Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 2006-07

QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 06–07 / exhibitions and audiences 24 During the year, preparations for 'Picture Lab' — a major project for children as part of the spectacular 'Picture Park' exhibition by Katharina Grosse — were being completed in readiness for the 15 July 2007 exhibition opening. Spanning both levels of the Children's Art Centre in GoMA, the project encourages young visitors to engage with some of the artist's ideas in an environment appealing to their sense of play. It features an immersive maze structure on GoMA's Park Level for kids to explore, as well as a short documentary showing young audiences the different aspects of her practice. The Children's Art Centre continued to offer a range of high-quality, ongoing public programs for children and families. Interactive tours for kids were introduced in February, focusing initially on APT5, but broadening in scope to encompass Collection displays. For APT5, the Stories, People and Place tour explored art works in GoMA and incorporated a storytelling component, while the How Was it Made? tour was based in QAG and used props to prompt children to engage with ideas about art making. The Collection tours focused on depictions of chil- dren in the Australian art collection and involved interactive elements such as sound clues. Aspects of life including play, work, music and stories, as they relate to the lives of children, were explored. The popular Toddler Tuesday program, that introduces young children to works in the Gallery's Collection, continued to attract consistently high participation rates, and Sunday at the Gallery continued to provide opportunities for young visitors to work directly with local artists on creative ideas and projects. Exhibitions and programs for young people and teachers The annual 'Education Minister's Awards for Excellence in Art', organised by the Department of Education and the Arts, continued its important role in recognising and promoting the outstanding achievements of art students from secondary schools throughout Queensland. The 2007 exhibition featured a selection of 53 works chosen from nearly 600 entries submitted by senior art students from across the state, including regional and remote communities. Design your own Tour was launched by the Gallery for the benefit of teachers and their students. A new interactive online resource, Design your own Tour assists teachers to customise tours of the Gallery's Collection and spe- cial exhibitions for their classes. It was launched by the Gallery in association with APT5, while a second instalment was developed for tours of the Collection, which will feature ongoing updates with works from the Gallery's collections of Australian, Asian, Pacific and international art. The Gallery's Look Out Teacher Program was also launched in association with APT5. Look Out provides Queensland school teachers with ongoing professional development opportunities and encourages them to incorporate the Gallery's exhibitions, collections and associated educational resources into their classroom activities. A Look Out Teacher Program was held on 30 March to coincide with the launch of Brought to Light II: Contemporary Australian Art 1966–2006 , the Gallery's major new Collection publication. The New Wave program offers events that explore contemporary art and ideas for tertiary students and young people. A range of exhibition previews, forums and artist talks were presented during the reporting year, particularly in association with APT5, to allow students to keep up-to-date with local, national and international arts issues and ideas. A range of events and opportunities for young people was also staged in association with APT5 (see p.33 for details). Regional exhibitions and programs The Gallery's commitment to providing a quality program of travelling exhibitions continued in 2006–07. 'Queensland Live: Contemporary Art on Tour' continued its eight-venue regional tour as part of the opening program for GoMA. During the year the exhibition, which presents the work of 11 of Queensland's leading contemporary artists — Vernon Ah Kee, Richard Bell, Gordon Bennett, Eugene Carchesio, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Tracey Moffatt, Scott Redford, Luke Roberts, Anne Wallace, Judy Watson, Judith Wright — travelled to Bundaberg, Cairns, Ipswich, Cleveland and Mackay. 'Myth to Modern: Bronzes from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection' commenced its 13-venue regional tour in May 2007 at the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery. Exploring aspects of figuration through bronze sculpture, the exhibition features works by Giovanni Battista Foggini and Auguste Rodin, modernists Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore, and Australian artists Daphne Mayo, Bertram Mackennal and Harold Parker. The regional tour of 'Olafur Eliasson's The cubic structural evolution project ' was in the planning stages during the reporting year. A Children's Art Centre travelling exhibition, The cubic structural evolution project 2004 is an interactive art work from the Gallery's Collection by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Designed for children, but appealing to all ages, the work is an ever-evolving metropolis constructed from white Lego and limited only by the imagination of participants. Several key programs for regional audiences were staged in association with APT5, including Kid's APT Summer Spectacular – Queensland and the APT5 regional artist-in-residence program (see page 33 for details). For further information on regional exhibitions and programs, see page 33, Focus: 'The 5th Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' and see page 37, Initiatives and Services. Exhibitions in development Two key future projects in development during 2006–07 were the exhibitions 'Andy Warhol' (opening in December Sarah Tiffin, Curator, Asian Art, delivers a floortalk in the Asian art display, Gallery 2, QAG, as part of a special teacher viewing, 9 December 2006. Students from Brisbane State High School participate in an APT5 school tour, 16 March 2007.