Five Fascinating Brisbane Art Exhibitions to See in July

Galleries and museums don’t just display art; they also compile a record of our creative history. Every piece they put on show or add to their collection tells a tale, while adding to a broader narrative about artistic ideals, themes and techniques. And as the years pass by, that story only grows.

In the case of the University of Queensland Art Museum, their 3700 items certainly have plenty to say about current issues and contemporary art. With the institution celebrating its 40th birthday, they’re sharing a selection of 130 works that have inspired many a discussion — and are bound to start a host of new discussions.

Indeed, if there’s one thing beyond the Tower: UQ Art Museum – 40 years and counting is guaranteed to do, it’s provoke plenty of thoughts about the changes and challenges of the art of the past, as well as the path ahead for artists in the future. That includes a reflection on the changing role and place of the art museum itself, and — thanks to its moves around campus — not just in a philosophical sense, either.

GOMA’s latest exhibition works in a very specific fashion. Pieces travel between venues, and when they’re at each particular place, the project stops, evolves and changes. It’s the art equivalent of musical chairs — and we mean that in a good way.

Indeed, in bringing together four of the Asia-Pacific’s leading institutions for collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting contemporary art, Time of Others boasts an ingenious method for reflecting upon social and cultural relations in the region today. It does require a further note of explanation, though. The tinkering and alterations happen as the collection prepares to move cities, rather than occurring before audience’s eyes.

Still, as the curatorial collaboration makes its final outing after two years of flitting between galleries, it’s impossible not to marvel at the concept — and the creativity on display, of course. Showcasing new works by artists from the area and diving into the depths of existing holdings at each of the participating museums, Time of Others aims to reveal multiple perspectives and differences to create a basis for discussion and reflection.

Think jewellery is purely decorative? Think again. Sure, it brightens up your neck, wrists, fingers and more, but there’s much, much more to bling than looking shiny.

In fact, jewellery is a form of sculpture, as the latest exhibition by the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Queensland makes plain. Presenting a curated selection of their members’ work, Worn & Weathered demonstrates the artistry, intricacy, textures and concepts at the heart of everything from a ring to a brooch — and their interaction with issues and ideas of landscape.

Yes, their pieces don’t just please the eye, or add colour and shape to an outfit — they also connect with bigger themes and topics. In fact, next time you look at a piece of jewellery, it could be responding to Queensland’s unique climate, or questioning the ethics of a society burning through the earth’s resources.

Artists might be born rather than made, and great art might be the product of all of life’s experiences, but that doesn’t mean the creatively inclined have to be in a hurry to put brush to canvas. Don’t believe us? Well, late Bentinck Island artist and senior Kaiadilt woman Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori certainly wasn’t.

Gabori might be the subject of the Queensland Art Gallery’s latest retrospective; however she only started painting in 2005 at the age of 81. Of course, every year of her existence infuses her bold, bright pieces — from large-scale collaborative works produced alongside other senior Kaiadilt women, to pieces on paper created toward the end of her life.

Dulka Warngiid – Land of All showcases more than 50 of Gabori’s efforts, as well as shining a light on the place — an island in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, off north-western Queensland, in northern Australia — she was linked to. For those keen to know more, a schedule of tours and talks dives deeper into the exhibition, and into a fascinating, late-in-life art career.

Remember coming home from school with your latest vibrantly coloured artwork, then beaming with pride when your parents stuck it on the fridge for all the world to see? The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art do the same, just on a larger scale. The exhibition takes a selection of outstanding pieces from senior students from schools across Queensland, then places them on display at GOMA.

For the best and brightest teenage artists, their childhood dream has become a reality. They haven’t even made it to university yet, and their work is already hanging in the state’s premier gallery.

For everyone else, it’s the chance to sneak a peak at the next generation of creative geniuses, before they go on to even bigger and better things. Who knows — one day, you might even be able to say that you saw the early creations of an art superstar before they made it big.