Brisbane’s cultural spaces are beckoning us inside this autumn, with award-winning and thought-provoking exhibitions at QAGOMA, including kith and kin by Archie Moore. Onespace has two textile exhibitions from First Nations weavers. There’s a survey exhibition of Queensland painter Leonard Brown. Plus, soon there’ll be 40 highlights from Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery on display in a Queensland-exclusive exhibition at Hota. 

Inside Pompeii: Origins of a European Way of Life, Hota

While we were baking sourdough and playing Wordle, Italian artist Luigi Spina spent his Covid lockdown taking photos of the ruins of Pompeii. While the World Heritage site was closed to the public – as most places were – Spina was granted access to photograph hundreds of spaces using a purpose-built camera. At Hota, visitors can ogle a selection of those evocative images of the ancient city, empty of visitors, including intricate frescoes featuring chickens, dogs and ducks. 

Until May 31. Free. 

Leonard Brown – Painting the Celestial, Ipswich Art Gallery

A Brisbane-based painter who lived in Ipswich for 20 years, Leonard Brown is a local legend and an accomplished artist working in contemporary abstraction and Byzantine religious iconography. His works range from two-toned minimalistic canvases to golden-beaming depictions of John the Baptist. Painting the Celestial is the first comprehensive retrospective of his work, charting more than five decades. Ipswich Art Gallery is even creating a golden “sanctuary” in which to hang the artist’s more sublime pieces.

From March 28 to June 14. Free. 

A Bigger View, HOTA

Explore a selection of monumental landscape works from the National Gallery of Australia in this large-scale exhibition. Take in David Hockney’s A Bigger Grand Canyon and Imants Tillers’s Mount Analogue, alongside pieces by other revered figures such as Bridget Riley and Australians Sally Gabori and William Robinson. This Gold Coast show presents diverse approaches to landscape painting, offering a fresh perspective on the cornerstone genre that has shaped Australian art history.

Until June 21, 2026. Ticketed

Olafur Eliasson: Presence, QAGOMA

Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is known for his immersive installations that draw on elements of water, light and air temperature to transport viewers to a new realm. This Brisbane-exclusive exhibition delivers a multi-sensory journey that celebrates his three‑decade career. Visit to see, feel, hear and touch two much-loved QAGOMA works, including Riverbed – wear comfortable shoes to explore the rocky landscape and running water – and The Cubic Structural Evolution Project, an all-white Lego city perpetually built and rebuilt by visitors.

Until July 12, 2026. $14–33

Stories You Wear: Magpie Goose, Museum of Brisbane

Aboriginal-owned and -led fashion and social enterprise Magpie Goose has teamed up with the Museum of Brisbane to celebrate its ongoing collaborations with First Nations artists and designers. Directed by co-owners Amanda Hayman (Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon) and Troy Casey (Kamilaroi), this exhibition sees clothing used as a canvas for storytelling – and a vehicle for conversations. There’s a particular focus on works from South East Queensland communities, Jinibara and Quandamooka, including senior artists Sonja Carmichael and Belinda Close. Visit and explore the creativity, innovation and cultural expression that goes into each piece of the Magpie Goose collection.

Until October 5, 2026. Free 

This Moment: Highlights from the White Rabbit Collection of Chinese Contemporary Art, Hota

White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney showcases the private collection of philanthropist Judith Neilson, whose focus is experimental and political art from 21st-century China. Though White Rabbit’s exhibitions are always free, Neilson’s collection rarely travels beyond Sydney – until now. In a Queensland-exclusive, visitors to Hota will get to see 40 artworks from White Rabbit, including by ceramicist Geng Xue, multimedia artist Xu Zhen and video and installation artist Zhang Peili. Expect mind-bending pieces such as a 3D-printed Noah’s Ark, twisted and appearing to melt to the ground; neon and LED sculptures; and a haunting chorus of wooden chairs with mechanical arms. 

From April 18 to October 11. Free.

Archie Moore kith and kin, QAGOMA

Awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, Archie Moore’s kith and kin is a powerful and contemplative work that charts the artist’s family tree over 65,000 years. The hand-drawn chart is written in chalk on blackboard,and includes animals, plants and waterways – proving not only that Aboriginal people have the oldest continuous living culture but also that all living things are connected. A reflective pool sits in the middle as a memorial to First Nations people who have died in while incarcerated. There are also floating pages of coronial reports detailing Indigenous deaths in custody. It’s a stark reminder of the ongoing over-representation of First Nations people in Australia’s criminal justice system. This exhibition marks the first time kith and kin has been shown anywhere outside of Venice. 

Until October 18. Free.

