Past exhibitions
Contents
Bold but Faithful: John Oxley Library at work | Panoramic Queensland | Knowmore: House of Commons | Five Senses | Mapping the Great South Land | Game On | Behind The Lines|Broken Links | Drawn to the Word | Ex Libris: bookplates | A Few of Our Favourite Things | Freestyle Books | I Cherish This | Illuminated | Indigenous Connections | Just Add Water | Modern Times | National Treasures | New Ground: Construction photographs | Paradise | Reel Rescues | Reforming Women | The Sacred Life of Water | Sport and War | Unbound: Artists' Books | Water, Trees and Roots
Bold But Faithful: John Oxley Library at work
More than 40 state treasures, collected since the opening of the John Oxley Library in 1934, celebrated 75 years of preserving Queensland heritage in this fascinating exhibition.
Rare documents such as Captain William Bligh's transcript of the official log from HMS Providence, a magnificent 18ct gold necklace and a notebook and ceremonial sword belonging to Queensland's first Governor, sit along side family albums, cartoons and fashion designs. By sparking our imagination and memories, this diverse show brought to life some significant events from both our own and the State's history.
View the virtual exhibition.
Venue Talbot Family Treasures Wall
Date Sat 4 Apr - Sun 11 Oct 09
Panoramic Queensland
In celebration of Queensland's 150 year history this exhibition captured landscapes and townscapes in full panoramic glory. The John Oxley Library's collection of panoramic photographs provided a timely view of how the landscape has changed during the past 150 years.
The exhibition included Brisbane as it was in 1862, the first permanent Victoria Bridge, built in 1874 and the cultural development of Brisbane River's South bank on top of panoramic photographs from Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Ayr, Caloundra and Coolangatta and a selection of panoramic cameras for display.
View the virtual exhibition.
Venue Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date Sat 14 Feb 09 - Sun 12 Jul 09
Knowmore: House of Commons
Keith Armstrong (Artistic Director) worked in close collaboration with Chris Barker (3D Visual Design), Darren Pack (3D Authoring), Luke Lickfold (Sound Design) and Stu Lawson (3D Design) to create this installation
Knowmore: House of Commons involved a large circular table spun by hand as a computer-controlled video projection falls on its top. This created an uncanny blend of a physical object with virtual media. The presence of participants around the table and the way they interacted with it was registered by touch sensors. Up to five people could collaboratively 'play' this deeply immersive audiovisual work.
Venue Infozone, level 1
Date Sat 21 Feb 09 - Sun 24 May 09
Five Senses
Inspired by themes of loss, destruction, rejuvenation, growth and restoration, this sensory showcase explored the identities, people and places of our diverse State through awakening your senses.
Showcasing a stunning exhibition of paintings, mixed media, ceramics, video installation and sculpture by more than 30 leading artists from regional Queensland.
Venue: The Studio, level 1
Date: Sat 28 Feb 09 - Wed 1 Apr 09
Mapping the Great South Land
Mapping the Great South land: From Terra Incognita to New Holland and Australia displayed charts by Tasman, Cook and Flinders and publications that made Australia an essential destination for scientists and inspired works such as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
Another historic gem that was on display was a rare map from 1593 that depicts and Australian land mass, more than a decade before the Dutch 'discovered' Australia as well as other historic gems including 30 rare maps, globes and books.
View the virtual exhibition.
Venue: Talbot Family Treasures Display Wall, level 4
Date: Sat 20 Dec 08 - Sun 22 Mar 09
Game On
Did you play your way through the history of videogames at the international blockbuster exhibition Game On? This action-packed celebration of videogames culture thrilled more than one million players of all ages around the world finally landing in Brisbane.
Game On tracked the development of videogames from the earliest computer games to arcade-era hits to the very latest from today’s billion-dollar industry. With more than 100 playable games, as well as rarely seen consoles, controllers and collectables, this was a showcase of games history like no other.
Venue: The Studio, level 1 and slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 17 Nov 08 – 15 Feb 09
Behind The Lines
An amusing look back at politics in 2007 was captured by Australia's leading political cartoonists in this exhibition. The National Museum of Australia's popular annual exhibition Behind the Lines: The Year's Best Cartoons 2007 featured more than 80 political cartoons from artists including Alan Moir, Bill Leak, Cathy Wilcox, Geoff Pryor, John Spooner, Mark Knight, Warren Brown and Jon Kedulka - 2008 Walkley Award winner for Cartooning. The cartoons represented the best of the National Museum of Australia's latest acquisitions and tackled the big issues of 2007, including the environment, healthcare, the economy, Indigenous Australia, the Howard and Costello battle and the emergence of Kevin Rudd.
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 13 Dec 2008 - 1 Feb 2009
Reforming Women: Social Activism and the Brisbane Women's Club
When the majority of Queensland women gained the right to vote in 1905[1], it sparked the end of the suffrage movement and the beginning of a powerful political force. Women chose to harness their new political power by working together. Formed in 1908, the Brisbane Women’s Club was at the forefront of the new collective female vanguard.
