The epicentre of art Production, a mere few steps away from the NGV,this is the place to go to see…read moreup and comning talent, in all the mediums of art offered at the prestigious Victorian College of The Arts.

I'm on my way to the ACCA and I stop at the Margaret Lawrence Gallery just around the corner. The…read moregallery is part of the Victorian College of the Arts. It is very easy to find on the campus, as the gallery is right by the main entrance on Dodds Street. After going in the front entrance there are some glass doors on your left. Unlike so many of the contemporary art spaces in Melbourne this one is wheel chair accessible. I'm not sure what the space was intended to be originally but it is an odd shape with a second rectangular gallery off the side. There are a lot of white walls and a large concrete floor. The gallery has regular exhibitions of high quality contemporary art without any commercial imperatives - it often appears unsaleable. The gallery's program of exhibitions is designed to make the students at the College of the Arts think. The exhibitions are challenging and avant-garde but they are always of a high quality.

Place Gallery is a large beautifully renovated factory space. The single L shaped gallery has a…read morepolish concrete floor, track lighting and white walls. It is very close to Richmond railway station where there are a lot of factory and warehouse conversions underway. Place Gallery has regular monthly exhibitions of the work of the Australian contemporary artists that it represents. These are mostly mid-career or emerging artists like: Ange Leech, Van Rudd and Peter Davidson. I went to there to see their exhibition of Glenn Morgan. The one of gallery's director, Trevor Fuller came out from the back of the gallery and talked about the artist and the exhibition with me. I had seen Glenn Morgan's dioramas at the Basil Sellers Art Prize last year and I wanted to see more.

Contemporary art & theatre in a wonderful setting…read more Went west to catch a highly rated play "Cain & Abel" which whilst disturbing was a revelation. But this isn't a review of the play, the theatre space was fantastic (an aisle on the right of the stage would be handy as you have to hop over other patrons legs), seating a lot but every seat with a view. Stage massive and could suit large productions. Gallery space downstairs fantastic with a number of rooms able to show works by different artists. Again a great use of an old building's space. Bar a little ordinary with one red & 2 whites to choose from & your standard fare, wine only average at $8 a glass. Wonderful space I'll be visiting again.

The substation is an iconic building of Melbourne's west. If you've ever tracked by rail through…read moreNewport, you've seen it. When I was growing up, it was derelict and home to many homeless and winos. And of course the fascination to kids all around. All the "cool kids" would break in to throw rocks at the window, or so my cool older sister would tell me. I was too busy at trombone practice. Newly renovated to resemble a New York loft, the substation is opened for business. Ideal for many functions, current uses are performances, art shows and markets. I do believe they can host wedding, though I'm not sure they have kitchen facilities. All in all, it's a modern building with multiple uses. The only (major) downfall is there is no aircon. Meaning during summer it can and does get extremely hot. And for that reason, it's 3, not 4 stars.

I went to Guildford Lane to see the galleries. The small inner city lane way is becoming a hub of…read moregalleries and Beam Contemporary is one of them. It is on the floor above Screen Space and just across the lane from Utopian Stumps. It a pleasant converted space, a series of small rooms with wood floors and white walls. The current exhibition made use of the different rooms. It is typical of many of Melbourne's galleries contemporary art galleries. The type of art is hard to describe that it exhibits but Beam Contemporary's website says that it "is committed to promoting and exhibiting conceptually and formally rigorous work by Australian artists." The current exhibition of photographs gave me plenty to think about even though there was not a lot to look at.

I take the art deco lifts up to Level 2 of this building on Flinders Lane. Around the corner and…read moredown a short corridor are the glass doors of Lindberg Galleries. Lindberg Galleries is this single white room with a desk in the corner. It shows serious contemporary artists with a different artist every month. These aren't the most famous Australian artists; the gallery describes them as "emerging and established", meaning that they are either straight out of an arts degree or that they are currently earning a living as an artist. I've seen some good shows at Lindberg in the past, generally there are some quality paintings on exhibition. And so I keep coming back to see what they will show next. The lighting for this show is excellent surrounding each of Sarah Hendy's paintings with a glow.

I'm always amazed at how a converted brick factory in Collingwood can look as elegant as James…read moreMakin Gallery, inside there is a large L shaped gallery and another square gallery. I look like the scruffy artist that I am still greeted by the staff and given a postcard and a color catalog for the show. James Makin Gallery is a good commercial gallery in Collingwood's gallery district. It is a large space with polished concrete floor, natural light and white walls. It generally has some good shows of new contemporary art; the current show by Bruno Leti is no exception. I sit down in the second gallery and admire the prints. Next month there will be a different exhibition to admire.

While often passed over in favour of the more obvious NGV, RMIT Gallery has played host to some…read morepretty amazing exhibitions in the past. Particularly special was 'Somewhat Different: Contemporary Design and the Power of Convention.' The gallery showcased the work of more than 100 mostly German and European designers who approached "conventional" design tasks in an unusual manner. There was a wonky bookshelf, a vacuum cleaner chair and a whole range of other every day objects rendered in an extremely inventive manner. Quirky and fun, I was so impressed by this exhibition that I have been back to RMIT a number of times since just to see what they have going on. The gallery always draws a great range of local and international artists and hosts the kooky concepts that the larger galleries can't get away with. From revolutionary Chinese art to Japanese anime figures and Australian street art, there's something for everyone. Conveniently located right in the centre of the city this is a space that it always worth checking out.

Aside from the National Gallery this is one of the best galleries in Melbourne. I always expect top…read morequality exhibitions at this gallery in Storey Hall at RMIT and I'm rarely disappointed when I visit. This time I saw the "Space Invaders", a traveling exhibition of street art from National Gallery of Australia. It is an amazing exhibition with work all these great Melbourne stencil artists. I'm glad that I didn't go all the way to Canberra to see this exhibition because Canberra is a boring place and RMIT Gallery is more convenient - it is diagonally opposite Melbourne Central. I have seen the exhibition twice because it is so easy to get there. RMIT gallery has a foyer with an information desk and lockers for school groups - they do give free floor talks to groups but I haven't been on any of these. There is one very large gallery space and two smaller adjoining spaces. The exhibitions change every two months and entry is free.

Went in a few weeks ago to see the Will McKinnon exhibition. Amazing works, massive and deep. It…read morewas a Saturday afternoon, not many people about and I had the gallery to myself for a quarter hour. Melissa, the gallery owner, is passionate about what she does and was really helpful in describing the art works. My only sadness is not having a big enough room to hang the paintings which were on sale! By the way there are other galleries and a tiny outdoor bar nearby. Well worth a look.

I went in to Utopian Stumps to see their current exhibition. The gallery space is a single ground…read morefloor space in one of Melbourne's great old lane-ways. This area has become a hub for new little galleries; there are two more just across Guildford Lane. Utopian Stumps is such a contemporary art gallery with its white walls and polished concrete floor. The exhibitions that I've seen there have all been serious contemporary art by emerging artists. This month's exhibition at Utopian Stumps was by a couple of artists who are doing their Masters of Visual Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts. After I had been looking at the sculptures and three paintings for a couple of minutes a young woman emerged from the backroom to hand me an A4 photocopied room sheet - "the room sheet". I don't know why they weren't just at the door. Not that it was much help, as the works weren't even numbered.