Past Events

Konstantina: Mudang Butbut, One Space

South Brisbane’s One Space gallery is ringing in the year with Mudang Butbut by Konstantina (Kate Constantine), an exhibition exploring trees as metaphors for the living heart through acrylic paintings on linen. Konstantina is a Gadigal woman of the Eora Nation. Her work acts as repositories of memory, connection and resilience, as she invites viewers to consider the invisible threads that bind ancestry, land and the human heart. Konstantina’s works are part of collections in galleries across the globe, including Sydney’s Art Leven, Melbourne’s Mitchelton Gallery Of Aboriginal Art, London’s JGM Gallery and the Galerie Arts d’Australie in Paris.

Until January 24, 2026. Free

Under a Modern Sun, QAGOMA

Under a Modern Sun highlights the work of Queensland artists in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The exhibit focuses on the works of artists such as William Bustard, Kenneth Macqueen and Joe Rootsey, and explores their connections to interstate luminaries like Sidney Nolan and Max Dupain. There’s a specific focus on female artists such as Vida Lahey and Daphne Mayo. The major exhibition puts the beauty of Queensland on display through skilfully crafted tableaux.

Until January 25, 2026. Free

Ken Done: No Rules, HOTA

Ken Done is the youngest octogenarian in the game. For decades, his vibrant, rule breaking work are exuberant celebrations of colour and form. The aptly named Ken Done: No Rules includes pieces from the past 45 years, largely pulled from Done’s personal collection. The pieces capture everything from the grandeur of Aussie landscapes to the quiet comfort of the artist’s home and garden. Also in the exhibition is a series of outfits from local designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales of Romance was born, who collaborated with done in 2023 for their “Done Zone” collection. 

Until Feb 15, 2026

Nicole Slater: Rose Gold, HOTA

Australian artist Nicole Slater hosts a solo exhibition, showcasing a series of large-scale equestrian portraits. Both a professional thoroughbred breeder and self-taught painter, Slater reflects on her deep connection to horses through her work. Alongside her husband Billy, Slater cares for rescue horses and other wildlife in need at their rural Victorian property. A sharp understanding of equine anatomy informs a remarkable physical accuracy in each of Slater’s portraits – the fading tones of sunset also bring inspiration as she captures warmth and light in each work

Until March 8, 2026. Free

Lost in Palm Springs, Ipswich Art Gallery

The mid-century modern architecture of Palm Springs, California is the subject of Australian writer and conceptual artist Dr Greer Honeywill’s national touring exhibition. It brings together multidisciplinary works from 14 internationally recognised artists, photographers and thinkers, including Kate Ballis, Tom Blachford, Anna Carey, Sam Cranstoun, Paul Davies, Rosi Griffin, Vicki Stravrou, Robyn Sweaney and Gosia Wlodarczak. Iconic cacti and desert landscapes also feature heavily throughout the pieces.

Until March 8, 2026. Free

Christopher Bentley – Machine, Man, Ipswich Art Gallery

Ipswich-based digital artist Christopher Bentley blends obsolete media, interactive digital works and sculptural forms to deliver this technology-driven exhibition. The artist invites his audience to step into the body of a cyborg – part flesh and part machine – and through this experience, he interrogates our shifting relationship to memory, ownership and legacy.

Until March 15, 2026. Free

The Grass Tides, Onespace

Paula Savage, a Kala Lagaw Ya-speaking artist from the Kubin Community on Moa Island in the Torres Strait, weaves incredibly vibrant sculptures and vessels from raffia and seagrass cord – including jellyfish, an anchor as tall as the artist, and baskets decorated with painted seed pods. In her second exhibition at Onespace, you’ll find objects made using her self-taught “one twist” weaving method, as well as paintings that echo the woven patterns seen in her textural works. 

Until April 11. Free.

Giibum, Gulayi Murmurings – Story Bags, Onespace

Also at Onespace is an exhibition of gulayi (women’s bags), drawing on traditional techniques and stories, by Quandamooka weaver Sonja Carmichael. The artist works with materials from the natural environment, including freshwater swamp reeds, and discarded fishing lines or “marine debris”. Her use of marine debris is a statement on the ways humans are mistreating the environment, and a reminder of our responsibility to care for Country. She also uses shells, banksia nuts and seed pods to decorate or fill the sculptural dillybag designs. The exhibition showcases a range of Carmichael’s sculptural bags, from colourful, textural shapes to traditional ungaire (swamp reed) mission bags. 

Until April 11. Free.

Shimmer by Gerwyn Davies, Museum of Brisbane

Originally created for Brisbane’s Melt Festival and on display until mid-April, this exhibition of lively photographic portraits was created in collaboration with trans and gender diverse young people from Open Doors Youth Service. Each participant worked with Sydney-based artist Gerwyn Davies to create a shimmering sculptural outfit – complete with abstract face coverings and extravagant headwear – before he took their photos. The result is a series of spectacular, anonymous images where the subjects are both seen and unseen.

Until April 19. Free. 

Editor's note: This article was published on January 20, 2026 but was updated on April 24, 2026 to include new exhibitions and updated information.