The culture of Brisbane derives from mainstream Australian culture and incorporates a strong history in the performing arts, music and sport.
The culture of Brisbane derives from mainstream Australian culture and incorporates a strong history in the performing arts, music and sport.
The Queensland Cultural Centre, located at South Bank, within the suburb of South Brisbane, is the cultural hub of Brisbane. The Queensland Cultural Centre contains the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, the State Library of Queensland, Queensland Writers Centre, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
In addition to the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, the universities based in Brisbane also contain art galleries. The University of Queensland has a purpose built gallery on its St. Lucia campus. The Queensland College of Art (a part of Griffith University), is based on the former World Expo 88 site at South Bank, and the QUT Art Museum (a part of the Queensland University of Technology) is based at the QUT Gardens Point campus. Every year the Rotary Clubs of Stones Corner, Hamilton and Brisbane High-Rise host the Rotary Art Spectacular, one of Queensland’s most prestigious art exhibition. Recently, artist residency spaces House Conspiracy and Outer Space opened in West End.
Brisbane has a range of public sculptures ranging from the large impressive statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Old Executive building to a number of others. King George Square in front of the Brisbane City Hall features an impressive statue of King George V and also the Petrie Tableau. There other examples of sculpture featured in Anzac Square.
City Roos sculptures made by sculptor Christopher Trotter during 1999 from scrapmetal from a broad cross-section of industries are not far from the former Law Courts Complex in George Street.
The Brisbane City council has an online database of public artworks which can be searched for locations, artists and information about individual artworks. The database covers the whole Brisbane Council area. [1]
Queensland University of Technology and the University of Southern Queensland (based in Toowoomba) offer professional acting courses. Some notable professionals who have taught performing arts in Brisbane include Rhoda Felgate, Babette Stephens, Jean Trundell, Joan Whalley, Alan Edwards, Ian Thomson and Harold Collins.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is also located at South Bank. It is also part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and contains Brisbane’s main theatres (Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Cremorne Theatre, and the Playhouse). The Australian Ballet visits Brisbane every second year and other touring companies also visit Brisbane each year. Large scale visiting musicals make up the majority of offerings at the Lyric Theatre.
The Queensland Conservatorium and Queensland College of Art (both of which are part of Griffith University) were subsequently built within the South Bank Parklands, along with many other buildings, including the Suncorp Piazza.
Other theatres located in Brisbane include the Tribal Theatre, Brisbane Arts Theatre, Twelfth Night Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Metro Arts Theatre, Judith Wright Arts Centre and the Brisbane Powerhouse. There are also several theatres located at the universities, including the QUT Gardens Theatre & the QUT Creative Industries Precinct (both of which are at the Queensland University of Technology), and Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio & Schonell Theatre (both of which are at the University of Queensland). Newly constructed in an old community building in Spring Hill is the Centre Stage Theatre.
Outdoor venues include the Roma Street Parkland Amphitheatre and Riverstage in the City Botanic Gardens.
One of the largest new entertainment precincts, Northshore Brisbane, which hosts Brisbane's largest and most immersive events and activations. With hundreds of square metres of handstand, riverfront event space, Northshore is transforming into one of Brisbane's key entertainment and event precincts.
Brisbane has a long history of demolishing performing arts venues and theatres. Festival Hall, a music and entertainment venue was demolished in 2003. Before the Queensland Performing Arts Centre was built, major performing arts theatres included the 2,000 seat Her Majesty's Theatre in Queen Street, which was designed in 1885 by Andreas Stombuco and opened in 1888, was demolished in 1986. It was replaced by the Hilton Hotel without a theatre. Artists such as Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Robert Helpmann and Dame Nellie Melba performed there. The Suncorp Theatre (originally called the SGIO Theatre), a purpose built drama theatre for the Queensland Theatre Company, was also demolished in 2007. The interior of the 2,000 seat Regent Theatre in Queen Street was demolished and replaced by four multiplex cinemas. After campaigning, led by Veronica Kelly from the University of Queensland English Department (UQ was a major stakeholder as the medical school inherited shares in the building as part of the Mayne estate), the original foyer was retained and remnants from the original 1929 auditorium were used in one of the downstairs multiplex cinemas renamed the "Regent Showcase" cinema. These cinemas have since been demolished in 2012 for a 40 floor high rise office block development. Small, multi purpose conference spaces were proposed for weekend only use as cinemas, however the office tower development has failed and as of 2014, the land still remains vacant. [2]
Brisbane has a small number of professional performing arts companies. These include: Queensland Theatre Company, The Queensland Orchestra, Grin and Tonic Theatre Company, Operatif!, LaBoite Theatre Company, Opera Queensland, Queensland Ballet and Australasian Dance Collective. The Queensland Pops Orchestra make a positive contribution.
Most cultural organisations in Brisbane run on an amateur or university basis. There are also many community choirs theatres and bands including the Sandgate Theatre Inc, King Street Players, Mousetrap Theatre, Imogen Children's Chorale, Queensland Philharmonic Chorale, the Brisbane Chorale, the Queensland Festival Chorus, Exaudi Australis, the Queensland University Musical Society (QUMS), the Queensland Choir.Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Queensland University Musical Society (QUMS), CIP, Queensland Musical Society, Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Wind and Brass, St Lucia Orchestra, Brisbane Symphonic Band, South East Queensland Symphonic Winds, Brisbane Municipal Concert Band, Brisbane Arts Theatre, Brisbane Apollo Choir, Brisbane Excelsior Brass Band, Queensland Youth Orchestras, Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra, Queensland Wind Orchestra, Centenary Theatre Group, Villanova Players, Ignatians Musical Society, Queensland Musical Theatre, Savoyards Musical Comedy Society and Springboard Theatre Company. The Brisbane Musical Theatre Competition, which was founded in 1997, showcases and promotes local talent.
