The Queensland Modern Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre on the south bank of the Brisbane River. It showcases much of the work of contemporary artists from the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery, as well as a triennial exhibition of contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific region.
The gallery was opened on 2 December 2006. It is the Queensland Art Gallery's second and long-awaited building, and houses the largest collection of contemporary art in Queensland houses the largest collection of contemporary art in Australia - over 13,000 works. Oddly enough, the gallery building also houses Australia's first cinema built to show vintage films. The total area of the gallery - is over 25,000 metres, with the largest exhibition at 1,100 metres.
The Gallery of Art was founded in 1895 as the National Art Gallery of Queensland. Over the years the gallery and its collections have been housed in a variety of different buildings until 1982 when it was given a permanent home. Since its opening the collections and exhibits have grown, and visitor traffic has increased. In order to meet public needs, during the 1990s the Gallery's management conducted extensive research and consultations with leading art historians. As a result, it was decided to build a second building, the Gallery of Contemporary Art, which opened in 2006, 150 metres from the main Art Gallery building.
The main project of the Contemporary Art Gallery is the triennial series of exhibitions of Asia-Pacific art, now a major national and international cultural event. The experience gained over the years has led to the establishment of the Australian Centre for Asian Pacific Art. The gallery also exhibits the work of indigenous Australian Aboriginal artists and works to strengthening relationships with Queensland's indigenous communities. Educational programmes for children at the gallery since 1941 have been recognised internationally. Gallery exhibits are regularly taken to remote towns in the state.
