Experience LEGO® worlds like never before

Part nostalgia trip, part immersive art experience, RELICS: A New World Rises transforms forgotten objects into extraordinary LEGO® worlds. Created by LEGO® Masters winners Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler.

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Select the month you would like to visit to view available dates and session times.

September October November December January

RELICS: A New World Rises is an immersive exhibition where vintage objects become homes for intricate miniature worlds built from LEGO® bricks. 

 A refrigerator becomes a cryogenic wellness resort. A Volkswagen Beetle powers an underground energy revolution. A grandfather clock becomes a time machine. Across more than 15 large-scale installations, tiny civilisations have adapted to the objects left behind by humanity, each one filled with hidden details, layered narratives and unexpected humour. 

 Created by LEGO® Masters winners Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler, RELICS combines sculpture, design, storytelling and nostalgia into an experience unlike a traditional museum exhibition or typical LEGO® display. The deeper you look, the more you discover. 

 Set in an imagined future where humans have abandoned Earth, the exhibition playfully explores creativity, consumer culture, sustainability and the objects we leave behind. 

 Loved by all, from ages 0–99, RELICS invites visitors to slow down, look closer, and rediscover the joy of curiosity and imagination. 

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

What you’ll discover

More than 15 large-scale installations
Explore vintage objects transformed into strange, detailed miniature civilisations.

Hidden stories everywhere
Every world is packed with tiny jokes, visual clues and layered narratives.

Created by Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler
The LEGO® Masters winners bring sculpture, storytelling, design and nostalgia together.

Loved by all, from ages 0–99
A playful, thoughtful experience for adults, children, families, friends and fans.

Book exhibition tickets

Select the month you would like to visit to view available dates and session times.

September October November December January

COMPETITION: Design Your Own RELIC

Inspired by RELICS: A New World Rises, Canberra builders of all ages will be invited to create their own brick civilisation inside an everyday, used or second-hand object.

Imagine Canberra in the year 2130. What has happened to the objects we leave behind, and who lives there now?

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Exclusive experiences

INSIDE RELICS: Preview with the Creators
🗓️ Friday 18 September
⏰ 4pm
Be among the first to experience RELICS: A New World Rises in Canberra and meet creators, Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler, winners of Channel 9’s LEGO ® Masters (2020).

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INSIDE RELICS: Meet the Creators
🗓️ Saturday 19 September
⏰ 2pm
Meet RELICS creators Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler. Discover what inspired the exhibition, how LEGO® became a career and their LEGO® Masters journeys. Ask questions and get copies of their book A New World Rises: Tales of a LEGO® Future signed.

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SCHOOL HOLIDAY WORKSHOP: Make your own RELIC
📅 Tuesday 29 September, Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October
⏰ 10:30am - 11:15am and 11:45am - 12:30pm
🎫 General Admission $10 (+ booking fees)
🧒 Designed for ages 5 - 13
Be inspired by the RELICS: A New World Rises exhibition and create your own RELIC: a miniature artefact from the future.

Book here

 

Accessibility and sensory information

Physical access and visitor facilities

• CMAG and the RELICS exhibition are wheelchair accessible.
• The exhibition is located on the ground floor of CMAG and is presented across two internal levels, with ramp and stair access between them.
• The exhibition is entirely indoors and fully air-conditioned.
• CMAG has accessible toilets, a café and seating available throughout the venue.
• CMAG is a designated Hidden Disabilities Sunflower location.
• CMAG staff are available during opening hours to assist visitors with access and using the venue’s facilities.
• Self-service lockers are available for backpacks, large bags and other personal belongings.

Moving through the exhibition

• Visitors can move freely through the exhibition and return to previous exhibits at their own pace.
• Seating is available within CMAG if you need to take a break during your visit.
• Food and other drinks are not permitted inside the exhibition space. Bottled water may be taken into the gallery.

Sensory components

RELICS includes visual and auditory components, along with a hands-on activity space where visitors can build their own creations.

• Some exhibits feature flashing lights.
• There are no strobe lights within the exhibition. However, the introductory video contains a very brief animation with a strobe-like effect.
• Low-level ambient music plays within parts of the exhibition.

Audio description tour

An audio description tour is available online or through QR codes located within the exhibition. You will need to bring your own smartphone or other internet-enabled device to access the tour.

Access the audio description tour

Low sensory sessions

A series of low sensory sessions will be held throughout the exhibition period. These sessions take place outside CMAG’s general opening hours and provide an opportunity to experience RELICS with reduced visitor numbers before the museum opens to the wider public.

View and book low sensory sessions

If the scheduled low sensory sessions do not suit your needs, contact the CMAG customer service team for advice about general entry sessions with lower booking numbers. Email cmag@act.gov.au or call 02 6207 3968.