Online satirical protest movement that became a viral sensation will host its first exhibition in Victoria.

When art and politics collide the results can have a big effect, but few could have guessed at just how big an impact a facebook group who started photoshopping the face of Senator George Brandis into famous works of art would have on the ongoing debate on arts funding in Australia.

What started as a small, online, tongue-in-cheek satirical movement, protesting the major arts funding reforms announced in the Federal Budget, has snowballed into a viral sensation with hundreds of submissions and thousands of followers on social media. Following their overwhelming online popularity, the George Brandis Live Art Experience is now preparing to leave the digital world and stage its first gallery exhibition.

The real-time, ongoing conceptual art critique has captured the attention of many major media outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald and Buzzfeed, further adding to its online success. But while many of its submissions have been unquestionably funny, the movement has become a lightening rod for attracting broad public interest in the very serious debate concerning the institution of government administered, authoritative funding for the arts in Australia.