Update: The closure of GoMA, as addressed in this blog post, was the topic of a spot on radio station 612 ABC Brisbane. Hear Brett Debritz talk to Spencer Howson here.
When I was a child growing up in Brisbane, the Brisbane River was the big divide. If you were born on the north side, as I was, you rarely travelled south of the river. If you born on the south, you never went north.
The emergence of the Cultural Precinct in South Brisbane changed all that. By building a new theatre complex (the Queensland Performing Arts Centre) and relocating the State Library, Art Gallery and Museum to the southside — along with setting World Expo 88 in the grounds that are now known as Southbank Parklands, the state government created a reason for northerners to venture south and southsiders to feel a little smug.
On and off for about 25 years, that precinct — especially QPAC — became my second home as I covered the arts and entertainment scene for a series of newspapers, magazines and radio programmes.
That all finished in 2008 when I left Brisbane to travel the world, eventually basing myself in the Middle East. So my recent visit to that area was as much a spiritual journey as a cultural one.
There’s no doubt that the Cultural Precinct looks fabulous, and the money invested in the museum and science centre, the library and the two art galleries — the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) has been well spent.
Even on a Monday, the area was busy — with school groups, families, tourists and assorted solo citizens there to soak up some culture, or some coffee at one of the cafes.
The highlights for me were No.1 Neighbour, an exhibition of art from Papua New Guinea at QAG, and the museum, which mixes exhibits I remember seeing as a child and pieces I hadn’t seen before all presented in a very modern way. Sadly I was too early for an exhibition about the Hadron Collider, direct from the Science Museum in London, that will open in December.
The lowlight was GoMA, where the galleries were closed to the public, apparently because they are planning their tenth anniversary exhibition. I fail to understand why all the exhibition halls had to be closed at the same time. The staff were apologetic, somewhat embarrassed and, apart from those doing the installing, quite bored.
Seems that a very odd planning decision robbed me, and others whose time in Brisbane is limited, the chance to see something from the cutting edge. Or maybe I’m being ignorant, and the whole “closed for work in progress” thing is a, somewhat perverse, work of art in itself.
[I gather from its website that GoMA will open for its tenth anniversary summer season on December 3.]