The State Library of Queensland would like to thank the Brisbane Women’s Club for donating its records as part of their centenary celebrations to the State Library so that they will be accessible to all Queenslanders.
1 Indigenous women’s and men's struggle for the voting rights continued for many years and was not achieved until 1965.
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 10 Oct – 30 Nov 08
Freestyle Books
Artists' books are not books about art or artists. They are artworks that use the form or concept of the book.
The Australian Library of Art includes around 1000 artists' books, and 60 were chosen for this exhibition to explore the variety of forms that artists' books take and the ways their content is presented. The exhibition included a virtual exhibition of the selected works, and the Freestyle Books blog.
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 27 Jun – 12 Oct 08
Indigenous Connections
Sidney Nolan's Rite of Spring, photographs by Axel Poignant.
A rare selection of Axel Poignant's photographs of painter Sidney Nolan's set designs and costumes for the 1962 Royal Ballet production of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Nolan's work was inspired by Poignant's photographs of several Arnhem Land communities in the Northern Territory during the 1950s. This meeting of creative minds resulted in a truly extraordinary collaboration between two Australian artists.
This exhibition coincided with the exhibition Sidney Nolan at the Queensland Art Gallery, 6 Jun - 28 Sep 08.
An Art Gallery of New South Wales touring exhibition
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 16 Jun – 31 Aug 08
Illuminated: books, albums and addresses
This exhibition discovered the fine art of illumination through beautifully decorated and hand-crafted books, albums and addresses from our Australian Library of Art and John Oxley Library Collections.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Talbot Family Treasures Wall, level 4
Date: 25 Mar - 8 Jul 2008
Paradise
Is paradise a place or state of mind? From the Garden of Eden to Second Life this exhibition looked at the many visions of paradise throughout human history and asked whether, in a world full of perceived threats, can paradise still exist? Paradise explored the many notions of paradise through art, historical objects, kitsch and memorabilia and particularly how paradise has been represented in the history of Queensland.
More information is also available about the Paradise exhibition.
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 22 Dec 07 - 24 Mar 08
Ex Libris: bookplates from our collections
When books and personal libraries were rare and considered status symbols, the bookplate evolved as a creative and beautiful way of identifying the owner of a book.
Ex Libris, meaning 'from the library of', was an exhibition of bookplates from the State Library’s collection. The exhibition also explored the phenomenon of the BookCrossings [new window] project, where books circulate internationally through a serendipitous process of exchange and are not owned by any person or library.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 24 Sep 2007 - 28 Jan 2008
Drawn to the Word
Drawn to the Word displayed items from the History and Art of the Book Collection which reveals the relationship between the arts of writing and image making. The exhibition featured Egyptian artefacts, miniature books the size of your fingernail and 20th century collaborations between writers and artists.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Talbot Family Treasures Wall, level 4
Entry: 23 Jul - 18 Nov 2007
Broken Links: the Stolen Generations in Queensland
2007 marks the 10th anniversary of the Bringing them home Report. The powerful report put the experiences of the Stolen Generations in the spotlight. This moving exhibition exploring the history of Indigenous child removal is portrayed through the records and documents held in Queensland collecting institutions and through the personal stories of five Aboriginal Queenslanders.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 30 Apr - 16 Sep 2007
A few of our favourite things: 10 Queenslanders explore the State Library's Collections
This exhibition featured ten prominent Queenslanders - Jason Akermanis, Philip Bacon, Peter Beattie, Governor Quentin Bryce, Nick Earls, Robert Foster, Professor Ian Frazer, Jackie Huggins, Jan Power and Leah Purcell all choosing their favourite items from the State Library's Heritage Collections.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 25 Nov 2006 - 11 Mar 2007
I cherish this: an exhibition of personal treasures
How and why does stuff mater to us? Whether our treasure is an object, memory, person, or an idea it is our own particular attachment that determines it value.
Five participants from around Queensland presented their treasures through film, sound, photography and installations alongside artworks about treasures made by young artists from Junction Park State High School and AEIOU Early Intervention Centre for Children with Autism.
Venue: The Studio, level 1
Date: 25 Nov 2006 - 25 Feb 2007
Just Add Water: Schemes and Dreams for a Sunburnt Country
Water. Not a day goes by when we don't think about it, talk about it, drink it, or in some cases pray for it. It's a valuable resource.
In Australia we've stored more in dams per person than any other country. We've piped it, pumped it, and even dragged it down from the clouds, becoming a nation of plumbers in the process.
The National Archives of Australia tapped into its vast collection to present this hands-on exhibition which explores how Australians have used and managed water for the past century.
Venue: The Studio, level 1
Date: 20 Jul – 25 Nov 2007
Presented by State Library of Queensland. A National Archives of Australia touring exhibition tour assisted by Visions of Australia Government initiative.
Modern times: the untold story of modernism in Australia
Modernism is a major international movement that spanned design, architecture and art and continues to influence the everyday lives of us all.
