Celebrating some of history’s most provocative and powerful divas, DIVA, an acclaimed international exhibition developed by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), will open the new Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA) on 11 December 2025.
An Australian exclusive, DIVA will feature more than 250 objects including 60 spectacular costumes, jewellery, photography, art and music drawn from the V&A’s Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne’s own Australian Performing Arts Collection and loaned items from across the world.
On display from 11 December 2025 – 26 April 2026, the exhibition will showcase the creativity, ambition and resilience of many of the world’s best-known divas, from 19th century opera goddesses and silent movie stars to Golden Age Hollywood legends and today’s global megastars and pop icons.
The exhibition features a megawatt roll call of legendary names including Maria Callas, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Dame Nellie Melba, Grace Jones, Cher, Prince, Tina Turner, Elton John, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Adele, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, P!nk, Bjork, Billie Eilish and more.
V&A Senior Curator Kate Bailey, who curated the exhibition, said DIVA explores the performer, not just as an artist, but as a trailblazer, and was thrilled DIVA would be the inaugural exhibition of the Australian Museum of Performing Arts.
“Today the word diva holds a myriad of meanings. At the heart of this exhibition is a story of iconic performers who with creativity, courage and ambition have challenged the status quo and used their voice and their art to redefine and reclaim the diva,” said Bailey.
“We are thrilled to be working with the Australian Museum of Performing Arts and that this powerful story is being shared around the world. Viva La Diva!”
The exhibition explores the phenomenal ability of the diva to transform and inspire the world around them. Delving into the origins of the term ‘diva’ – meaning goddess in Italian – the exhibition reflects on how the meaning of the word has been subverted and embraced over time, and how the label has been reclaimed by performers, their fans and wider society.
From exquisite couture gowns and showstopping costumes to intimate personal items, visitors will journey through some of history’s most magnetic performers and consider how the very idea of ‘diva’ has been redefined over time.
Charting the origin and rise of the diva, from creative subversions, backlash and reign in modern times, DIVA invites visitors to go beyond the headlines to witness the artistry and adversity of these showstopping performers, fabulous agitators and agents of change, in all their glory.
Australia’s contributions to pop culture history and ‘DIVAdom’ will be explored through objects from Arts Centre Melbourne’s celebrated Australian Performing Arts Collection.
From Dame Nellie Melba to Peter Allen, Marcia Hines to Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John to Kate Miller-Heidke, Chrissy Amphlett to Dame Edna Everage, Australia’s divas will be out in force. Other Australian divas featured in the exhibition include Dame Joan Sutherland, Jessica Mauboy and Amy Taylor (Amyl and the Sniffers).
Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Karen Quinlan AM said DIVA would captivate visitors with an incredible display about the power of performers and their impact on our cultural history. “DIVA is the perfect exhibition to launch our Australian Museum of Performing Arts,” she said.
“The V&A’s deeply thoughtful and exciting exploration of the concept of the diva will enthral visitors and I know they will come from near and far to see it. This exhibition and the Australian Museum of Performing Arts bring to life our long-held vision to showcase the rich theatrical legacy of Australia and beyond,” said Quinlan.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks MP said DIVA and the opening of AMPA would be a highlight of a massive summer of creative experiences in the Melbourne Arts Precinct. “This first-ever exhibition for the new Australian Museum of Performing Arts is set to attract visitors from around the state and beyond when it opens this summer,” he said.
“DIVA will unveil incredible pieces from our prized state collection alongside treasures from the V&A in London for a star-studded celebration of iconic performers. It’s going to be a showstopping addition to the Melbourne Arts Precinct and our cultural calendar, further cementing our place as the cultural capital of Australia,” said Minister Brooks
Some of the highlights within the exhibition include:
- A stage ensemble worn by Maria Callas as the title role of Norma in the Covent Garden Opera Company production of Norma (1952)
- A corseted crimson dress designed by Christian Dior and worn by Vivien Leigh as Paola in Jean Giradoux’s Duel of Angels at the Apollo Theatre (1958)
- The fringed black dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in Some Like it Hot (1959)
- A canary yellow jumpsuit worn by Ella Fitzgerald (1960s – 70s)
- Iconic costumes designed by fashion designer for the stars Bob Mackie, including looks worn by Tina Turner (1977), P!nk (2009) and Cher (1975)
- A Louis XIV inspired look with towering, powdered wig and train worn by Elton John for his 50th birthday celebration designed by Sandy Powell (1997)
- Rihanna’s high-fashion Papal look, with jewel-encrusted robe and matching mitre designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela worn at The Met Gala (2018)
- Whitney Houston’s floor length black and gold dress worn to receive her three Grammy Awards for The Bodyguard soundtrack, including song of the year for single I Will Always Love You, designed by Marc Bouwer (1994)
- Jessica Mauboy’s dress worn at the Eurovision Song Contest for her performance of We Got Love (2018)
- Lady Gaga’s periwinkle blue Valentino couture ballgown for The Golden Globes (2019)
- Billie Eilish’s Glastonbury ensemble designed by Stella McCartney (2019)
- A gown worn by soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO (Yorta Yorta/Yuin) at the National Gallery of Australia (2010)
- Kylie Minogue’s red outfit worn in her video for smash hit Padam Padam (2023)
- Amy Taylor’s (Amyl and the Sniffers) whoopee cushion outfit on the Cartoon Darkness Tour, Sidney Myer Music Bowl (2025)
Also on display will be ephemera from ‘DIVAdom’ including posters, song sheets and handwritten lyrics as well as personal objects and accessories. The voice of the diva is amplified by a sonic experience designed by world-leading sound designer Gareth Fry.
An iconic and emotional soundtrack plays throughout the exhibition and includes key music by Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, Aretha Franklin and Josephine Baker to Dolly Parton, Adele, Prince, Ella Fitzgerald, Sade, Beyoncé and Madonna.
The second exhibition to be held at AMPA will celebrate 50 years of the Australian Performing Arts Collection. With fifty iconic objects selected to celebrate five decades of collecting, ENCORE! will be on display from 10 June – 11 October 2026.
Key objects include the L’Amour sign from Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin’s production of La Bohème (Opera Australia, 1990), Tony Tripp’s Summer of the Seventeeth Doll set model (Melbourne Theatre Company, 1995), Ella Havelka’s pointe shoes (The Australian Ballet) and Dame Nellie Melba’s cloak from Lohengrin, circa 1891.
DIVA will be on display at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts (Hamer Hall – Arts Centre Melbourne) from 11 December 2025 – 26 April 2026. For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.
Images: Installation view of DIVA at the V&A – © Victoria and Albert Museum, London | Photographic negative, Billie Holiday at her only ever London appearance at the Albert Hall. Jack Parnell band backing her, photographed by Harry Hammond, England, 1954 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London | Papier mache box with mother of pearl inlay and painted scenes, by Jennens & Bettridge, presented to Jenny Lind after a charity concert by her in aid of the Queen’s College Hospital, Birmingham, 28th December 1848, by the grateful Council of the hospital – © Victoria and Albert Museum, London | Kate Miller-Heidke in Eurovision rehearsal, Tel Aviv, 2019 – © EBU/ Andres Putting | Elton John in Sandy Powell-designed Louis XIV outfit, 1997 – photo by UK Press via Getty Images | Kylie Minogue in the official music video for Padam Padam, 2023 – photo by Erik Melvin