Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 9 : Construction of the cultural centre, 1977-1981

. C IT~illTIIDillUIB) • I A cultural BRIIIANE. • th• hlgheat level of ilctual lntereet In meny of the ...., but the .... t lncNnatlon to ettr"'d an actuel performance or exhibition • . • • cultural Cooper•• Creek. This was the assessment or the city's attitude to aspects of the arts in a poll change is on the way commissioned by the Australia Council, But Australia Council chairman, historian and author Professor Geoffrey Blainey, told a Q11·i~1,sland Art Gallery Foundation dinner last night this was about to change. He forecast the new $7 l million cultural centre, including a new art gallery, now being built on the South Bank or the Brisbane River, would transform the city's cultural life. He urged continuing support for the foundation, which has a $3 million target to make purchases for the new gallery opening next year. Professor.Blainey said the opinion poll or Australian cultural lire commissioned by the Australia Council had looked very closely at Queensland. He said: "It found that in many activities Brisbane had the average national interest: for instance, in TV, movies and cinema. In a few activities to a live country and western show, compared with 12 percent in Sydney, and so on up the scale to 23 percent in Melbourne, 26 percent in Perth ·~rld 38 percent in Queensland provincial ci1ics.'' With other forms or music, 'including live folk, pop, brass bands, live religious music, light opera, live Aboriginal music, modern classical music, and chamber music, the poll showed that Brisbane people more than those in any other mainland capital stayed at home. What was happening in Brisbane? In art form after art form. popular and elitist, traditional and modern, it was the quietest city. Most Brisbane people did not even think of going to a wide range of arts performances and events which were relatively allractive in other Australian cities. - it had more interest than people in other Some might say,"Well,"that's Queens• cities. land for you,"but that was not true. The "But in m11ny aspects of culture, 1\ustralia Council's survey showed that Brisbane people appeared to be the provincial Queensland - and certainly absentees of the nation. And one reason the three provincial cities of Cairns, for this will become clear later. Townsville and Toowoomba - were "First, the performin¥, arts. Of the abuz1. with arts performances. In people who lie to auend light entertain-. relation to population, they seemed to mcnt only 15 ~t of Brisbane pcopli: allract remarkable auendances. go against 39 percent in Melbourne anct In certain Queensland provincial Perth." < cities, it seemed that the nverage citizen Of those who weni tcililhtiillf pi,~· was far more likely to ullend art for example, En,tisb •'Ill- ·• ' exhibitions and musical performances comedic., - Brisbane peooPo!~ and other cultural events than was a great absentees. 8111 i~ c _,_.., in Syd~ey, Adelaide or Mel- such as Shakesp,are s ·...,_ Townsv,lle and Toowoomba and Bernard Shnw's, Brisbune seemed to ' :1s keen as Melbourne. Professor Blainey said for music.il '– Brisbane, relatively, was the city of the deaf. For classical ballet and symphony concerts, Brisbane was the non-auendcr, but Sydney was not far behind. In revue. and vaudeville Brisbane was the silent city - 5 percent here compared with 14 percent in Sydney, the next lowest of the five mainland slat" capitals. "Bris– bane, 111st' in mime, last in modern dance." Even for live ~ountry and western· music - an entertainment at which many Queenslandcrs had excelled - . Brisbane people tended 10 stay away, or turned on their radios. "Y'I~ have heard the song or the pub with no beer. Well, often Brisbane is almost the city with no audience. Only 10 percent of Drisbancrs think or going Cairns - some statistics suggested - were the Athens or Austr~lla, Jn many ways they were amateur Athens, it was true, but nonetheless these cities had •cultural vitality and wide cultural interests. Professor Blainey said Brisbane people seemed to be more interested in books· by Australian authors than people in any other capital city." Melbourne and Adelaide came next. "Given the importance of reading in our cultural life, this is a revealing statistic." Professor Blainey said, "Do you know what has probably happened 10 cultural lire in Brisbane? It has suffered from Jack of exciting facilities for the performing and the visual arts - for those arts which depend heavily on expensive modern theatres and halls and galleries. Given the fact that of the mainland states, Queensland has far and away the most decentralised population, it has not been able to provide - as quickly as most other states- adequate modern cultural amenities in its capital city. "Queensland has its string of coastal cities, its inland cities to cater for. Queensland. in population, is more than Brisbane. In contrast Victorin is not much more than Melbourne: South Australia is not much more than Adelaide." The new cultural centre would be vital and would probably transform facets of the cultural life of Brisbane. It would attract thousands of people who previously had no interest in theatre, musicals, paintings and so on. Above all, it would give opportunities to people who had the interest but somehow were not attracted to leave their homes. An interesting pointer in the Australia Council's recent nation– wide survey was that in some· cultural areas Brisbane had the highest level of interest, but the least inclination to a11end a performance or exhibition. All that would change. In the performing arts and visual arts, Brisbane would probably cease to be the stay-at-home city of this continent. ... "The new cultural centre will h,ive ·greater impact here than a similar centre could possibly have in Sydney or Melbourne, It is much easier for an ambitious cultural centre to revitalise a c(ty..of this size than a city twice as big. • In 1990. a new poll of Australian cultural altitudes and interests would show Brisbane ahead of Sydney and Melbourne, he predicted. The Queensland Art· Gallery was essential to the success of the cultural centre. The Australia Council's poll showed that six of every I O pcople in Brisbane were interested in traditional painting. That was a verr high proportion, Professor Blainey saiJ. than five of every I interested in the craft graphy. More than 111 people had an inten·,, . drawings, and iq the Four in 10 had an European paintings, th "Here is an appct1t arts which, the poll al. being satisned. Here is 3 is satisfied less in Bri~ 101hcr capital city. Hero ch;1llenging environmc gallery. A line collectiu new gallery will draw "But let's be more ;11 and growing·collcction in this new gallery - a to, imaginatively - · "i gallery a source of prid Queenslandcrs and a s ·to visitors from abroad "In the last five year , Government has - governments - been on • fina~ciers o[ the am. makmg the ans accc;– thruughout Qucenslaml task. It cannot be perfo cheaply." That' was why the Gallery Foundation \\ ,1 With the people's sup a great gallery. And a in Brisbane then wouh