Music, deeply rooted in Arabic traditions, unites people across regions and occasions—from social gatherings to entertainment or religious festivals — while also evolving to highlight social and political issues. Folkloric dance, including dance forms like dabke, (group or line dance) and baladi dance (solo or duo dance) celebrates heritage and invites participation, reinforcing community bonds. 

Together, these art forms serve not only as entertainment but as powerful tools for storytelling to share cultural heritage, promote mental strength, and social cohesion.  

The online exhibition shares unique and diverse stories from participants in the Arabic Arts Alive 2025 project, illustrating how Arabic music and dance have influenced their lives. 

Visit the Online Exhibition

Step into the stories of newly arrived Brazilian migrants in Adelaide through this photo exhibition, the result of a research project that explores how migration shapes health and wellbeing.

As part of Photovoice, a participatory research project, participants used their mobile phones to document everyday moments that reflect the challenges, resilience, and transformations of starting life and understanding the health system in a new country. The result is a moving visual narrative of identity and adaptation.

Walk through their world and see migration through their eyes.

This is one of the outcomes of the research project “Bridging culture: Understanding Brazilian migrant perspectives in Adelaide – a Photovoice study” (Ethics approval number: HREC/HRE/2025/0406(v4)).

For more information about the project, contact the researchers: Dr Edilene Lopes McInnes (edilene.lopesmcinnes@adelaide.edu.au) and Dr Marcella Meneguello (marcella.meneguello@torrens.edu.au).

Research project funded by the University of Adelaide – School of Humanities – Research Support Funding 2025, with support from Torrens University, the Migration Museum, and the Brazilian Association of South Australia (BASA).

A free mini-festival of pop-up concerts for all ages! Experience the intimacy and wonder of chamber music set amongst Adelaide’s iconic galleries, museums and creative spaces on North Terrace.

Chamber Music Adelaide presents a vibrant tapestry of musical experience across classical, contemporary, and world music traditions. From baroque elegance and intimate artsong to the otherwordly sounds of microtonial glass instruments, this year’s program celebrates both tradition and bold innovation. For all performances, please visit On The Terrace 2025.

This year, the Migration Museum is hosting two performances in the courtyard:

Jesse Budel: Volumes

11:20am, 12:20pm & 2:40pm
Composer Jesse Budel presents Volumes, a new work developed during his residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, as part of his 2024 Arts SA Fellowship. Designed for an octophonic sound array with live performance elements, this immersive piece envelops audiences in a multi-dimensional sonic landscape exploring the voluminous materiality and sounds of water, sand, vehicles, rockets, news media, and biodiversity in Volusia County, Florida. Don’t miss a unique opportunity to experience music that explores space, texture, and the art of listening in an intimate performance setting.

Bousta: Loved Ones

11:40am, 12:40pm & 3:20pm
As part of a collaboration with CASM for 2025 On the Terrace, producer Bousta has worked with members from the Adelaide Chamber Singers on his track Loved Ones. This track will be played through Jesse Budel’s octophonic sound system in the Migration Museum Courtyard for a surround sound experience.

“This song is about loved ones who passed and remembering them. Mainly those who had an image in their mind and the vision they saw of our potential in music, sports, or arts. We are reminding ourselves to never give up and stay strong for them to keep their high hopes for us alive.”

Jesse Budel (credit Stephen Holvik)

Bousta – Myles CASM

What treasures do you have that connect you with LGBTIQA+ life in South Australia?

Have you been keeping queer history under the bed, in boxes in the garage, at your parents’ place, or in a shed that could leak? Ever wondered how to keep it safe and accessible for future generations?

You’re invited to bring photos, posters, badges, publicity, T-shirts, objects, newspapers, magazines, and items that are precious to you, and we’ll talk about their queer stories.

Come and listen to others, share your stories, shape the archives, and be inspired.

This event is the first step in establishing a community-led queer archives in SA to collect, preserve, and celebrate South Australia’s queer histories.

The queer archive will make sure that the history of SA’s LGBTIQA+ communities won’t be lost. There will be records of who we are, our lives, loves, passions, what we have created, our struggles, and our achievements.

