QAGOMA Announces 2025 Program Featuring Archie Moore, Olafur Eliasson & More

The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) has announced its exhibition program for 2025, including Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist Archie Moore’s award-winning Venice Biennale project kith and kin; ‘Wonderstruck’, an awe-inspiring Collection exhibition featuring works by Yayoi Kusama, Nick Cave, Patricia Piccinini, Lindy Lee and Ron Mueck; ‘Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s’; solo exhibitions by Queensland artists Danie Mellor and Pat Hoffie, and a major solo exhibition with globally renowned Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.

QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said the eleventh edition of the Gallery’s free flagship contemporary art series, the Asia Pacific Triennial, would continue until 27 April.

‘Installed at QAG and GOMA, the Triennial is a unique opportunity to experience 500 innovative, beautiful and thought-provoking works of art by 70 artists, collectives and projects from more than 30 countries across the region,’ Mr Saines said.

‘Highlighting the work of First Nations, minority and diaspora cultures as well as collective, performative and community-driven art practices, it also offers a cinema program and seven art projects for children and families.’

From 15 March to 3 August 2025, the Gallery will present ‘marru | the unseen visible‘, an exhibition of new painting, photography and moving image works by artist Danie Mellor, whose multidisciplinary practice explores Australia’s shared history through the lens of his Ngadjon-jii, Mamu and Anglo-Celtic ancestry and celebrates his ongoing connections to Country in the rainforest areas of far north Queensland. ‘marru’, which means ‘becoming visible’ in the Dyirbal language of Mellor’s matrilineal ancestors, includes new works examining memory and remembrance, and the environmental and social impact of our colonial history.

From 28 June until 6 October 2025, ‘Wonderstruck’, an exhibition exploring themes related to collective and personal experiences of awe and wonder will be presented across GOMA’s ground floor. With more than 100 artworks and interactive projects by over 70 international and Australian artists, the free exhibition invites audiences on a journey through spectacular large-scale installations, captivating small treasures and immersive experiences. Highlights include Michael Parekowhai’s The Horn of Africa 2006, Nick Cave’s HEARD 2012 and Yayoi Kusama’s much-loved interactive sticker installation The obliteration room 2002-present.

At QAG from 21 June until May 2027, ‘Great and Small’, is an exhibition exploring the central role animals have played in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, culture and spiritual beliefs, featuring work by artists Alex Baker, Naomi Hobson, Mabel Juli, Illuwanti Ken, Teho Ropeyarn, Joe Rootsey, Thanakupi and others.

From 21 June until 5 October 2026, ‘The God of Small Things: Faith and Popular Culture’ opens at QAG. Centred around a rare collection of embellished oleographs by Raja Ravi Varma (India, 1848-1906), the exhibition also includes major works by Natee Utarit and Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan. Delving into the intersection between devotional imagery and popular culture, it captures the divine as a living part of everyday life across time and cultures.        

From 16 August until 26 January 2026 ‘Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s’ will showcase significant works by leading Queensland artists and other major Australian artists working here in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Considering the development of Modernism in the state, the exhibition will include artworks by Kenneth Macqueen, Vida Lahey, William Bustard, Gwendolyn Grant, Joe Rootsey, and Sidney Nolan among others.

Championing Indigenous self-representation, ‘Snap Blak: Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island photography from the Collection’ opens from 30 August and includes work by Tony Albert, Michael Cook, Brenda L. Croft,  Destiny Deacon, Fiona Foley, Genevieve Grieves, Tracey Moffat, Michael Riley, Darren Siwes, Leah King Smith, Christian Thompson  and others.

Also from 30 August until 1 February 2026, the Gallery presents ‘Pat Hoffie: I have loved/I love/I will love’, an exhibition of new works on paper by the Queensland artist. Experimenting with the enduring power of the printed image Hoffie transforms scenes she has witnessed through the media, inviting discussion and connection.

From 27 September, QAGOMA is thrilled to be the first venue to present Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist Archie Moore’s kith and kin following its debut at La Biennale de Venezia 2024, where it secured the prestigious Golden Lion Award for Best National Participation.

kith and kin comprises a vast genealogical chart capturing Moore’s First Nations Australian connections spanning more than 2400 generations and over 65000 years. At the centre of the installation, a reflective pool memorialises First Nations people who have died in police custody.

