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OUTCOMES
Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees Annual Report 2013–14 19
Members
More than 8000 QAGOMA Members and their guests
experienced an enhanced level of Gallery engagement through
116 programs during the year. These included curatorial and
guest lectures, discussion groups, after-hours access,
hands-on workshops led by local artists, Tai Chi classes,
Children’s Art Centre activity trials and workshops for children.
Unique dining offerings for Members included exhibition-
themed degustation events, food and wine tastings and private
breakfasts. Members programs also included monthly lunches
and lectures, book club and new member orientation sessions.
Children’s Art Centre
For over 15 years, exhibitions for young visitors developed
in collaboration with contemporary artists have made
the QAGOMA Children’s Art Centre a world leader in the
presentation of art experiences for children and families.
In 2013–14, the Children’s Art Centre presented:
• ‘Gordon Hookey: Kangaroo Crew’, an interactive artist
project exploring Hookey’s story
The Sacred Hill
through
hands-on and multimedia activities.
• ‘Cai Guo-Qiang Kids: Let’s Create an Exhibition with
a Boy Named Cai’ in association with ‘Cai Guo-Qiang:
Falling Back to Earth’.
• ‘Jemima Wyman: Pattern Bandits’, the sixth in the
Gallery’s series of contemporary Australian artist
commissions for children.
For more information on Children’s Art Centre’s exhibitions and
projects, see pages 51–52.
‘Kangaroo Crew on Tour’ presented activities to 739 children
and their carers in ten Indigenous communities throughout
Queensland.
‘Kids on Tour: Cai Guo-Qiang’ toured to more than 60 regional
and remote Queensland galleries, community centres, schools
and hospitals in April and May 2014; more than 11 000
children and adults participated in the activities on offer.
The popular Toddler Tuesday program introduced 2058 young
visitors aged 18 months to four years to works from the
Gallery’s Collection.
The mask-making activity Make A Roo, part of the ‘Gordon
Hookey: Kangaroo Crew’ exhibition, was presented at NAIDOC
Family Fun Day 2013 (Brisbane, 12 July) and the Art with
Altitude Festival (Brisbane Airport, 24–27 October 2013).
Highlight the visual arts as an interconnected
part of broader culture relevant to the lives of
a wide audience, including children, young people
and seniors.
During the year, several exhibitions addressed contemporary
issues highlighting the significance of visual art in our lives:
• ‘My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary
Art from Black Australia’ explored vital issues of Indigenous
Australian history and culture.
• ‘Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling Back to Earth’ was underpinned by
the theme of humanity’s relationship with the environment.
• ‘Harvest’ investigated a topic common to every culture,
lifestyle and demographic: what and how do we eat?
• ‘Quilts 1700–1945’ and ‘California Design 1930–1965:
Living in a Modern Way’ examined the historical forces
infuencing craft and design and the relevance of these
factors to the present day.
The Gallery’s Volunteer Guides enhanced the visitor experience
with 2349 free tours of exhibitions and the Collection for
21 266 people, including 23 tours for 127 visitors with
special needs (hearing impaired, vision impaired and Deaf
communities).
Commencing in April 2014, a pilot program of volunteer-
guided discussion-based tours designed specifically for
people living with dementia was undertaken in association
with Alzheimer’s Australia. Five tours were conducted for
20 visitors and their carers.
The Gallery’s food and beverage services also enhanced the
visitor experience by providing connections to art and ideas
through themed food and beverage offerings. The Executive
Chef created menus responding to the themes of exhibitions
such as ‘My Country, I Still Call Australia Home’, ‘Quilts
1700–1945’; ‘California Design 1930–1965: Living in a Modern
Way’; ‘Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling Back to Earth’ and ‘Transparent:
Watercolour in Queensland 1850s–1980s’. Artist Jemima
Wyman collaborated with the Executive Chef to present a
menu item inspired by her favourite childhood meal (hunza pie)
at the GOMA Cafe during ‘Pattern Bandits’.
Specific audiences were offered insights into exhibitions:
• QAGOMA 50+ invited visitors over 50 to participate in
free, enriching events including after-hours lectures and
talks, conversations with curators, short courses, artist
workshops and presentations on contemporary museology.