Opening on 8 August, Modern times: the untold story of modernism in Australia explores the transformation of all aspects of modern life and focuses on our unique experience of modernism. Objects drawn from five decades - 1917 to 1967 - reveal how our cosmopolitan culture was shaped.
This exciting Powerhouse Museum travelling exhibition presented at the State Library showcases over 250 works spanning art, design, architecture, advertising, photography, film and fashion. Themes include the modern body, the city, and the Space Age, the mass culture of cars, skyscrapers and the new entertainment landscape of cinemas, swimming pools and cafes – all legacies of modernism.
For more information visit Modern times.
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2 and Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, level 4
Date: 8 Aug 09 - Sun 8 Nov 09
National Treasures
National Treasures from Australia's Great Libraries brought together, for the first time, more than 170 extraordinary items that have shaped our nation. The exhibition was drawn from the magnificent collections of Australia's National, State and Territory libraries, the exhibition contained manuscripts, maps, drawings, paintings and objects - from the everyday to the exotic - all linked to Australia.
View the virtual exhibition [new window] for more information.
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 25 Nov 2006 - 4 Jan 2007
New ground: construction photographs by Peter Liddy
This photographic exhibition provided a unique insight into the total transformation of the State Library of Queensland from the inside out and the construction of the new Gallery of Modern Art from the ground up.
Brisbane photographer Peter Liddy made a detailed study that revealed the immense scale of the Millennium Arts Project, at the Cultural Centre, its architectural achievements and the working lives of the people who built it. Curated by Timothy Morrell.
Venue: The Studio, level 1
Date: 10 March - 6 May 2007
Presented by the artist in association with the State Library of Queensland. Supported by Arts Queensland, Department of Public Works, The University of Queensland, Bovis Lend Lease, Conservation Resources, C.R. Kennedy & Company Pty Ltd and Ilford
Reel Rescues
This entertaining exhibition of home movies, silent films and original newsreels is a time capsule of Queensland life from the 1920s through to the 1970s in moving image form. The films in Reel Rescues construct a uniquely fragmented view of Queensland's local history, pieced together from scraps of moving images, aging and fading in synchronisation with those who filmed them. This exhibition draws on the State Library of Queensland's Motion Picture Preservation Project which has conserved these endearing and original documents of time in order to provide access to them for current and future generations.
Reel Rescues presents a treasure trove of fascinating footage ranging from hilarious family antics to serious documentaries. Highlights from the wide range of films on show include the Victory in the Pacific Day celebrations in Brisbane, the 1960 Kingaroy Peanut Festival, a political advertisement from the silent era, US ships unloading planes during World War II and the Brisbane Floods of 1974.
A selection of the films screening in the exhibition are also available to view online by following the links below.
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Barney the Performing Dog (1940) |
VP Day Celebrations (1945) |
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Political Campaign Advertisement |
Kingaroy ‘Local News Reels' |
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 25 May - 2 Dec 2007
If you are having difficulty downloading or viewing documents, please refer to our help page
The Sacred Life of Water: Images of the life of water in Brisbane's multi-faith communities
This photographic exhibition revealed the role of water in the practices of Brisbane's multi-faith communities. Brisbane's faith communities revere water as a precious gift to be used with care. Long seen as the essence of life, water cleanses, purifies, blesses, heals, nurtures, sustains, protects and redeems. It serves as a common link between cultures, faiths and traditions.
Venue: Knowledge Walk, level 4
Date: 31 Aug – 30 Sep 2007
A Riverfestival initiative presented by the State Library of Queensland
Sport and war: an Australian War Memorial travelling exhibition
Sport and war have fired national passions and helped shape the Australian identity for more that 100 years.
Sport and War gave the opportunity to discover our wartime sporting history through objects such as the war medals of Don Bradman, a mud-stained rugby league jersey from World War I and a handmade Melbourne Cup crafted by prisoners of war in Borneo in 1942.
The exhibition explored the importance of sport to Australians serving overseas as well as the wartime experiences of some of our most loved sporting stars.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: slq Gallery, level 2
Date: 26 January - 29 April 2007
Unbound: artists' books from the collection
This exhibition was the first to feature in the Talbot Family Treasures Wall that showcases treasures from the State Library's Heritage Collections through a series of changing displays.
Unbound features some of the best examples of artists' books which are books or book-like objects created by artists as works of art. Unbound stretched the boundaries and definitions of books.
View the virtual exhibition for more information.
Venue: Talbot Family Treasures Wall, level 4
Dates: 25 Nov 2006 - 11 Mar 2007
Water, trees, and roots: stories from the Queensland Vietnamese community
This exhibition featured the Queensland Vietnamese community, from the significant refugee influx in 1975 to present.
The journeys, challenges, celebrations and valuable contributions to their new home and featured, telling a fascinating story of a unique Queensland community in all its vibrant diversity.
Venue: The Studio, level 1
Date: 11 May - 11 July 2007
More information
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Last updated: 9th November 2009
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