Brisbane has several local arts news and review organisations. Some of the major platforms include Theatre Haus, Bravo Brisbane, Absolute Theatre and Blue Curtains.
Brisbane also held World Expo 88 at South Bank, from April to October 1988, on land adjacent to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. The Expo site was converted into the South Bank Parklands following World Expo 88.
The Royal Queensland Exhibition (known locally as the Ekka), an agricultural exhibition held each August at the Brisbane Showgrounds in Bowen Hills is the longest-running major annual event held in Brisbane, during which there is a public holiday for each local government area across Brisbane so as to enable widespread public attendance.
The Brisbane Festival, which includes one of the nation's largest annual fireworks displays called 'Riverfire', and which is held each September at South Bank Parklands, the CBD and surrounding areas is the second of Brisbane's major annual events, with the 'Riverfire' fireworks displays attended by hundreds of thousands of residents annually.
The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is held in July/August each year in a variety of venues around Brisbane. BIFF features new films and retrospectives by domestic and international filmmakers along with seminars and awards.
The Buddha Birth Day festival at South Bank parklands attracts over 200,000 visitors each year, [3] [4] and is the largest event of its type in Australia.
There also many smaller community events such as the Paniyiri festival (a Greek cultural festival held over two days in May), the Brisbane Medieval Fayre and Tournament (held each June), the Bridge to Brisbane charity fun run the Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival.
Major events are often held at the 171,000 square metre Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in South Brisbane.
Brisbane is home to over 6,000 restaurants and dining establishments, [5] with outdoor dining featuring prominently. The most popular cuisines by number of dining establishments are Japanese, [6] Chinese, [7] Modern Australian, [8] Italian, [9] American, [10] Indian, [11] and Vietnamese. [12] Moreton Bay bugs, less commonly known as flathead lobsters, are an ingredient named for the Brisbane region and which feature commonly in the city's cuisine, along with macadamia nuts, also native to the region.
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South East Queensland metropolitan region, which encompasses a population of around 3.8 million. The Brisbane central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River about 15 km (9 mi) from its mouth at Moreton Bay, a bay of the Coral Sea. Brisbane is located in the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Taylor and D'Aguilar mountain ranges. It sprawls across several local government areas, most centrally the City of Brisbane, Australia's most populous local government area. The demonym of Brisbane is "Brisbanite".
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The university in its current form was founded in 1989, when the Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) was made a university through the Queensland University of Technology Act 1988, with the resulting Queensland University of Technology beginning its operations from January 1989. In 1990, the Brisbane College of Advanced Education merged with QUT.
World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo was "Leisure in the Age of Technology", and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz.
South Brisbane railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at 133 Grey Street, South Brisbane, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of two stations serving the South Brisbane area, the other being South Bank. It was built from 1891 to 1918, making it the second oldest railway station in central Brisbane. It is also known as Cultural Centre Station, Melbourne Street Station, and South Brisbane (Interstate) Station. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The South Bank Parklands are located at South Bank within the suburb of South Brisbane in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The parkland, on the transformed site of Brisbane's World Expo 88, was officially opened to the public on 20 June 1992.
South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.
Robin Gibson was an Australian architect, from Brisbane, Queensland.
The Queensland Cultural Centre is a heritage-listed cultural centre at Grey Street, South Brisbane, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank precinct on the Brisbane River. It was built from 1976.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Playhouse and Cremorne Theatre.
The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist museums located in North Ipswich in Ipswich, East Toowoomba in Toowoomba, and in Townsville City in Townsville.
Cultural Centre busway station is located in Brisbane, Australia serving the South Bank precinct. It is located directly south of Victoria Bridge and close to South Brisbane railway station.
South Bank is a cultural, social, educational and recreational precinct in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The precinct is located in the suburb of South Brisbane, on the southern bank of the Brisbane River.
Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University is a selective, audition based music school located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and is part of Griffith University.
David Berthold is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and cultural leaders. He has directed for most of Australia's major theatre companies, as well as in London and Berlin, and has led several key arts organisations. He was Artistic Director of Brisbane Festival, one of Australia's major international arts festivals and Queensland’s largest arts and cultural event. Through his tenure of five festivals, 2015–19, Berthold transformed the Festival into Australia's largest major international arts festival, presenting more works to more people than any other, with an audience of more than one million people.
Wintergarden is a shopping centre located in the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was opened by the Premier of Queensland the Honourable Joh Bjelke-Petersen in 1982. It contains over 60 specialty stores over three levels. The centre was developed initially by the Kern Corporation Limited and constructed by subsidiary, Kern Construction and was the brainchild of the then MD, Mr. V.B. Paul; it was intended to create a retail focus to the Brisbane Commonwealth Games held in 1982.
Stanley Street is a major street in Brisbane, Queensland. It carries the designation state route 41 for the entirety of its length and state route 10 between the Vulture Street and Annerley Road intersections. For the majority of its length the road is a one-way carriageway westbound. The route is a major connector between the Southern and Eastern suburbs and South Brisbane. The street passes directly to the south of The Gabba and runs directly through the Mater Hospital precinct.
Tourism in Brisbane is an important industry for the Queensland economy, being the third-most popular destination for international tourists after Sydney and Melbourne.
Anthony Steel is an English arts administrator who was the first general manager of the Adelaide Arts Festival.
Tony Gould was the founding director of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and the Brisbane Festival.
The State Government Insurance Office Theatre, was a 600-seat proscenium theatre built within the SGIO office building at 179 Turbot Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
