Melbourne’s trams have become moving works of art once more, as the First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams return to the city’s streets, launching as part of RISING. Over the coming weeks, six newly wrapped trams enter the network, each transformed into a moving canvas by Aboriginal artists with connections to Victoria.
Curated by Taungurung woman Kate ten Buuren, the 2026 edition celebrates the power of Blak imagination, bringing together six works that convey the limitless possibilities of First Peoples imagining. Travelling across the city for the next 12 months, the trams carry stories of Country, memory, resistance, futurity and cultural continuity through Melbourne’s public spaces
Leading this year’s launch is the 2026 Legacy Tram which honours Wadawurrung Elder and senior artist Marlene Gilson OAM, whose multi-figure paintings reclaim and re-contextualise the representation of historical events.
“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. Aunty Marlene has made significant contributions to community through her arts practise and her ability to reframe dominant historical narratives in her paintings.” said First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams curator Kate ten Buuren.
“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. The five trams that will be launched next also reflect on time, memory and First Peoples relationships to Country and the beyond. Together they demonstrate the limitless possibilities of our imagination.”
Centred on stories relating to her ancestral lands, spanning Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges, Marlene’s work overturns the colonial grasp on the past, reasserting First Peoples perspectives through richly detailed scenes that hold history, culture and Country together. Often featuring her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, her paintings reconfigure historical narratives while revealing a profound spiritual connection to Country.
Marlene’s practice has earned national and international acclaim, carrying her stories of Wadawurrung Country to the world stage. She has presented solo exhibitions in Ballarat, Melbourne and Sydney, participated in group exhibitions internationally, and was invited to exhibit in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024.
That same year, she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia, recognising her significant contribution to the visual arts. In 2018, she was commissioned for the 21st Biennale of Sydney, while in 2021 her work lit up the sails of the Sydney Opera House for Badu Gili: Wonder Women, a major projection celebrating six Indigenous women artists from across the continent.
Now, her work moves through the city as part of Melbourne’s most visible and longest-running public art initiatives, transporting First Peoples art, history and imagination beyond gallery walls and into the everyday rhythms of public life.
Alongside Marlene Gilson’s Legacy Tram, the 2026 First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams features artworks by Natasha Carter (Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta and Jaru), Mitch Mahoney (Boonwurrung and Barkindji), Jenna Mayilema Lee (Larrakia, KarraJarri, Wardaman), Zena Zada Cumpston (Barkandji/Kurnu) and Sonja Hodge (Lardil). Together, their works speak to expansive ways of seeing, remembering and imagining; and they assert the ongoing presence and creative force of First Peoples artists across the state.
Alongside the launch of the 2026 First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams, audiences are invited to take part in a curator and artist-led public program exploring First Peoples art histories and contemporary practice throughout Naarm. Led by artist Zena Zada Cumpston and curator Kate ten Buuren, the hop-on hop-off tour will travel along the Yarra Trams network, taking audiences through significant public art projects in Melbourne.
Beginning at City Square with a scone topped with native jam and native brew tea supplied by Indigenous catering company PAWA, the tour will offer audiences the chance to hear directly from Zena and Kate about public art, place, memory and First Peoples creative practice. All participants will receive a customisable cup to take home, featuring First Peoples Melbourne Art Tram stickers.
Audiences can also go hands-on with Introduction to Relief Printing, a series of three-hour workshops led by Lardil artist Sonja Hodge at Australian Print Workshop. With Sonja’s own artwork set to appear on one of Melbourne’s trams as part of the 2026 First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams, the workshops invite participants to learn relief printmaking techniques, hear about Sonja’s creative process, and transform their own stories and ideas into original black and white prints to take home.
Over the next 12 months, this moving exhibition will see six trams featuring artwork created by First Nations artists, delivered by the Department of Transport and Planning, Yarra Trams, and Creative Victoria, celebrating the world’s oldest living culture across the world’s largest tram network.
“Not every city gets to have mobile art galleries running throughout their streets, bringing the incredible talent of First People artists to so many neighbourhoods. With this year’s amazing RISING arts festival, Melbourne Art Trams is fundamental to our city’s look and feel, brightening winter days with beautiful artworks gliding through our streets,” said Minister for Creative Industries Vicki Ward.
“First Peoples Art Trams transform our network into a moving art gallery for millions of people to enjoy. These trams proudly celebrate First Peoples deep connection to Country and recognise their proud history as the world’s oldest living culture,” said Melinda Button, Chief Customer and Community Officer, Yarra Trams.
The First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams take to the tracks from June 2026 – June 2027. For more information, visit: www.rising.melbourne for details.
Image: Aunty Marlene Gilson’s Happy Families – photo by James Morgan Photography