Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations

Where does creativity come from? This timeless question is at the heart of the Library’s latest exhibition, Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations. 

Step inside the unseen inner worlds of artists to discover the intense, sometimes otherworldly forces that drive them to bring something entirely new into being. 

Featuring new commissions by Australian creators including Peter Carey and Deanne Gilson, the exhibition uncovers the spiritual connections, fascinating rituals and deeply personal quests that shape these artists' work. 

Witness how Peter Carey’s obsession with Ned Kelly drove him to write True History of the Kelly Gang, how Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock came to her from a series of dreams, how Howard Arkley’s Tudor Village series was inspired by Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens and how bohemian icon Vali Myers drew from spiritual connections with animals. 

New commissions by 5 visionary Victorian artists invite us to put their methods under a microscope: 

• Peter Carey sheds light on how he wrote True History of the Kelly Gang  
• Dr Chandrabhanu OAM uncovers his magnum opus, Dasamahavidya, a classical Indian dance work that is the culmination of his decades-long practice  
• Deanne Gilson shares her Wadawurrung ancestors’ Creation story through a powerful new work, Bundjil Morrgalyu Turt Barram Murrup / Bundjil and the Evening Star Spirits 
• Barry William Hale taps into the Library’s collection of rare books on ancient magic and Surrealism to create a monumental automatic drawing 
• Bundit Puangthong weaves together childhood stories, traditional Thai temple painting and Melbourne’s graffiti culture influences in a new 12-metre painting.  

Learn more about Creative Acts: Artists and their inspirations.