Brisbane

Brisbane Galleries and Museums

Brisbane’s galleries, museums and research collections open up many ways to encounter Queensland: through art from Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific, fossils and wildlife, ancient Mediterranean objects, family memories and the records of everyday life. The strongest discoveries often sit close together, from the Queensland Cultural Centre and South Bank to university museums, City Hall and the communities of Redcliffe and Pine Rivers.

This is a varied selection rather than an exhaustive catalogue. It includes major public collections, contemporary exhibition spaces, specialist university museums, a research library and local museums where objects, films and stories connect place with lived experience.

🎨 Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

QAGOMA brings together two galleries in the Queensland Cultural Centre, 150 metres apart beside Maiwar. Its collection spans Indigenous Australian, Australian, Asian, Pacific and international art. The Asia Pacific research programme and Asia Pacific Triennial archive add depth through documentation, ideas and regional connections, while GOMA’s research library holds more than 50,000 books and exhibition catalogues, together with journals, archives and special collections.

Stanley Place, South Brisbane, Queensland · ☎ +61 7 3840 7303

Institute of Modern Art

At the Judith Wright Arts Centre, the Institute of Modern Art offers a free public gallery focused on contemporary art. Its changing exhibitions invite audiences to encounter current practices and ideas rather than a fixed historical collection. The gallery also arranges guided group visits tailored for schools, university classes and community groups, providing a way to explore the exhibitions through discussion.

Ground Floor, Judith Wright Arts Centre, 420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane QLD 4006 · ☎ (07) 3252 5750

Museum of Brisbane

On Level 3 of Brisbane City Hall, Museum of Brisbane brings the city’s art, culture and history into view through exhibitions, workshops, tours and children’s activities. Its lasting resources include the Museum of Brisbane Collection and the Easton Pearson Archive. City Hall tours extend the experience into the building’s public rooms and stories, while the museum acknowledges the Yaggera, Turrabul, Yuggarrapul, Jinabara, Quandamooka and neighbouring clan groups.

Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, King George Square, Brisbane 4000 · ☎ (07) 3339 0800

🔬 Science, Natural History & Specialist Collections

Queensland Museum Kurilpa

Queensland Museum Kurilpa combines cultural and natural collections with public galleries designed for curious minds of all ages. Visitors can encounter Queensland dinosaurs, minerals, wildlife, ceramics and the Anzac Legacy Gallery, as well as object-focused exploration in the Discovery Centre and hands-on science in the separately ticketed SparkLab. Thousands of specimens and artefacts from the wider Queensland Museum Collection can also be explored online, while the research library is available by appointment.

Corner of Grey and Melbourne Streets, South Bank, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101 · ☎ +61 7 3153 3000

UQ Anthropology Museum

UQ Anthropology Museum cares for art and artefacts including contemporary Pacific and Australian Indigenous artwork, alongside a collection of 6,500 photographs. Its exhibitions use research to ask what an anthropological collection can be today, and the catalogue supports further exploration. Scholars, community members and family-history researchers can access published collection services including information, loans and photographic reproductions. Guided tours of the gallery or collection store can be arranged for groups.

Level 1, Michie Building (9), The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia · ☎ General enquiries: +61 7 3365 2674

RD Milns Antiquities Museum

The RD Milns Antiquities Museum interprets ancient Mediterranean cultures through a collection catalogued in the thousands. Its objects span almost 3,500 years and include stone, pottery, metalware and glass, offering a broad survey of the ancient Mediterranean in Queensland. The online collection database supports exploration by students, teachers, researchers and the public. General visits, guided tours and hands-on workshops for groups provide further ways to engage with the objects.

Level 2, Michie Building (9), The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia · ☎ Museum office and general enquiries: +61 7 3365 3010

📜 Local History & Community Museums

Redcliffe Museum

Redcliffe Museum explores the people, places and moments that shaped the Redcliffe Peninsula. Displays include a First Nations video archive with stories about language and culture, films about early Peninsula life and the Rollerdome, memory boxes containing objects and stories, and material about Moreton Bay Region sporting achievement. Changing exhibitions, workshops and the children’s Imaginarium add participatory ways to connect local history with family memory.

75 Anzac Avenue, Redcliffe 4020 · ☎ (07) 3480 6700

Pine Rivers Heritage Museum

Set within Old Petrie Town, Pine Rivers Heritage Museum traces the district’s changing character through objects, buildings and screen stories. Its highlights include an 1890s James Campbell and Sons kit home, the Skyring Clock Collection, films about the Australian Paper Mill and other early industries, and material on Pine Rivers during the Second World War. Events, workshops and the intergenerational Imaginarium approach local history through making, play and shared conversation.

Old Petrie Town, 901–949 Dayboro Road, Whiteside 4503 · ☎ (07) 5433 2710

📚 Archives & Research Collections

John Oxley Library

The John Oxley Library at State Library of Queensland is a research collection for Queensland history. Its holdings include photographs, manuscripts, maps, artworks, newspapers and other heritage material. Visitors can use the Heritage Collections Reading Room on Level 4; original items cannot be borrowed, and collection material is accessed in the reading room. Members can request items through the catalogue, while the online collection extends the research pathway beyond the building.

State Library of Queensland, Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane QLD 4101 · ☎ General enquiries: 3840 7666

These collections offer plenty of rewarding starting points, whether your interest is a contemporary exhibition, a dinosaur specimen, an old photograph or an object that carries a family story. Galleries, museums, historical societies and cultural organisations across Brisbane and nearby communities are welcome to add or update their listing in this directory, helping readers find more of the area’s shared stories and creative life.

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