beyond the Tower: UQ Art Museum – 40 years and counting

Overview

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.

Image: Gabriella Mangano and Silvana Mangano, The Surround (video still), 2009, single-channel digital video, 16:9 ratio, black and white, sound, duration 00:02:05, edition 3/5. Collection of The University of Queensland, purchased 2010. Reproduced courtesy of the artists and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne and Sydney.