2008-09 Report

Chair’s overview

Queensland Art Gallery ANNUAL REPORT 2008–09

chair’s overview

The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern

Art have presented the people of Queensland, and

audiences from further afield, with an outstanding

range of exhibitions, services, public programs and

publications this year. The achievements and outcomes

for the year have been guided by the five key goals of the

Gallery’s Strategic Plan 2008–13, underpinned by our

philosophy of bringing together art and people.

The Gallery’s program included two significant

international exhibitions. With the strong local and

national interest in the redeveloped cultural precinct,

these events play a measurable and valuable role, not

just in their cultural impact, but in profiling the Gallery

and the city of Brisbane as a contemporary, cultural

tourism destination. ‘Picasso & his collection’, already

underway at the commencement of this financial year,

closed in September with a final attendance of 206 580

visitors, a strong critical reception and an outstanding

audience satisfaction level. The Tourism and Economic

Evaluation report, commissioned by the Gallery,

estimated that the event attracted new spending in

Queensland of $10.64 million. The second international

exhibition, ‘American Impressionism and Realism:

A Landmark Exhibition from the Met’, opened this year

on 30 May at the Queensland Art Gallery. We are

committed to continuing to present these exciting

international projects.

Other key achievements were ‘The China Project’,

a three-part exhibition project which included the

Gallery’s landmark collection of contemporary Chinese

art; and ‘Contemporary Australia: Optimism’, the first

in a new triennial series of contemporary Australian

art exhibitions. Together with the balance of the year’s

programming, the scale and scope of these projects

reflects the opportunities provided by our expanded

infrastructure. The number of exhibitions increased this

year, and a substantial level of programming was based

on our own Collection. The program included, across

both sites, exhibitions and displays exploring Indigenous

Australian art, programs at the Australian Cinémathèque,

national award programs such as the final Xstrata Coal

Emerging Indigenous Art Award and the inaugural

Premier of Queensland’s National New Media Art Award,

and important travelling exhibitions. The Gallery also

contributed to a series of exhibitions in 2009 to celebrate

Queensland’s sesquicentenary.

Now in our third year as a two-site institution, this

was an important period in which to maintain strong

attendances and a high public profile. We know from

national and international examples that after the initial

response to new or expanded facilities, the challenge

for art museums is to achieve sustainable levels of

attendance and engagement. This year, the Gallery has

again produced an exceptional attendance result, with

visitor numbers totalling 1 153 326. Record attendances

were achieved in regional Queensland, with the highest

ever level of service delivery, and a travelling exhibition

program attended by 79 363 visitors. The Children’s Art

Centre and the Australian Cinémathèque, both the only

facilities of their kind in Australia, continued to make

important contributions to attendances.

The Gallery’s exhibitions were complemented by a

range of high-quality publications and, for the first

time this year, we profiled the year’s programming

and achievements in the new calendar year

publication

Review

The year’s achievements owe much to the continued

and significant support provided by the Queensland

Government and the Honourable Anna Bligh,

, Premier

of Queensland and Minister for the Arts. The Queensland

Government has been a great supporter of the Gallery’s

commitment to bringing major international exhibitions

to Queensland and Australian audiences, and visitors

to our state. In addition, the Government also funded

significant refurbishments at the Queensland Art Gallery

this year. The refurbished galleries, presently showing

‘American Impressionism and Realism: A Landmark

Exhibition from the Met’, will later this year present works

from our own Australian collection to their best ever

advantage. My thanks also go to Ken Smith, Director-

General, Department of the Premier and Cabinet; Leigh

Tabrett, Deputy Director-General, Arts Queensland; and

the staff of Arts Queensland. I also thank the Honourable

Rod Welford, former Minister for Education and Training

and Minister for the Arts; and Rachel Hunter, former

Director-General, Department of Education, Training

and the Arts. Thanks must also be extended this year

to the Australian Government; the Department of the

Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; the Australia

Council for the Arts; and Visions of Australia.

TOP RIGHT

Members of the Queensland

Art Gallery Board ofTrustees

and Leigh Tabrett, Deputy

Director-General, Arts Queensland

From left to right:

MarkGray

Dr Amanda Bell

Tim Fairfax,

(Deputy Chair)

Professor John Hay,

(Chair)

Avril Quaill

David Williams

David Millhouse

John Lobban

Leigh Tabrett

OPPOSITE

Julian Opie

People walking. Coloured

2008

Light-emitting-diode

(LED) (Barco), wall mounted,

ed. of 1

323.2 x 148.4 x 25.8cm

Purchased 2009 with funds from

the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation

through the Queensland Art

Gallery Foundation

Image courtesy: The artist and

Lisson Gallery, London