Arts & Culture

Per capita, the Macedon Ranges has more professional artists working in the arts than anywhere else in Victoria.

The Macedon Ranges has traditionally had a rich arts and culture history, and today it is a cradle for high-quality artisans covering art, sculpture, silversmithing, ceramics and music.

You will find these artists at work in their studios, exhibiting in local galleries, creating public art, and mentoring the local youth on any given day. The streets of the villages are dotted with art, and formal galleries operate in every town.

The Macedon Regional Park was the natural backdrop used by Frederick McCubbin when he painted his famous triptych The Pioneer (1904); an icon of Australian Romantic painting. McCubbin spent a fruitful number of years living in the Mount Macedon hills in the ‘Fontainbleau’ mansion with his young family, and raved about the qualities of the country and the light to fellow artists of the Heidelberg school, Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts.

A number of local artists have left a wide legacy on public and private art across the state. The Federation Bells in Birrarung Mar were designed by local sculpture Anton Hassel, while the ‘Eagle’ at the Docklands precinct was designed and made in the Macedon Ranges by Bruce Armstrong, reflecting the indigenous creator of the area – Bundjil.

The Flynn brothers of Kyneton are continuing to bring the family business of fine silversmithing to the world, creating trophies for the Australian Grand Prix and The World Cup of Rugby. Their ecclesiastical works hang in the great churches of Australia, and a delicate platypus sits on the Queens’ desk at Buckingham Palace.

Kyneton Fine China and Wattle Ceramics produce world class ceramic miniatures and hand-painted china which is sold across the country and over the globe.

Indigenous collections can be found at Rockbank Gallery on Straws Lane heading towards Mount Macedon.

INDIGENOUS

GALLERIES

MUSIC AND THEATRE

HERITAGE