TarraWarra Museum of Art

Designed by acclaimed Australian architect Allan Powell, TarraWarra Museum of Art opened to the public in 2003.

The museum presents adventurous and inventive Australian and international exhibitions within an award-winning building set in the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley region, one hour’s drive from Melbourne.

Not only did founding patrons Eva Besen AO and Marc Besen AC gift the building that houses the museum, they also donated a significant proportion of their collection of modern and contemporary Australian art for the enjoyment of all visitors from Australia and abroad. The museum holds a nationally significant collection, with particular strengths in Australian figurative, abstract and landscape painting from the 1930s to the present day.

Building on the Besen gift, TarraWarra Museum of Art actively engages in art, place and ideas, where unexpected links between contemporary art and modernism are presented within global, national and Indigenous contexts.

TarraWarra Museum of Art recognises and values First Nations peoples as the first artists and custodians of the lands and waters upon which the museum stands, and proudly commissions works that explore the significant Indigenous culture of the Yarra Valley.

The immersive atmosphere of the museum’s non-urban environment provides an inspiring retreat for the imagination and the opportunity for unique artistic encounters.

Join as a member to show support for TarraWarra Museum of Art. As a not-for-profit museum, membership helps enrich the vibrant program of modern and contemporary art exhibitions from Australia and abroad.

Members receive exclusive year-round benefits and access to a world of art.