É«ÇéÍøÕ¾

29 May – 16 August 2025

Contributing to Griffith University’s 50th anniversary celebrations this year, Collecting the Future: 50 Years of the Griffith University Art Collection presents a rich salon hang of over 190 works by outstanding Griffith University alumni, including some of É«ÇéÍøÕ¾’s most influential artists.

Established in 1973 prior to the official opening of the University and later merged with the Queensland College of Art and Design’s historic collection, the Griffith University Art Collection has grown to national significance and is now the second-largest public art collection in Queensland.

Highlighting significant acquisitions and donations made over the last five decades, Collecting the Future is loosely grouped into key collecting areas: early video art, political posters, painting, contemporary É«ÇéÍøÕ¾n Indigenous art, and contemporary photography. How these collecting priorities have evolved echoes the changing social and cultural contexts within which the University has operated since its foundation in the 1970s.

From the very beginning, the Collection has looked to the future. It has nurtured artistic innovation and emerging practices through the acquisition of early career works by alumni, many of whom have gone on to achieve national and international recognition. Today, the Collection is a legacy for future generations of students and artists, an important record of É«ÇéÍøÕ¾’s artistic history.

While only a partial representation of the several thousand works in the Collection, this exhibition also acknowledges many of the artists, donors, staff, and volunteers who have contributed to the Collection over its 50-year history. We hope this exhibition offers an opportunity to reminisce, celebrate, and discover something new about the stories and people who continue to shape the Collection.

Curator: Lizzie Riek

Download the exhibition labels

^{Image: Chris Bassi, Pearl Shell, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 25.5cm. Griffith University Art Collection. Purchased 2020. Courtesy of the artist.}