This winter, NGV Friday Nights celebrates 2026 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces®: CARTIER, with late-night access to the exhibition and a specially curated program that transforms each week. Featuring live music residencies including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s MSO+, Melbourne International Jazz Festival and others, pop-up performances, including a tribute to Dame Nellie Melba from the Melbourne Opera, as well as a range of activities and films that pay homage to the dazzling creations of Cartier.
For Friday Nights, NGV has collaborated with four icons of Melbourne’s leading music scene – Waxflower (19 June – 10 July), Melbourne International Jazz Festival (17 July – 7 August), Wax Museum Records (14 August – 4 September) and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s new initiative MSO+ (11 September – 2 October) – to each host a music residency and an evolving program of performances that span classical, jazz, soul and more. Each residency will offer a unique evening of live performances, with the line up including MSO Cello Quartet, Olivia Excuses, PLEXUS, Amin Payne and OJ Kush, Raleigh Williams, Yunior Terry Quartet, DJ Earl Grey, Myles Mac and more.
Across two exclusive evenings on 12 June and 11 September, Melbourne Opera will present a bespoke, live performance of Diamonds for the Diva in celebration of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba GBE (1861– 1931), who was an early client of Cartier. A selection of necklaces and bodice ornaments owned and worn by Melba will be on display in 2026 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces®: CARTIER, alongside a signed 1902 portrait of Melba, Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny. Specially arranged by Melbourne Opera’s Music Director Raymond Lawrence, Melbourne Opera’s ‘Melba’ will perform three of Melba’s most celebrated arias alongside a five-piece string and wind ensemble.
Paying homage to Cartier’s long-standing relationship with film, and the cinema screens that have glittered for more than a century with Cartier jewels, NGV will also host drop-in film screenings on select Friday Nights in the Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, including High Society (1956), The Great Gatsby (1974) and Phoenician Scheme (2025).
Designed to spark new connections while sharing some basic French phrases, Fast Friends with Alliance Française de Melbourne is a fun, social French language conversational activity. Open to everyone, with no understanding of French required, this drop-in series is scheduled across the third Friday of each month.
In honour of the Cartier Maison’s French origins, sweet crêpes will be available in the new pop-up crêperie bar in the Great Hall, with further dining also available at the Gallery Kitchen. The Moët & Chandon champagne bar serves Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial, and wine tasting experiences will be held at the Yering Station Wine Bar and an assortment of indulgent little cups at the Häagen-Dazs ice cream kiosk.
Visitors will also enjoy unlimited access to 2026 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces®: CARTIER exhibition, where nearly 400 extraordinary jewellery objects, alongside rare archival materials, will be on display, including Cartier jewels owned and worn by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Rihanna, Princess Margaret, The Duchess of Windsor and Grace Kelly. Opening exclusively in Melbourne, the exhibition has been created by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, in partnership with NGV, with a breathtaking exhibition design, produced in collaboration with Dutch design practices Studio Sabine Marcelis and CLOUD.
Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV said: “Inspired by the legacy and innovation of Cartier, this season of NGV Friday Nights celebrates the elegance of the Maison’s creations with a fully immersive program of music, cinema, food and art, offering an experience that will inspire and delight visitors.”
NGV Friday Nights takes place every Friday from 12 June 2026 to 2 October 2026 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Further information and tickets are available via the NGV Website.
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