Press play on the past at this full-scale 90s video store replica

Rachael ThompsonBy Rachael Thompson
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Rewind to the good times and find pure nostalgia at this video store installation.

Friday nights at Video Ezy used to be the highlight of the week. Walking through the aisles to find your movie of the week wasn’t just practical, it was strangely emotional and meaningful, and far more fun than searching through Netflix. Do you pick a new release? Or do you opt for one of your all-time classics? Beethoven, Spice World, Free Willy and Flubber used to be some of the Australian Traveller team’s go-tos, but the possibilities always felt endless.

Well, now you can almost relive the dream at an art installation inside the Immigration Museum in Melbourne. 

After an understandably positive reception last year, Victorian-based pop artist and designer Callum Preston’s Video Land installation is back. Preston has created a nostalgic love letter to the pre-digital era with the creation of a full-scale 90s video store replica, as part of the aptly named JOY exhibition.   “It’s been about 20 years since they stopped making VHS, so I wanted to create a physical space and let it transport them to their memories of being in these spaces. I really wanted to just capture the chaos and the beauty and joy in all of that visual noise," Preston shared in his Artist Series video . 

A full-scale replica of a 90s video store.
Victorian-based pop artist and designer Callum Preston rewinds time. (Image: Phoebe Powell)

Within the installation, you’ll find shelves stacked with thousands of VHS tapes — sourced primarily from Victoria — along with neon signs and that unapologetically loud carpet, all evoking the charm of a retro video store. To up the fun, there are also custom stickers and membership cards, so you can fully immerse yourself playing shop in an adult world. 

Videos spread across a colourful carpet
Find thousands of VHS tapes on shelves. (Image: Phoebe Powell)

The installation is back until December 7, 2025, with tickets priced at $15 for adults and free admission for kids under 16.

Rachael Thompson
Rachael Thompson is Australian Traveller's Evergreen Editor and a self-proclaimed cheese and Chablis connoisseur. In her role, she creates and manages online content that remains relevant and valuable over time. With a background in publishing and e-commerce in both interior design and travel, Rachael is dedicated to curating engaging content that informs and inspires. She began her career at Belle magazine, then went on to become Senior Content Producer at Homes to Love focusing on Australian House & Garden and Belle, followed by Editor at Bed Threads. Her work has also appeared in Qantas Travel Insider. When she's not writing, editing, or optimising content, Rachael enjoys exploring the city's newest restaurants, bars, and hotels. Next on her Aussie travel wish list are Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park and Lord Howe Island.
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Film lovers need to add these Victorian theatres to their bucket list

    Ricky FrenchBy Ricky French
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    Theatres have always been a cornerstone of regional Victoria, reflecting the character and history of their local communities.

    From grand, gold rush-era masterpieces to Art Deco wonders to repurposed prisons, we’ve rounded up four of Victoria’s best regional theatres to catch a show at next time you’re travelling through.

    Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat

    Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat 
    Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat has been standing for 150 years. (Image: Michael Pham)

    A monument to the immense gold rush wealth flooding through Ballarat in the second half of the 19th century, Her Majesty’s Theatre (‘Her Maj’ to locals) celebrates its 150th anniversary as the city’s premier performing arts venue this year.

    Built in a classical style and immaculately preserved (thanks largely to a recent $16-million restoration), this Lydiard Street landmark is the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia, notable for its double balcony and a stage that slopes towards the front, making it one of the most audience-friendly venues in the country to see a show.

    The Capital, Bendigo

    The Capital Theatre, Bendigo
    The Capital in Bendigo was built in 1873 as a Masonic Hall. (Image: Michael Pham)

    Denoted by its distinctive Corinthian columns, more reminiscent of ancient Greece than regional Victoria, The Capital theatre in Bendigo has been through several iterations since the first stone was laid in 1873.

    Originally a Masonic hall, the renaissance revival-style building became a theatre in the 1890s, falling into disrepair for a time during the 1970s, before being restored and reopened (as the Bendigo Regional Arts Centre) in 1991. Today, the 480-seat venue hosts everything from comedy to cabaret to traditional theatre, dance, opera and live music.

     Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo

    a look insideBendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre
    Inside Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre, a former prison. (Image: Michael Pham)

    Bendigo has busted out as a regional performing arts hotspot, so it’s fitting that one of its newest venues is housed within a former prison. Meaning ‘meeting place’ or ‘gather together’ in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, the $26-million, 950-seat auditorium rose from within the red brick walls of the historic Sandhurst Gaol in 2015.

    It’s an eerie feeling as you approach the imposing granite facade, pass beneath the old gallows and pick up your ticket from the box office occupying a repurposed cell block. With the building playing a main character in the show, this is performative architecture at its finest.

    Rex Theatre, Charlton

    the Rex Theatre in Charlton
    The 1938-built Rex Theatre in Charlton is an Art Deco gem. (Image: Jenny Pollard)

    Regional theatres don’t come more romantic than this Art Deco gem in the river town of Charlton, in north-central Victoria. Built in 1938, the 350-seat community-owned theatre provides an essential entertainment outlet for residents in the Wimmera Mallee region, as well as visitors making the trip up the Calder Highway from Melbourne.

    The volunteer-run venue is the last remaining purpose-built cinema in regional Victoria, and hosts the Charlton Film Festival every February, plus three weekly film screenings (Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday).