Griffith University Art Museum

03/09/2026

We're excited that our student interns will be leading a free guided tour of Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah on Tuesday 8 September from 1-1.30pm, giving them the opportunity to develop public speaking skills and gain real-world experience engaging audiences with contemporary art.

Undying showcases the work of acclaimed Australian artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, whose intricately carved and painted sculptures explore storytelling, identity, mortality, and our relationship with the natural world. Through these tours, visitors can gain deeper insight into Abdullah's remarkable practice while supporting the next generation of arts workers as they develop professional skills in a gallery environment.

Free entry, but we'd love for you to RSVP here: https://events.humanitix.com/guided-tour-or-undying-abdul-rahman-abdullah

If you can't make this event, we will also be offering guided tours on Saturday 10th October at 1pm and Thursday 5th November at 1pm!

02/09/2026

Announcing our next Pep Talk! Join us on Thursday, 24th September to hear from Yuriyal Bridgeman, who'll be fresh off the plane after his inclusion in the 19th Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale in France! Yuriyal will be joined by special guests and collaborators Aunty Sana Balai and Peter Morua.

Pep Talks are your chance to hear from QCAD legends about their practice and career trajectory since graduating, as well as the advice they wish they'd heard along the way. Designed to be casual and engaging, we start with a free BBQ followed by the talk. There'll be plenty of time to ask questions or submit them ahead of time by messaging us directly.

The Pep Talk will kick off with a free BBQ in the QCAD Courtyard at 4.30pm, and the talk will start at 5.30pm.

WHEN: Thursday 24 September, 4:30 BBQ for 5.30pm talk
WHERE: Griffith University Art Museum & QCAD Courtyard
COST: $15.00 / Free for QCAD students with valid student email!

Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/pep-talks-yuriyal-bridgeman

Yuriyal Bridgeman completed a Bachelor of Photography at the Queensland College of Art & Design in 2008, laying the foundation for a multidisciplinary practice that has since established him as a distinctive voice in contemporary art of the Asia-Pacific region. His work spans photography, video, painting, sculpture and installation, and reflects a sustained engagement with representation, belonging, and the evolving role of cultural tradition within contemporary life.

02/09/2026

Thanks to ArtsHub for the write up! Double Vision: Craig & Karl runs from 4 September 2026 to 16 January 2027 at Cairns Art Gallery. The launch party will take place tomorrow Thursday 3 September and we can't wait!

https://www.artshub.com.au/news/sponsored-content/craig-karl-bring-their-global-visual-language-home-to-queensland-with-exhibition-at-cairns-art-gallery-2869288

From Expo 88 to Times Square, Craig & Karl have created a bold visual language that travels the world. Now their exhibition Double Vision is headed for Cairns Art Gallery.

28/08/2026

If you’re in Ipswich before 6 September, make sure you check out ‘Ties that bind’ at Ipswich Art Gallery, where you’ll spot C.Moore Hardy’s photographic series ‘Gay and le***an family’ (1995), on loan from the Griffith University Art Collection.

'Ties that bind' features Australian artists whose works trace the fragile, resilient, complex threads that connect us to place and to one another, reorienting how we understand belonging - not as a singular ideal, but as a constellation of lived experiences shaped by Country, lineage, memory, trauma, and the promise of connection.

Image: ‘Ties that Bind’ installation view, Ipswich Art Gallery, 2026. Photograph by Joe Ruckli.

24/08/2026

That’s right, the Foyer Gallery is back! 20 years ago, the Foyer Gallery was one of our most dynamic spaces, featuring artists such as Guan Wei and Jacques Pasquier. Now it’s playing host to some little seen but much-loved works from the Griffith University Art Collection, making this incredible resource more accessible for QCAD students and visitors to the Art Museum!

Currently on display until 7 November are two works that explore themes which overlap with our current exhibition ‘Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’.

