Melbourne’s tram network has once again transformed into a rolling public art gallery, with the return of the First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams as part of this year’s RISING festival.
Over the coming weeks, six newly wrapped trams will make their way across the city, each featuring large-scale works by First Nations artists connected to Victoria. Curated by Taungurung woman Kate ten Buuren, the 2026 edition centres on the theme of Blak imagination, exploring ideas of memory, Country, resistance, futurity and cultural continuity through art that moves through everyday public spaces.
Leading this year’s program is the 2026 Legacy Tram honouring Wadawurrung Elder and senior artist Marlene Gilson OAM. Her artwork, Happy Families – time when we all lived together, reflects on family, culture and life on Country through richly layered scenes grounded in Wadawurrung history and storytelling.
“Today we unveil the first of six First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams for 2026, presenting senior Wadawurrung artist Aunty Marlene Gilson’s Happy Families – time when we all lived together,” curator Kate ten Buuren said.
“Happy Families transports us through time and space, and lands us on the riverbank, where families are thriving; caring for one another, dancing, fishing and practicing culture together.”
Gilson’s work is known for reclaiming historical narratives through First Peoples perspectives, often incorporating her totems Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow. Her career has taken her from exhibitions across Australia to the Venice Biennale and projections on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
The remaining 2026 trams will feature works by Natasha Carter, Mitch Mahoney, Jenna Mayilema Lee, Zena Zada Cumpston and Sonja Hodge, each bringing their own stories and creative approaches to the moving exhibition.
Alongside the tram launches, audiences can also take part in artist-led tours and printmaking workshops exploring First Peoples art, storytelling and public space throughout Naarm over the coming months.
