Note: I visited the exhibition on 6 May 2026, but I’ve only just found time to write this blog post.
Psittacines at Stop 2305 by Jaya Sharma. Photo by Markus Misins.
Recently I visited the 2026 Belong Exhibition hosted by the City of Whittlesea at the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre.
Earlier that morning I was at Mill Park Leisure doing my regular Wednesday morning aqua aerobics class when I noticed advertisements for the art gallery exhibition. Since I had an appointment later in the afternoon, I decided it would be a good opportunity to stop by and check it out.
When I first entered the venue I was a little confused about where to go, especially because there seemed to be another event happening in some of the other rooms with a guest speaker or presentation. Thankfully the staff were very friendly and helped direct us to the gallery area.
Inside the gallery it was very quiet. It was mainly just me, my support worker, and the person managing the gallery at the time. That actually made it a really relaxing experience because I could properly take my time looking around at all the artworks on display.
My favourite artwork in the exhibition was also the featured artwork, Psittacines at Stop 2305 by Jaya Sharma. I absolutely loved this piece because I felt it captured the atmosphere of Mill Park and Melbourne’s northern suburbs really well. I honestly would have been happy to buy it myself, but unfortunately it had already been sold. I liked it so much that it is now my desktop background on my computer.
There were plenty of other great artworks as well, many of them capturing familiar local scenes and landscapes My second favourite were the beach-themed artworks, which also stood out to me during my visit.
Another interesting surprise was discovering that Dakoda, a current student from my former school, Concord School, also had artwork featured in the exhibition.
Image source: Concord School Facebook Page
This was my first time visiting the Belong Exhibition, and after such a great experience I’ll definitely be back again next year.