Brisbane Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Over the next few minutes we will be breaking down everything we know about art in Brisbane in full detail and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and we are also including a Brisbane art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

We have written a handful of other posts on art in Australia which you can find at that link.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Brisbane

If you want to visit the best art galleries and museums in Brisbane you can go to:

• Museum Of Brisbane at 64 Adelaide St
• Edwina Corlette Gallery at 629 Brunswick St
• Queensland Art Gallery Of Modern Art at Stanley Pl
• QUT Art Museum at U Block, 2 George St
• Woolloongabba Art Gallery at 613 Stanley St
• Philip Bacon Galleries at 2 Arthur St
• Red Hill Gallery at 61 Musgrave Rd
• Griffith University Art Museum at 226 Grey St
• Jan Murphy Gallery at 486 Brunswick St
• Redsea Gallery at 27 James St
• Fireworks Gallery at 9/31 Thompson St
• Institute Of Modern Art at 420 Brunswick St
• University Of Queensland Art Museum at University Dr

Some of the more popular long standing exhibitions at Museum of Brisbane which is open from 10am to 5pm daily include their collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts. They have won a few awards from the Museums and Galleries National Awards and provide a variety of educational and residence programs plus they are the hosts of the Brisbane Art Design Festival that takes place each May and which we will be discussing again in more detail later.

There are nearly 20,000 works in the collection at Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art spanning a variety of different media that you can check out from 10am to 5pm daily. They have a large collection of contemporary Pacific and Asian art and host various lectures and workshops for students throughout the year. You may also want to know about their  Children’s Art Centre that offers free entry and that on Wednesday or Friday nights you can head over for Queensland Art Gallery’s film screenings.

Another of the premier visual art galleries is the QUT Art Museum at the Queensland University of Technology who has over 3,000 paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and other paper works that were mostly created by local Australian artists. QUT Museum is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Friday and from 10am to 2pm on Sunday and is always free to enter plus they have internship programs and workshops available to the public.

The collection of Australian works of art at the Philip Bacon Galleries which is open from 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday spans from the 19th Century to today. They have over 50 years of experience in collections and assisting with buying or selling works while also providing valuations, conservations, restorations, and transportation.

The second largest public art collection in Queensland can be found at Griffith University Art Museum and you can visit them from 11am to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday. Some of their projects include coordinating public and private commissions, developing collaborative projects, publishing limited prints, and commissioning limited-edition sculptures while aspiring creatives might be interested in their artist-in-residency program.

Over the past 70 plus years The University of Queensland Art Museum has collected more than 4,000 unique items that mostly come from local Australian artists spanning from present day back to the Colonial Period. Head over when they are open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Friday and from 11am to 3pm on Saturday to see all that they have to offer.

Materials & Supplies Near You

These art stores in your area should have all of the materials and supplies you desire:

• Oxlades Paint & Art Centre at 136 Wickham St
• Officeworks at 102 Adelaide St
• Art Shed at 274 Montague Rd
• Eckersley’s at 41-43 Adelaide St
• Barnes at 914-916 Stanley St
• Crush City at 423 Ipswich Rd

For over 100 years Oxlades Paint & Art Centre has been selling art supplies and materials around Queensland including supplies for all the traditional and modern media available for sale to individuals, at a wholesale level, and they even sell art supplies to schools.

Art Shed is a great place to find affordable materials and supplies in town plus you can also visit their store for drawing and painting classes for adults or school holiday workshops for kids.

In addition to selling a variety of materials you can also get services like custom picture framing, easel hire, and canvas stretching from Eckersley’s.

If you are looking for spray paints and other graffiti materials head to Crush City who has over 500 colors to choose from.

Shows & Events

Some of the best art shows and events in your area of Queensland are:

 

• Brisbane Street Art Festival in May
• Brisbane Art Design Festival in May
• MELT: Festival of Queer Arts & Culture in May
• Brisbane Festival in September

One of the largest events on the Aussie calendar is the Brisbane Street Art Festival where every May more than 200 artists gather around the Powerhouse, the CBD, and some surrounding suburbs to show off their latest creations. The event lasts two weeks and also features live music, lectures, workshops and more.

The Museum of Brisbane presents the Art Design Festival across four weekends each May which takes over parks, galleries, design studios, and various streets around town. One of the more popular features of this festival is the curated program of outdoor interventions by local Queensland artists and designers.

The Powerhouse is also home to the MELT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture in May and if the name didn’t fill you in this LGBT friendly event promotes inclusivity for all in the community. MELT usually lasts around 11 days and there will be visual arts, music, theatre, dance, lectures and more.

Various venues around the city all team up to host the Brisbane Festival each September when this lengthy three week festival celebrates the cities heritage including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Generally about one million people gather to enjoy live music, theatre, comedy, dance, and of course check out some great artworks and the iconic Riverfire on the final day of the festivities is something you won’t want to miss.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

To find a new unique piece for your collection or to figure out the true value of something visit art dealers and appraisers like:

• The Canvas Art Factory at 73 Ipswich Rd
• Rental Art Australia at 49 Qualtrough St

The Canvas Art Factory specializes in all things canvas and in addition to selling unique pieces they also provide services like custom framing, custom stretching, photo restoration, and oversize prints including in custom colors and sizes.

