Playable arcade machines hang like paintings, alive with colour, cultural story, and the hum of retro game sound. Arca Arcade: Round One turns the gallery into a space where nostalgia and contemporary art meet on equal terms.
Created by Aotearoa New Zealand artist and designer Preston McNeil, Arca Arcade: Round One transforms custom-built arcade cabinets into fine art objects. Each machine is adorned with te ao Māori influences and the distinct visual languages of prominent New Zealand artists including FLOX, Gina Kiel, Joe Sheehan, Otis Frizzell, and Otis Chamberlain. The exhibition argues for videogames as a legitimate and expressive form of art and storytelling.
Visitors can interact directly with the arcade machines while taking in the intricate artwork that covers each cabinet. The experience moves between play and contemplation, inviting people to consider how cultural identity, design history, and digital entertainment can inform one another. It is an exhibition that rewards both the curious child and the thoughtful adult.
This is the first-ever Regional Victorian showing of Arca Arcade: Round One, making Latrobe Regional Gallery the exclusive local host for McNeil's celebrated work. For Latrobe City, the exhibition signals the region's place on a national and international cultural circuit, bringing world-class contemporary art directly to the Gippsland community.
Arca Arcade: Round One runs from 6 June to 2 August 2026 at Latrobe Regional Gallery, 138 Commercial Road, Morwell, open daily 10am to 4pm. For more information, contact the gallery on (03) 5128 5700 or email [email protected].
Eden of the East