Mr Saines said the Gallery was proud to be showing Moore’s work following its presentation in Venice last year and its gifting to QAGOMA and Tate by Creative Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

‘This remarkable and deeply affecting installation confronts the ongoing legacies of Australia’s colonial history, with a focus on the overincarceration of First Nations peoples and the severing of familial ties. It evokes the vastness of First Nations Australian history, while speaking to the connectedness of the human family,’ Mr Saines said.

kith and kin will be shown alongside ‘Inscribing a Life’, an exhibition celebrating the intensity and wonder of existence, histories, and time through the act of mark making. It includes work by Hossein Valamanesh, Shirley Macnamara, Georg Baselitz, Simryn Gill, Gulumbu Yunupingu and others.

Closing QAGOMA’s 2025 program is a dynamic exhibition of new and existing works by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Open from 6 December until 12 July 2026, the exhibition will span GOMA’s ground floor galleries and invite audiences to discover the creative potential of perception.

‘Olafur Eliasson’s artworks suggest new ways of seeing and experiencing. His practice, spanning diverse installations and other works, invites reflection on our relationships – with ourselves, the environment, culture, and society. The exhibition will feature a range of artworks – many never before seen in Australia – and will include two new site-specific installations created especially for our expansive galleries. The notable QAGOMA collection works by the artist, The Cubic Structural Evolution Project 2004, a Lego city perpetually rebuilt by visitors; and Riverbed 2014, a vast, rocky landscape with a primeval spring of water running through it, will be shown, along with Eliasson’s celebrated early installation Beauty 1993, bringing a rainbow suspended in mist into the gallery,’ Mr Saines said. 

Minister for the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said QAGOMA’s 2025 program featured a strong focus on highlighting the incredible work of Queensland artists, complemented by celebrated global creators.

‘From the internationally significant Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, through to the much-anticipated Australian debut of Archie Moore’s kith and kin, QAGOMA has curated a vibrant program to captivate visitors of all ages and interests,’ Minister Langbroek said.

‘The Crisafulli Government invests in QAGOMA to deliver extraordinary and accessible arts experiences that reinforce our reputation as a leading cultural tourism destination ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.’

Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell said it was an exciting time for artistic and cultural experiences at QAGOMA.

‘For the 2025 program and beyond, the Queensland Gallery is offering a large array of exhibitions and projects for both Queenslanders and visitors from interstate and overseas to enjoy,’ Minister Powell said.

‘The 2025 program offers an incredible line up of artists and we’re proud to showcase Queensland as a hub for arts and culture, and attracting such exceptional talent from across the globe is a real coup for Brisbane.

‘From contemporary photography and painting to interactive exhibits and cinematic projects – there’s something for everyone across the year, including the kids.’

Curated film programs screening at GOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque in 2025 include: Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema programs ‘Children of Independence: The Rise of Central Asian Cinema’ and ‘Ryusuke Hamaguchi’, as well as ‘Curator’s Pick 2025: For the Love of it’.

QAGOMA’s Children’s Art Centre will continue to present Asia Pacific Triennial Kids until 13 July, with ‘Art Box for Kids: Mandy Quadrio‘ opening 31 May, and a major solo exhibition by Thai-Australian artist Vipoo Srivilasa scheduled for October this year.

In 2025 QAGOMA will tour ‘Joe Furlonger: Horizons’, ‘Looking Out, Looking In: Exploring the Self Portrait’ and ‘Asia Pacific Triennial Kids on Tour’.

 ‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ is made possible by Founding Supporter the Queensland Government and Principal Partner Creative Australia; and is supported by Strategic Partner Tourism and Events Queensland; Principal Benefactor Haymans Electrical & Data Suppliers; Asia Pacific Triennial Kids Principal Benefactor Tim Fairfax Family Foundation; Major Partners Shayher Group, Urban Art Projects, Gadens and Crumpler; Grantor the Office for the Arts, and more than 40 generous Exhibition Patrons and Collection Benefactors.

‘Wonderstruck’ is supported by Major Partner Shayher Group.

‘Archie Moore: kith and kin’ is supported by Major Partner Gadens.

‘Olafur Eliasson’ is supported by Strategic Partner Tourism and Events Queensland; Major Partner Shayher Group, and Grantor Gordon Darling Foundation.

For more information, visit www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/touring