Surrounded by beautiful gardens and lawns, and offering panoramic views of the Tweed River, the Gallery offers six exhibition spaces, an education area, and a Gallery Café, shop, and research library. The exhibition spaces host a vibrant program of historical and contemporary touring exhibitions of national significance alongside curated exhibitions of established Australian artists. The Margaret Olley Art Centre celebrates the career, life and legacy of its namesake, Margaret Olley – Australia’s most celebrated painter of still life and interiors.

Located in the Greater Shepparton region of Victoria, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) has one of Australia’s most important collections of historical and contemporary ceramics with a focus on contemporary and Indigenous Australian art. Recent acquisitions include work by Vernon Ah Kee, Patricia Piccinini, David Noonan, Tracey Moffatt, Dale Frank and Fiona Foley. Their artistic program includes the biennial Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award and the national Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, plus a host of artist talks, community workshops and events for kids and families.

Founded in 1887, Victoria’s Bendigo Art Gallery is one of Australia’s oldest and largest regional art galleries. From Bill Henson to Patricia Piccinini to Fiona Hall, the gallery showcases some of Australia’s and the world’s most influential contemporary artists, both in its collection and its annual curated shows. In March 2014, the gallery unveiled an $8.5 million renovation, including an additional 600 square metre gallery space, plus an expanded and refurbished Gallery Café.

Established in 1957, Newcastle Art Gallery presents a diverse program of 20 local, national and international exhibitions a year, 90 per cent of which are curated in-house. Its collection presents a comprehensive overview of Australian art from colonial times to the present, including important Indigenous barks and poles along with a growing collection of Indigenous contemporary paintings. The Gallery has the only Australian regional collection which includes a group of Rodin sculptures, plus the largest collection of modern Japanese ceramics in the southern hemisphere. Also worth checking out is the Gallery’s comprehensive program of tours, workshops, film screenings and more.

Housed in a distinctive pink-coloured former convent, Bunbury Regional Art Gallery is situated in Bunbury’s city centre, two hour’s drive south of Perth. Boasting four separate exhibition spaces as well as community exhibition facilities, BRAG offers a diverse and stimulating programme of exhibitions from regional, state and national sources, including a strong focus on Indigenous artworks. The former pink convent is a treat in itself, and many traces of its past lives can still be seen as you wander through the spaces.