Kids Summer Festival is held across both NGV venues:

• NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
• The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Fed Square

For information on getting here, see our Plan Your Visit webpage.
Explore the program to see what’s on at each venue at Kids Summer Festival.

The Kids Summer Festival program is free, and except for the Relaxed Sessions, no tickets are required. Relaxed Sessions at NGV offer a quieter experience for people with disability or neurodivergence.

Find relaxed sessions

If you would like to visit the Westwood | Kawakubo, Women Photographers 1900-1975 or Martin Grant exhibitions, you will need to purchase tickets.

The exhibitions and all public areas in the NGV, including food and drink outlets and the NGV design store, are fully wheelchair and pram accessible.

In busy festival areas there are designated pram parking spaces. Please take any valuables with you.

Wheelchairs and motorised scooters are available for free hire from the information desk. We recommend booking a wheelchair or scooter prior to your visit by calling (03) 8620 2222 or making a booking online.

At both venues, any large bags that are not stored underneath wheelchairs or prams will need to be cloaked. There is a cloakroom at both venues and the cloaking service is free. Items must be collected before 5pm.

Baby change facilities are available on ground level at both venues. At NGV International, a dedicated parents’ room provides a quiet space for families, plus a private feeding space and a microwave. Breastfeeding is welcome wherever you feel comfortable.

Accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms are available at both venues.

A Changing Places bathroom is located nearby at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, approximately 300 metres from NGV International. Visit the Arts Centre Melbourne for more information.

Activities at NGV International will be held in the Great Hall, with the exception of Friday 16 January when they will be held in the gallery spaces on Level 2.

The Great Hall is a very large room with carpet and a stained-glass ceiling. The Great Hall is often busy and noisy. If you need a lower-sensory area, we recommend the nearby NGV Garden, located just outside the Great Hall. The Great Hall and NGV Garden are great places for children to roam, relax, stretch their legs or lie back and gaze at the stained-glass ceiling

Activities at NGV Australia will be held in the Theatre on Ground Level, and the foyer space on the Ground Level.

Family-friendly food options are available for purchase at Gallery Kitchen or the Tea Room at NGV International, and at the NGV Cafe in the Fed Square Atrium. You are welcome to bring food from home and eat in the Great Hall or Garden.

Free water stations are available in Gallery Kitchen (under the escalators) at NGV International, and outside the Fed Square Atrium on Flinders Street.
Please note that food and drinks can’t be taken into the exhibition spaces or onto the Dancing Pumpkin area.

Relaxed Sessions are an opportunity for visitors who may benefit from a quieter Gallery experience to access NGV exhibitions with fewer people and reduced sensory stimuli. This may include people with neurodivergence, disability, or chronic illness conditions. All ages are welcome.

Two free Relaxed Sessions will be offered during Kids Summer Festival for the children’s exhibition, Let’s Party! Fashion for Kids: Designed by Danielle Brustman.

Find relaxed sessions

Accredited assistance dogs are welcome at the NGV. Please ensure your assistance dog is wearing their jacket while at the Gallery.

Access aids, including earplugs, magnifying sheets and self-regulation fidget devices, are available for free hire from the information desk. We recommend booking prior to your visit, by calling (03) 8620 2222 or making a booking online.

For access information about the exhibitions, visit the relevant exhibition webpages.

See exhibitions

• Early childhood specialists recommend keeping visits short. When planning your visit, select a time in the day that best suits the child and their energy levels.
• You could treat the visit to the Gallery like a walk in the park. Explore the different spaces and discover different artworks along the way. Let your child take the lead!
• Give your child the camera and ask them to take photos of what interests them. After your visit you can review the images together.
• Look for aspects of the artworks that relate to your child’s everyday life and talk about them together. For example, compare a domestic scene to their space at home.
• Look for the children’s artwork labels and read them together.
• Ask open-ended questions about the art, such as ‘What is happening in this picture?’
• After your visit, ask your child questions about their experience at the Gallery.
• Provide pencils or crayons at home so that your child can draw their experience.

Visit our dedicated Access webpage for more resources and information about accessible facilities and services at the NGV.
For further enquiries about how the Gallery can support your access requirements, please contact our team by phone (03) 8620 2222 or via our online form, 9am–5pm, daily.