This event is running as part of Feast Festival 2025, and is presented by the Queer Archive Collective SA, a newly-formed group passionate about LGBTIQA+ community, history, archiving, and establishing a permanent SA Queer Archive.

For more information, contact Margie Fischer at margiefischer@bigpond.com or Raymond Zada at raymond@zada.com.au

Check out our On the Move exhibition which weaves together accounts of LGBTQ people who moved to Adelaide between 1950 and 2000.

Drawn Together: Faces of Belonging

In this creative workshop, kids and families will draw a face that shares something special about their family or story. Each drawing will join others to form a lively animated crowd, coming to life on the big screen. Together we’ll celebrate imagination, identity, and the many cultures that make up our community.

Why it’s awesome: 
Celebrate family heritage and identity
Be part of a real collaborative animation
Watch your drawing come alive as part of a bigger story!

Who’s it for:
Perfect for kids aged 5-18 (and parents too!). No drawing skills needed—just your imagination and a story to share.

When:

Monday 29 September at 10:30am and 11:30am
Tuesday 30 September at 10:30am and 11:30am
Tuesday 7 October at 10:30am and 11:30am
Friday 10 October at 10:30am and 11:30am

Workshops are free but registration is required.

For any enquiries, please contact us at migration@history.sa.gov.au or 08 8151 3240.

The LEGO® Trail is back these school holidays at the Migration Museum!

Grab your camera and sense of adventure and join us on a journey to nine different countries, visiting magnificent archaeological, cultural and natural sites around the world.

Search the museum galleries for our LEGO® figure tourists as they visit each exciting destination. Collect all the letters, spell out the secret word and enter the draw to win one of three awesome LEGO® prizes.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorise, or endorse this site. 

This Halloween, embark on an atmospheric journey into the darker side of Adelaide’s history.

Adelaide’s Destitute Asylum, which operated in the 19th century, housed many impoverished and vulnerable people, including women, children and the elderly, and has a long history of hardship and suffering. Explore the Migration Museum’s heritage buildings by candlelight and discover tales of life, death, and beyond in colonial South Australia.

Disease, death and destitution are guaranteed!

Tours run at 6pm, 7:15pm and 8:30pm on Friday 31 October.

Cost $20 per person

Tour runs for approximately 60 minutes and is not suitable for children under 12 years.

Joining the celebrations for the Adelaide Italian Festival for 2025, Australia Donna is proud to present an afternoon of poetry and prose, hosted in the Migration Museum Chapel.

This year features many multi-generational Italian-Australian women writers from Australia Donna and Ascolta Donna Inc.

Of Hope and Dreams – Di Sogni e di Speranza features the following presenters:

Prose: 
Laura Di Martino
Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli AM
Carla Caruso
Claudia Callisto
Giuseppina Marino Leyland

Poetry:
Jordana Ubaldi

Letters: 
Elena Castrechini
Angela De Ionno

Afternoon begins at 2pm on Saturday 15 November

Light refreshments served

Tickets available via $10.00 donation through Humanitix or phone 0412 413 416

You can find more information on this years Adelaide Italian Festival held from 7 – 16 November 2025 here Adelaide Italian Festival

Think about how the City of Adelaide has changed over time. What do you dream it might become in the future? 

‘Our Changing City’ is a collaborative artwork created by more than 300 students during DreamBIG Festival. Drop in to the Migration Museum these school holidays and contribute your own unique ideas using recycled materials.

From pet hotels and waterparks to geothermal energy skyscrapers and castles to fortify against a zombie apocalypse, anything you imagine is possible in our city of the future!

Open every day, 10am-5pm.

The LEGO® Trail is back these school holidays at the Migration Museum!

Our wonderful city is constantly evolving. Explore how migrants and multicultural groups of the past and today have influenced and inspired Adelaide in art, landscape, sport, culture, food and design!

Visit the museum and search for the LEGO® figures hidden in the galleries. Collect all the letters, spell out the secret word and enter the draw to win one of three awesome LEGO® prizes.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorise, or endorse this site.