9 best museums in Brisbane: contemporary art, convicts, Indigenous culture and more

The city’s arts scene celebrates its thriving Indigenous culture as well as innovations in international arts. Meanwhile, niche historical museums delve into the ancient past when dinosaurs and megafauna ruled the land, as well as Brisbane’s convict history and the city’s critical role in the WWII war in the Pacific. 

Museum of Brisbane: best for cutting-edge culture

Bone up on Brisbane at the award-winning Museum of Brisbane, which goes beyond dusty history to delve into music, fashion, and contemporary culture with its boundary-pushing program. 

Recent MoB exhibitions have unpacked the impact of Bauhaus on Brisbane architecture, invited visitors to graffiti the walls of Boggo Road Gaol, and showcased Indigenous artist Dylan Mooney’s Blak Superheroes. There’s a fantastic kids program, and the gift shop is a top spot to pick up funky Brisbane-themed souvenirs made by local creatives. Find it on the third floor of the Brisbane City Hall.

Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art: best for landmark art

Known to its friends as QAGOMA, Australia’s largest art museum compromises two massive buildings in the South Bank cultural precinct. 

GOMA is the go-to for modern art. Housed in one of Brisbane’s most striking buildings, which is illuminated at night like a disco dancefloor, the gallery is fronted by Michael Parekowhai’s The World Turns, a life-size bronze elephant doing a face-plant into the ground. 

Exhibitions focus on Australian, Asian, and Pacific artists and the gallery has a superb collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. It offers Indigenous arts experiences co-designed by Indigenous-owned Blaklash Creative. Rare and unusual films are shown four times per week at GOMA's Cinémathèque.

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