Melbourne's First Peoples Art Trams Revitalize Public Spaces with Indigenous Art
Melbourne's First Peoples Art Trams have returned to the city's streets as part of the RISING festival, showcasing six newly wrapped trams transformed into moving canvases by Aboriginal artists. Curated by Taungurung woman Kate ten Buuren, the 2026 edition celebrates the power of Blak imagination, featuring works that convey the limitless possibilities of First Peoples imagining. The trams will travel across the city for the next 12 months, carrying stories of Country, memory, resistance, futurity, and cultural continuity through Melbourne's public spaces. Leading this year's launch is the 2026 Legacy Tram, honoring Wadawurrung Elder and senior artist Marlene Gilson OAM, whose paintings reclaim and re-contextualize historical events. The initiative is supported by the Department of Transport and Planning, Yarra Trams, and Creative Victoria, celebrating the world's oldest living culture across the world's largest tram network. 
