QAGOMA facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
QAGOMA

From top: Queensland Art Gallery riverside, Gallery of Modern Art
Established	29 March 1895; 130 years ago (29 March 1895)
Location	Southbank, Brisbane, Australia
Type	Art museum
Visitors	1,146,277 (2019/20)
Public transit access	Bus: Cultural Centre station Train: South Brisbane station

The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, often called QAGOMA, is a cool art museum in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It has two main parts: the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). These two buildings are only about 150 meters apart. Both galleries are found in the Queensland Cultural Centre in South Bank. QAGOMA has a huge collection of Australian art. It is also a very important place for art from the Asia-Pacific region.

History of QAGOMA

This art museum started way back in 1895. It was first called the Queensland National Art Gallery. For many years, the gallery moved around to different temporary places.

In 1982, the gallery finally found a permanent home. This was the Queensland Art Gallery building. It was designed by a famous architect named Robin Gibson.

Later, in 2006, a second building was opened. This new building was the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). It even won an award in 2007 for its amazing design.

What is QAGOMA?

QAGOMA is the short name for the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. It is made up of two separate buildings. The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is the older, main building. The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is the newer one. They are about 150 meters apart. Both are located in the Queensland Cultural Centre in South Bank, Brisbane.

Many people visit QAGOMA each year. In 2019-2020, over 1.1 million people came to see the art. QAGOMA is also home to the Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art. It hosts a big art event called the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

Who Runs QAGOMA?

Peter McKay joined the art team at QAGOMA in 2011. He became the Curatorial Manager of Australian Art in 2018. He helps decide which Australian artworks are shown.

Art Collections at QAGOMA

QAGOMA has more than 20,000 artworks. These pieces come from Australia and all over the world. It has a very important collection of modern art from Asia and the Pacific. The gallery also has large collections of Asian, Oceanian, Australian, and Indigenous Australian art.

Art from Asia, Australia & Pacific

Asian Art Collection

The gallery's older Asian art collection goes back a long time. It includes art from the Stone Age up to the 1900s. This collection shows how art changed with society, ideas, and new techniques. It helps us understand how different cultures in Asia shared ideas. The artworks include paintings, prints, sculptures, pottery, fabrics, metalwork, and furniture.

Some cool things in the Asian collection are:

• Asian Pottery Traditions
  • Ancient jars from Japan (3000–2000 BCE) and China (3500–3000 BCE).
  • Burial pottery from China's Tang dynasty (618–907).
  • Blue and white pottery from the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).
  • Japanese jars from the Six Ancient Kilns (1333–1603).
• Japanese Painting
  • Screens from the Hasegawa school (1600–1868).
  • Scenes from The Tale of Genji by Tosa Mitsuatsu.
• Japanese Prints
  • Ukiyo-e works by famous artists like Hiroshige (1797–1858).
  • Works by early masters such as Utamaro (1753–1806).
  • Works by later masters like Toyohara Chikanobu (1838–1912).
• Historical South & Southeast Asian Art
  • Bronze sculptures from India (c.860–1279 CE).
  • Small paintings from India (18th-19th centuries).
  • Fancy weapons from Indonesia and Malaysia.

QAGOMA also has a huge collection of modern Asian art. It has over a thousand works from the late 1960s until now. This collection shows how Asian artists have contributed to art around the world. It includes art from all parts of Asia. Some famous artists in this collection are Xu Bing, Yayoi Kusama, and Ai Weiwei.

Australian Art Collection

The gallery's Australian art collection starts from when Europeans first arrived. It shows important moments like first contact, settlement, and immigration. Art from the early days shows European influences. Later, a unique Australian style appeared with the Heidelberg School in the late 1800s.

Some of the Australian artists in the collection include:

• Arthur Streeton
• Sidney Nolan
• Margaret Preston
• Tom Roberts
• Russell Drysdale
• John Olsen

Some special artworks in the collection are:

• Australian Paintings
  • Still glides the stream and shall forever glide by Arthur Streeton (1895).
  • Under the Jacaranda by Richard Godfrey Rivers (1903).
  • Bathers by Rupert Bunny (1906).
  • Monday morning by Vida Lahey (1912).
  • Man feeding his dogs by Russell Drysdale (1941).

QAGOMA's modern Australian collection shows how diverse Australia is. It includes art from the late 1960s until today. This art uses many different materials. You can see paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints. There are also newer forms like photography, digital art, and film.

International Art Collection

Historical International Art

The gallery's older international art collection focuses on works from Western Europe and North America. It covers art from the early Renaissance period up to the mid-1900s. The collection is strong in art from the Northern Renaissance. It also has many British artworks from the late 1700s to the late 1800s. This includes Victorian and Edwardian paintings.

There are also modern European and American paintings, sculptures, photos, and prints. Most of the more than 2000 works in this area are from Western Europe.

Some special artworks in this collection are:

• Old Master Paintings
  • Virgin and Child with Saint James the Pilgrim, Saint Catherine and the Donor with Saint Peter (c.1496) by Master of Frankfurt.
  • Cristo risorgente (The risen Christ) (c.1555) by Tintoretto.
  • Young woman in a fur wrap (c.1629–30) by Peter Paul Rubens.
  • Portrait of Marchese Filippo Spinola (c.1622–27) by Anthony van Dyck.