The Victorian Museums & Galleries Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and leadership across Victoria’s museum, gallery, and community collecting sectors.

The Awards were hosted by the Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) and the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMAGA) at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

NETS Victoria is delighted to share that among the award announcements, three exhibitions supported by NETS Victoria caught the attention of the judges.

In the category for Medium Project of the Year (Museums) a High Commendation was awarded to HOME 25: Invisible Cities, presented by the City of Greater Dandenong. This exhibition invited audiences to explore how the concept of ‘home’ shapes identity, belonging, and dislocation.

The judges commented: “The judges were impressed by the idea of holding the exhibitions in different locations within the community, including non-traditional exhibition spaces. The project promotes the City of Greater Dandenong as a welcoming and inclusive place which supports personal and cultural expression”.

In the category for First Nations Project of the Year (Museums & Galleries) a High Commendation was awarded to EXCHANGE, an exhibition presented by Blak Dot Gallery. EXCHANGE explored the exchange between First Nations peoples and the transfer of knowledge, materials, and practice.

The judges commented: “A beautiful and important exhibition that challenges systems through creative expression, truth telling, and cultural authority. Each artist addresses very different but equally important issues and experiences of First Nations persons and communities. The innovative approach to exhibition development analyses western systems, reframing the conceptual underpinning of ‘exchange’ to the Indigenous methodology of relationality—working to reframe curatorial practice itself. There is a strong demonstrated impact for emerging writers and artists, with impressive reach for local communities through an independent gallery.”

In the same category Kait James: Red Flags first presented at Warrnambool Art Gallery was also nominated. This exhibition is currently touring nationally and presents the artist’s unique visual language based in the reappropriation of racialised products.

These three exhibitions all received assistance from NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, and we are thrilled to see them recognised for their excellence, innovation, and leadership across Victoria’s museum, gallery, and community collecting sectors

For a full listing of the awards and recipients visit here – 2026 Awards Winners Announced

Image: Janty Blair with Kimba Thompson and Maree Clarke from Blak Dot Gallery, highly commended First Nations Project of the Year, 2026 Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards. Photo: Peter Casamento.