University of Queensland Art Museum, Art museum at University of Queensland St Lucia campus, Australia.
The University of Queensland Art Museum is located in the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre on the St Lucia campus and displays contemporary and historical works across several interconnected gallery spaces. The layout allows visitors to move through different collections in a logical and accessible way.
The art collection began in the 1940s through a financial bequest from John Darnell and held its first public exhibition in 1945 within a geology laboratory. This modest start led to the development of a significant cultural institution for the region.
The museum's name honours the Mayne family, who helped establish the university at St Lucia; the building itself, formerly Mayne Hall, opened in March 1973 and was designed by Brisbane architect Robin Gibson. Since 1996 the museum has built a National Collection of Artists' Self Portraits, tied to a bi-annual self-portraiture prize.
The museum is accessible during weekday afternoon hours and Saturday mornings with no admission fee required. The campus is easily reached by public transport, and visitors should allow adequate time to explore the multiple gallery spaces at their own pace.
The building opened in March 1973 as Mayne Hall, a hall for graduations and concerts, and hosted Tom Waits in 1979 and Cliff Richard in 1978. A neo-classical organ modelled on a 1962 Schuke organ in Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was installed in the mid-1970s and served as a teaching resource for two decades.
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