Melbourne Gardens hosts Design X Nature until 18 October
Published on 10/18/2026 at 02:19 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Melbourne Gardens is concluding Design X Nature on 18 October 2026, bringing an outdoor exhibition of artworks about natural systems to the Australian Drylands Precinct in Melbourne. The programme is part of Melbourne Fringe and presents new commissions by Courtney Coombs, Cara Johnson, Bethany Kiss and Soft Meadow Collective.
For visitors in Australia, the final day offers a chance to see the exhibition in the same landscape that shaped its themes. The works connect artistic practice with plant life, ecological research and questions about how natural systems can influence design.
Design X Nature runs through 18 October 2026
Design X Nature runs from 25 September to 18 October 2026. The exhibition is presented by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in association with Melbourne Fringe and RMIT University, with the Australian Drylands Precinct used as an open-air setting for the commissions.
The exhibition page describes the precinct as a living gallery shaped by links between design and scientific research. Visitors can drop in during the exhibition period rather than attend a single scheduled performance, while a related programme of walks, talks and workshops expands the themes through additional activity.
Courtney Coombs presents Protective Measures, while Cara Johnson contributes Pastures. Bethany Kiss shows Peckable Architecture, a project exploring relationships between buildings and wildlife, and Soft Meadow Collective presents Field Furniture, which addresses plants, pollinators, biodiversity and urban ecology. The official exhibition page lists the artists and individual works.
Melbourne Gardens places the exhibition in a living collection
The exhibition's setting is significant because Melbourne Gardens is not a neutral gallery. Its lawns, lakes, specimen trees and detailed beds form a living botanical collection in the city, giving the displayed works a direct relationship with plants and cultivated landscapes.
The gardens were established in 1846 after Superintendent Charles Joseph La Trobe reserved land beside the river for a botanic garden. A recent history of Melbourne Gardens records the site's 180-year development alongside Melbourne, including the later landscape work of William Guilfoyle and its continuing role in research, education and cultural events.
That history gives Design X Nature a clear connection between place and programme. The commissions were developed through a research lab residency at Melbourne Gardens in 2025, so the exhibition's interest in nature-led design is linked to the gardens' own scientific and horticultural work.
Artists connect plants, wildlife and urban design
The four commissions approach the exhibition's subject from different directions. Coombs works across objects, installations, moving images, sound and dialogue, while Johnson examines how land is treated and used through craft and material.
Kiss translates ecological data into architectural propositions and asks how buildings could become deliberate habitats for wildlife. Soft Meadow Collective works with artists and specialists in urban ecology, plants and biodiversity, making the group contribution a direct fit with the surrounding planted landscape.
A related installation of Peckable Architecture is listed at Fed Square during the exhibition dates. The main exhibition, however, remains in the Australian Drylands Precinct, where visitors encounter the works outdoors among native flowering meadows.
Visiting Melbourne Gardens: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Design X Nature runs from 25 September to 18 October 2026 at the Australian Drylands Precinct in Melbourne Gardens.
- The exhibition is presented as an outdoor display with drop-in access during the event dates, and admission is free according to the organiser.
- The gardens are on Birdwood Avenue in Melbourne, placing the exhibition within the city's established botanic landscape beside the Yarra River.
- Visitors should expect an outdoor route through planted areas rather than a single indoor gallery, with artworks encountered among meadows and other living collections.
- The related programme includes walks, talks and workshops, but those activities have separate dates and details from the main exhibition.
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Frequently asked questions about Melbourne Gardens
When does Design X Nature take place at Melbourne Gardens?
Design X Nature runs from 25 September to 18 October 2026 in the Australian Drylands Precinct.
What is Design X Nature?
It is an outdoor exhibition exploring how natural systems can influence creative practice, material experimentation and ecological thinking.
Where is Melbourne Gardens and how do you get there?
Melbourne Gardens is on Birdwood Avenue in Melbourne, beside the Yarra River.
