Discover the creative side of Brisbane in our city and suburban art galleries.
Queensland Art Gallery
What better place to start your visual journey through Brisbane than at Queensland’s premier arts institution, the Queensland Art Gallery. Established in 1895, the Queensland Art Gallery houses more than 11,000 works of Australian and international art and is committed to profiling Indigenous Australian art.The Gallery of Modern Art which opened in December 2006 is situated only 150 metres from the Queensland Art Gallery building and focuses on twentieth and twenty-first century art.
QUT Cultural Precinct and Art Museum
Just across the river from the Queensland Art Gallery and South Bank is The QUT Cultural Precinct and Art Museum. The Art Museum’s collection has a history of a strong and adventurous commitment to Australian contemporary art with the majority of works dating from the 1960s onwards.
Roma Street Parkland
Time now to visit Roma Street Parkland. The world’s largest urban subtropical garden, the Parkland is also home to the city’s single largest collection of public art. Take the Roma Street Parkland Art Walk to view each installation while enjoying the gardens.
Museum of Brisbane
Located within Brisbane’s magnificent City Hall, the Museum of Brisbane (MoB) often hosts touring multimedia art exhibitions alongside its social history, craft and design displays.
Customs House
Next stop is a treat for more than just the visual senses. Customs House - a grand riverside heritage building owned by the University of Queensland and located on the outskirts of the city’s business district - houses both a licensed restaurant and gallery. See a permanent display of the Stuartholme-Behan Collection of Australian Art.
Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
- Fusions Gallery on Brunswick Street is located in a heritage listed former church. Quality locally made ceramic art and glass feature in its monthly exhibitions program. A permanent collection of works by leading ceramic artists (national and international) is also displayed.
- Philip Bacon Galleries, diagonally opposite Fusions, is for the serious art collector. Always available for sale is a wide collection of 19th century and contemporary Australian paintings, sculpture and fine jewellery. Melbourne-based performer Barry ‘Dame Edna Everage’ Humphries (a national artistic treasure in his own right) regards this private gallery as the nation’s best.
- The Jan Murphy Gallery, also on Brunswick Street, first opened in 1995 and represents both local and interstate Australian artists. The gallery features three exhibition spaces, with large windows offering passing pedestrians and motorists a clear view of the regularly changing exhibitions.
- Each year the Institute of Modern Art located within the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, presents a continuous program of exhibitions and publishes a range of artist monographs, exhibition catalogues and critical theory texts.
- Still on Brunswick Street, find the Craft Queensland Gallery which includes three spaces designed specifically for the exhibition of contemporary craft and design. Visitors to the gallery have the opportunity to purchase from a diverse range of quality craft and designer-made objects.
- At the river end of Brunswick Street on the far side of New Farm Park, you will find the Brisbane Powerhouse Centre for Live Arts, a unique building in a glorious riverside setting. The Powerhouse is a multipurpose performing arts centre, featuring public art works and regular visual art exhibitions.
Don’t forget the suburbs and regions!
If you’ve got time, wheels and a desire to see more, you’ll find many well established galleries on the city fringe, or head beyond Brisbane to the regions where art lives on.
- Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology in the Caboolture Shire houses a priceless collection of antiquities and fine arts from around the world.
- Mt Tamborine’s Gallery Walk is also a must. Allow plenty of time to visit as there is much to see - not only galleries, but also natural beauty.
Where are the Brisbane spaces you like to view amazing art?
