South Bank cultural precinct cements Brisbane's position as a serious Australian arts city

Brisbane's South Bank cultural precinct houses one of Australia's most concentrated collections of major arts and cultural institutions, with the Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Museum, State Library of Queensland and Queensland Performing Arts Centre all located within walking distance of each other on the southern bank of the Brisbane River. This concentration of institutional investment gives Brisbane a cultural infrastructure that competes credibly with Sydney and Melbourne for the attention of serious arts visitors.

The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in particular has built a national and international reputation for ambitious exhibition programming that has drawn visiting audiences from across Australia and the region. Major international exhibitions at GOMA have generated visitor numbers that rank with the best-attended gallery shows in the country, and the gallery's willingness to tackle complex and challenging contemporary art alongside more accessible programming has given it critical credibility that sustains its reputation in the arts world.

Queensland Performing Arts Centre's programming spans mainstream commercial theatre, Queensland Ballet and Queensland Symphony Orchestra performances alongside visiting international companies and productions, creating a performing arts offer that serves a broad range of audience preferences. The combination of multiple venue formats within the QPAC complex allows simultaneous programming across different audience scales and genres.

The South Bank parklands that surround the cultural precinct provide free public programming and activation that makes the precinct accessible to community members who are not primary arts audiences. The combination of elite arts institutions and genuinely accessible public space has given South Bank a democratic character that is valued by Brisbane residents and that distinguishes it from cultural precincts in other cities that can feel more exclusive.

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