Primary contact
100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Melbourne, Victoria 3004
Identity area
Identifier
daa/395
Authorized form of name
Australian Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
Parallel form(s) of name
Other form(s) of name
Type
- State
Contact area
Collections Coordinator, Online and Research
Type
Address
Street address
100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Locality
Melbourne
Region
Victoria
Country name
Postal code
3004
Telephone
03 9281 8446
Fax
researchservice@artscentremelbourne.com.au
Note
Description area
History
Collecting began in the late 1970s and two early major acquisitions were the J C Williamson Theatre Archive and the Dame Nellie Melba Collection. Today, the collection holds over 680,000 items, including major acquisitions from Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Barry Humphries, Bell Shakespeare, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Australian Opera and The Australian Ballet.
Geographical and cultural context
Mandates/Sources of authority
Administrative structure
Staff-in-charge: Collections Coordinator, Online and Research.
Records management and collecting policies
The Australian Performing Arts Collection focuses on performing arts including circus, theatre, opera, dance and music.
Buildings
Holdings
Holdings include:
- J C Williamson: Documents, programs, photographs, 1900-1980.
- Barry Humphries: Documents, programs, photographs, artwork, 1960- present.
- Dame Nellie Melba: Correspondence, programs, photographs, 1880-1930.
- Aztec Services - Beatles Australian Tour: Documents, 1964.
- Bert Myer Chevron Hotel Collection: Documents, photographs, artwork, 1955-1970.
- Handspan Theatre: Documents, photographs, diaries, posters, 1980.
- Holden Brothers Circus: Documents, posters, flyers.
- Fowler's Australian Dramatic Players: Documents, posters, flyers, notebooks.
- Archive holdings for Playbox Theatre, The National Theatre.
Finding aids, guides and publications
Access area
Opening times
Open Monday and Tuesday 10am-4pm (appointment required).
Closed public holidays.
Access conditions and requirements
Research topic should be outlined by letter or telephone and three week's advance notice of visit is required.
Accessibility
Services area
Research services
The Collections Coordinator provides basic research assistance free of charge. Charges apply for more in-depth research and time, by arrangement.
Reproduction services
Researchers are welcome to photograph items for their own research purposes as set out in our access agreement.
Public areas
Control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Revised 11 April 2018
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Maintenance notes
Access points
Access Points
- Arts and Culture (Thematic area)