Talk GOMA – 20 Years On

Gallery of Modern Art, September 2024 / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA

Gallery of Modern Art, September 2024 / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA

/ View full image

When

6.00 – 7.00 pm, Thu 16 Jul 2026
View Calendar

Where

Gallery of Modern Art, Cinema A

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

What to Expect

Admission

Free

About

Twenty years ago, the opening of a new building on the banks of the Brisbane River transformed Queensland's cultural life.

To mark the Gallery of Modern Art's 20th anniversary, join GOMA architects Kerry Clare and Lindsay Clare and artist Tony Albert in conversation with QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM. Together, they will reflect on GOMA as both an architectural landmark and a public space in dialogue with the people, art and ideas that bring it to life.

For two decades, GOMA has been reshaped by exhibitions, programs and artist commissions that transform how audiences experience the building. This conversation will explore the evolution of GOMA, from the architects’ original vision to the recent addition of Tony Albert and Nell’s play sculpture The Big Hose 2022–25, and reflect on its significance as a cultural home for all Queenslanders.

This event is free and unbooked. Seating is limited, available on a first-in, first seated basis. To ensure equal access for all, seats cannot be saved. Queueing for the event will commence at 5.30pm, with seating to commence at approximately 5.45pm. In addition to the live event in Cinema A, the session will be live streamed to Cinema B and recorded for release on QAGOMA’s YouTube channel.

This program is presented in collaboration with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Brisbane Open House, and is generously supported by the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation

Kerry Clare / Image courtesy: Kerry Clare

Kerry Clare / Image courtesy: Kerry Clare / View full image

Kerry Clare | Founding Director, Clare Design

Kerry Clare is a highly respected architect and a leading voice in public cultural design ion Australia. She is a founding director of Clare Design, established in 1979 with her partner Lindsay Clare. Over more than four decades, she has contributed significantly to contemporary Australian architecture through work that is specific to place. It is their intention to make buildings that connect people to place through an architecture that sustains them in the broadest sense.

Lindsay Clare / Image courtesy: Lindsay Clare

Lindsay Clare / Image courtesy: Lindsay Clare / View full image

Lindsay Clare | Founding Director, Clare Design

Lindsay Clare is a distinguished Australian architect and co-founding director of Clare Design, a practice established in 1979 with his partner Kerry Clare and recognised nationally for design excellence and environmental performance. Clare studied architecture part-time at Queensland University of Technology in the 1970s while working with renowned Queensland architect Gabriel Poole—an experience that shaped his enduring commitment to climate-responsive design. His architectural approach prioritises natural light, ventilation, and a strong relationship between building and place.

Tony Albert / Image courtesy: Tony Albert

Tony Albert / Image courtesy: Tony Albert / View full image

Tony Albert | Artist

A Girramay, Yidindji, Kuku Yalanji man, Tony Albert is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists with a longstanding interest in the cultural misrepresentation of Aboriginal people. He is a cultural leader, both as an artist and a curator. Drawing on both personal and collective histories, his multidisciplinary practice considers the ways in which optimism might be utilised to overcome adversity. He courageously engages in difficult conversations to shed light on problematic histories and current injustices faced by First Nations people. Albert is acknowledged industry wide as a valued ambassador for Indigenous community and culture. He is the 2025 Artistic Director for the 5th National Indigenous Art TrienniaI: After The Rain for the National Gallery of Australia.

Chris Saines CNZM, Director, QAGOMA | Photograph: J Rucki © QAGOMA

Chris Saines CNZM, Director, QAGOMA | Photograph: J Rucki © QAGOMA / View full image

Chris Saines CNZM | Director, QAGOMA

Chris Saines has been a director, collection manager, educator and curator at leading Australian and New Zealand galleries for more than 40 years. Director of QAGOMA since 2013, he has overseen exhibitions by Robert MacPherson, Gerhard Richter, Sally Gabori, Gordon Bennett and Judy Watson, and led 2021’s ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’. In this time, he has guided the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art through four editions, and led the acquisition of major works by James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson. He was appointed a Doctor of the University by QUT in 2024. He is currently a member of the Brisbane Economic Development Agency’s Better Brisbane Alliance.

What to Expect

Here’s what to expect at this event.

Everyone is welcome! Please contact events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au in advance of the program if you have any access needs or queries about the event. Find out more about Accessibility at QAGOMA and planning your visit.

Participation and content

  • This event is free and unbooked. Seating is limited, available on a first-in, first seated basis. To ensure equal access for all, seats cannot be saved. Queueing for the event will commence at 5.30pm, with seating to commence at approximately 5.45pm. In addition to the live event in Cinema A, the session will be live-streamed to Cinema B.
  • You are welcome to come with a friend or by yourself. Many people attend the Gallery solo.
  • We ask all attendees to be kind, respectful and courteous to all participants, speakers and staff at this event. This program will be monitored by QAGOMA staff to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our attendees, speakers and staff.

Sensory aspects and Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available at this event for those with accessibility requirements. Please contact events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au for more information.
  • Speakers will use an amplified microphone. Please let us know in advance if you are hard of hearing so we can make this talk accessible for you.
  • A screen/projection will be used during the event.
  • This event will be held in Cinema A, which is a 220 seat theatre space, the lights will be turned down on the audience during the event. You can leave the space at any time and re-enter the event.
  • The Gallery air conditioning is set to 21°C to conserve the artworks.
  • This event will be photographed and filmed by QAGOMA staff. If you do not wish to be photographed or filmed, please advise a QAGOMA staff member on arrival.