Described by the artist as a contemporary memento mori, QCAD alum Kirra Jamison’s ‘My Wilde Rozen’ (2007) captures Jamison’s use of negative space and layering, as ghostly skeletal forms and falling leaves swirl together, suspended in a deep black void.

‘Wild Rozen’ is Dutch for ‘wild roses’, which are often a symbol for perseverance, or uncultivated beauty and love. Wild roses are also an enduring reference in art history, such as signifying the purity of the Virgin Mary or featuring in Vincent Van Gogh’s work painted while a patient at the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence psychiatric clinic, where he purportedly found peace in the garden.

And in ‘The Alcove’…Harry J. Wedge ‘Dirty Animals’ 1995.
Wiradjuri artist Harry Wedge (1957-2012) grew up on Erambie Mission at Cowra, Central New South Wales. Wedge’s works draw on his experiences of mission life, racism and injustice, as well as record and critique contemporary political issues and events.

‘Dirty Animals’ comments on the damage done to the Australian landscape by imported species. Agricultural livestock are ecologically destructive because of their hooved feet, which destroy fragile soil surfaces and ecosystems across the country. The lines radiating from the Wiradjuri Spirit Man are characteristic of Wedge’s ongoing depiction of this figure, who was central to Wedge’s 1992 major solo exhibition and 1996 illustrated monograph, both titled Wiradjuri Spirit Man.

24/08/2026

We're thrilled to be nominated once again for a Gallery & Museums Achievement Award for our 2025 project 'Craig & Karl: Double Vision', curated by Angela Goddard and Carrie McCarthy!

A true labour of love, the exhibition celebrated two of Queensland College of Art and Design Griffith University's most internationally successful alumni, and was delivered with the support of our project partners Brisbane City Council Brisbane Festival and Fish Lane Arts Precinct.

We're also very excited that the project has gone to have a longer life, with a regional tour of the exhibition due to open at Cairns Art Gallery next week!
Here's a little reminder of that project, created by QCAD's very own Andy Willis!

Video: Craig & Karl: Double Vision & Art Trail. Videographer: Andrew Willis

20/08/2026

Now showing on our Moving Image and Sound Portal: ‘Menagerie’, an exhibition of video works from the Griffith University Art Collection inspired by ideas presented in ‘Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’, particularly the responsibility that humans have for other living beings on earth.

Numerous works in the Collection’s Moving Image and Sound Collection feature animals (and even two with humans dressed up as animals), but a recurring theme in ‘Menagerie’ is the complex relationship between animals, their cages and humans.

Featured works include Kelly Hussey-Smith ‘Caged’ 2010, Hayden Fowler ‘Goat Odyssey’ 2006, Martine Corompt ‘Pet Shop’ 1998, Susan Norrie ‘Untitled Video’ 1996, and Lauren Berkowitz ‘The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters’ 1998.

‘Menagerie’ has been curated by Patrick Lester, GUAM’s Curatorial and Collections Officer (Access).

Image: Martine Corompt ‘Pet Shop’ from ‘Art Rage: artworks for television’ 1998. Video, 1m43s. Griffith University Art Collection. Purchased 1999.

05/08/2026

Join us for the opening of ‘Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’ on Thursday 13 August!

We’ll begin at 5.30pm with an artist talk and walk-through of the exhibition, followed by opening celebrations from 6-8pm.

WHEN: Thursday 13 August, 5.30pm artist talk | 6-8pm opening celebrations
WHERE: Griffith University Art Museum, 226 Grey St South Bank
RSVP: https://events.humanitix.com/opening-event-or-undying-abdul-rahman-abdullah

Including both new and well-known recent works, ‘Undying: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’ reimagines our complex relationships with life, death and the afterlife, while considering the inherent violence and transactional nature of our engagement with the natural world. Commissioned by the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM), the University of Sydney, the exhibition draws on Abdullah’s distinct visual language of animal archetypes to present a story of curiosity, inter-relationship, and perpetuity.

Image: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah ‘Rabbit (Preparation)’, 2026, painted wood. Courtesy of the artist