Anyone that just wants to hold on to a piece for a little while and not buy it can contact Rental Art Australia who is happy to provide consultations, give free delivery, and there is free insurance on all rented works. Rental Art has a large selection of original paintings by local artists as well as photographs and limited edition prints.

Woolloongabba Art Gallery from our best galleries near you list also sells art.

Walking Tours

Art walking tours in your area can be a lot of fun when the weather is nice:

• Burnett Lane Street Art
• The Collective Markets at 29 Stanley St Plaza
• Walk Brisbane at 169 Queen St

You can visit Burnett Lane year round to see all kinds of unique street art on display while they also have another event late in the summer that you may want to check out.

The Collective Markets can be found around the centre of South Bank where you will not only find unique artwork on display but there will also be live music, food trucks, antiques, and vintage clothing available.

You can take a variety of private or group tours through Walk Brisbane including a street art tour and one more designed for architecture. They are more than willing to customize your walk if you tell them what you are most interested in.

Sculptures & Statues

You might also want to take some photos of these statues and sculptures:

• Kangaroo Metal Sculptures at Burnett Lane & George St
• Poinsettia Riverfire at 109 Roma St
• The Drovers at 80 Ann St
• Dialogue at 229 Queen St
• Confucius Statue at the Clem Jones Promenade

The Kangaroo Metal Sculptures were created by Christopher Trotter in the late 1990’s and can be found along George Street today.

Luke Roberts sculpted Poinsettia Riverfire a handful of years ago and you can check it out at Emma Miller Place.

John Underwoo was the creator of The Drovers which can be found outside the Department of Primary Industries building.

Queen Street outside of MacArthur Chambers is where you will find Dialogue which was sculpted by Cezary Stulgis.

The Confucius Statue was a gift from the Shandong Province in China to celebrate Queensland’s 150th birthday back in 2009 and today you can visit it at Epicurious Garden.

Brisbane Art Classes

You might be interested in private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults but either way the best art schools in Brisbane would be:

• Queensland College of Art Griffith University at 226 Grey St
• Art 4 Ages at 4/224 Wishart Rd
• Bienarté at 15 Nariel St
• Art Classes Brisbane at Shop 17/478 Ipswich Rd
• Atelier Art Classes at 2B/9 Chrome St
• Cork & Chroma Montague Road at 44 Montague Rd
• Ray Coffey Drawing Classes at 51 Damon Rd

Those who are looking for a serious degree can try to get into Queensland College of Art Griffith University whose classes in your area run with a trimester system so there should always be new ones starting up in the next few months. You can get anything from a graduate certificate to a doctorate at Queensland College of Art Griffith University.

Art 4 Ages has drawing, painting, and pottery classes for kids and adults of all skill levels along with school holiday programs for kids and they also host birthday parties and other private events like hen parties.

The instructors at Bienarté teach everything from painting with oil, acrylic, or water colors to drawing for beginners or more advanced persons. Their seminars and workshops on art history or the business and marketing skills required to be a professional artist in the 21st Century also come highly recommended.

The instructors at Art Classes Brisbane provide drawing and painting classes that are held Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to noon and on Thursday evenings from 6pm to 9pm.

Ray Coffey Drawing has morning classes from 10am until noon and night classes from 7pm to 9pm and can also help you design your own mural for a bar, restaurant, or wherever you may want to put it up.

Art Shed from our supplies list also offers classes.

Studios For Rent Near You

If you are ready to start your next project you might be able to rent art studio space at:

• Stable at 85 Pearson St
• Wreckers Artspace at 7 Lotus St
• Bib’n’Brace Collective at 95 Commercial Rd
• Brisbane Powerhouse at 119 Lamington St

Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Institute Of Modern Art, and Atelier Art Classes are some other places we have listed throughout the post that also rent out studio space near you from time to time.

Framing

When you need art framing in Brisbane head to:

• Fantastic Framing Brisbane at 52 Bank St
• Frame Warehouse at 277 Waterworks Rd
• Matisse Framing at 35 Elgin St
• A1 Picture Framing at 8/104 Newmarket Rd
• The Art of Framing at 3/35 Woodstock Rd
• Artis Pura Custom Framing at 314 Ipswich Rd
• Value Picture Framing at 80 Cavendish Rd

Fantastic Framing can do mobile framing wherever you need it to be done for affordable prices while also providing services like canvas stretching, mirror or jersey framing, oil paintings, custom photo framing, and hanging.

Whether you want to buy ready-made frames, custom frames, or make a bulk order Frame Warehouse can help you out with their stock of over 5,000 shapes and sizes available for you to choose from.

Some of the services that are available at Matisse include photo and poster framing, picture hanging, photo retouching, canvas stretching, custom mirrors, and block mounting among others.

The Art of Framing specializes in archival quality conservation framing and also offers consultations, deliveries, restorations, installations, and even work on 3D mementos.

You can find a complete range of traditional and contemporary finishing techniques at Artis Pura Custom Framing who are experts in restoration and retouching.

Jan Murphy Gallery and Eckersley’s are a couple of other spots we have mentioned in different sections that are known to provide quality custom framing near you.

By the way we have also written about local art in:

• Gold Coast
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Adelaide

Have Fun Enjoying The Brisbane Art Scene

Well guys, we tried to cover the full art scene near you to the best of our abilities. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.

If you made it this far you might just know quite a bit about the local Queensland art scene yourself. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if we may have gotten anything wrong in the comments.

Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies, or doing anything that has to do with art in Brisbane!