Rebel Heart: Love Letters and Other Declarations

This stirring new exhibition explores romantic love – and its foil, heartbreak – through State Library Victoria’s extraordinary archive of soul-baring letters, intimate diaries and rare manuscripts, amplified in powerful new music commissions by Australian artists Angie McMahon, Mindy Meng Wang, Mo’Ju and Amos Roach.

Spanning centuries of connection and courage, meet the brave hearts who dared to love unapologetically – from same-sex couples in the Victorian era and a mid-century marriage at odds with the White Australia policy, to love outside marriage, across borders and online.

Discover the love story of bushrangers Captain Moonlight and James Nesbitt, who met in Pentridge Prison; a mourning brooch from 1853 made of the woven hair of Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcomb; and the legacy of Australian music icons Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter.

The exhibition also spotlights modern expressions of the rebel heart, from mixtapes and DMs to fandoms and AI relationships.