before-seen works, photographs, diaries, and even her brass bedhead on display – gifts to Victoria from the Vali Myers Art Gallery Trust.
The exhibition brings to life the creative force of Dr Chandrabhanu OAM’s classical Indian dance, Barry William Hale’s occultist art-channeling, Bundit Puangthong’s memory-soaked murals, and Gilson’s richly textural retelling of Wadawurrung cosmology.
For an immersive after-hours experience, Creative Acts will also host Library Up Late on 22 August as part of Now or Never, with live performances, curator talks, and DJs under the dome.
Open daily from 15 August until 31 May 2026 in the Victoria Gallery. Entry is free.