Have you ever been sitting on the train, looking around, reading advertisements and Metro-mandated warnings? You think, “These are boring.” Then your wandering eyes rest upon a few delightful little lines of poetry? You think, “Poems on the train? How lovely!” The name behind this novel feature of our public transportation is Moving Galleries, a travelling art and poetry exhibition that’s enlightening commuters and making Melbourne trains more interesting.

Since 2005, 150 poems and 90 works of art have been showcased over five exhibitions. In that time, the “gallery” has grown from 20 train carriages to 40, which means that over 100,000 commuters enjoyed the most recent exhibition every day. A sixth exhibition is planned for this year, with the poems and artworks that will be featured to be selected this month. The upcoming exhibition will be bigger than ever and Moving Galleries hopes that it will cement the initiative as an integral part of our trains.

Moving Galleries strives to connect people with the culture that exists in Melbourne, and they utilise the 65km/h trains to get the message to people living the fast-paced city life. There is an emphasis on public participation,  so all are welcome to make submissions. If successful, the author will have the chance to read their verses every day, to and from work. That’s not the only incentive to participate, though—members of the public are encouraged to vote for their favourite poem or artwork, with the winner receiving a prize worth $500 and each voter going into a draw to win $500 cash. 

As Moving Galleries puts it, “The daily commute becomes an admission ticket to Melbourne’s most accessible creative space – a train carriage where every seat offers a fresh artistic and literary experience.” They want to give commuters something to enjoy and ponder while getting from Point A to Point B. So, prepare to be moved.