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Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery was established in 1937, making it the oldest public art gallery in regional Queensland. In 1994, the gallery relocated from Toowoomba City Hall into its own purposely-refurbished, award-winning facility next door. Owned and operated by Toowoomba Regional Council, the gallery is located in the heart of the city and is surrounded by attractive inner-city parks with only a short stroll across the Civic green to Toowoomba City Library.
The Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is reopening on more days from Saturday 1 August 2020 with changed opening times.
Your Gallery experience may be different from what you are used to, but your safety is our main priority. As we all adjust to a new way of sharing art, we ask for your patience and understanding.
If you do not feel well, please do not visit the Gallery.
Please consider what you bring as cloaking facilities will not be available.
Bags or objects over 40 x 40cm are not permitted in galleries in the Toowoomba Region.
Gallery tours and all other public programs are not available
Sales of artworks will not be conducted 'on premises' but artist details for sales will be available on request
We encourage you to bring your own pen or pencil to complete your contact information as required
In order to collect visitor’s personal information as required by the State Government, while remaining compliant with the Privacy Act, the gallery will provide forms that are printed with a template requiring name, address, phone number and time and date. After you complete your information, please place it directly into the envelope provided.
Collection Notice: Toowoomba Regional Council is collecting your personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) for the purpose of contact tracing as required by the Queensland Government Health Directive. This information will be kept for a period of at least 56 days. The information provided will be accessed by authorised members of Toowoomba Regional Council and provided to public health officers, if required.
The counter area where you complete your paperwork will be wiped between uses. Please use your own pen or pencil where possible.
To ensure the health and well-being of our visitors and our team we are putting in place additional safety measures. These include:
Please note that in complying with coronavirus restrictions we currently cannot cloak any items. Bags or objects over 40 x 40cm are not permitted to be carried in the galleries. We appreciate your support in caring for the collections by leaving large items at home.
Please help us protect our community by:
And, please, if you do not feel well, please do not visit our gallery facilities
Thank you for your continued support for Galleries in the Toowoomba region and for helping to keep everyone in our community safe and well.
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery - Contact us
Bolton Reading Room (housing the Lionel Lindsay Library) Closed until further notice
531 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, beside City Hall. Open in Google Maps.
Parking is available in Ruthven Street and in nearby off-street car parks.
Access for disabled is available at street level, with a lift leading to the upper floor. Toilet facilities cater for visitors using wheelchairs and guardians tending babies and young children.
We have four different mailing lists you may like to subscribe to:
View the Toowoomba region's Events Register for all of our exhibitions and events.
The gallery houses three permanent collections - The Fred & Lucy Gould Collection, The Lionel Lindsay Gallery and Library and the Toowoomba City Collection.
The Fred and Lucy Gould Collection is an eclectic collection of approximately 350 works which was donated by Mr Fred Gould to the people of Toowoomba in 1950. His wife Lucy enjoyed drawing and painting, while Fred Gould served for some years as a trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery. The result of their interests can be seen in this collection which includes antique furniture, fine porcelain and glassware, gold and silverware, bronzes, drawings and paintings, and many other items.
Mostly from Europe, Asia and Australia the pieces date from the early 1700s to the 1930s, and some of Lucy Gould's own works are included. The importance of this community asset is well realised by Toowoomba City Council which, since the late 1980s, has carried out a program of conservation to ensure that the Fred and Lucy Gould Collection will be preserved for future generations, as an important element of the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.
Named in honour of Sir Lionel Lindsay, this unique collection was opened by the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, in 1959. It was originally assembled by Toowoomba resident and friend of Sir Lionel, Mr William Bolton MBE, whose dedication has left the city with a remarkable legacy.
The art collection features over 400 art works by members of the Lindsay family and many other significant Australian painters, including Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts and Rupert Bunny.
The library is of national importance and comprises rare print material including books, manuscripts and maps. The print collection holds records of voyages of discovery in the Pacific, the exploration and early history of Australia, and Australian art, literature and natural history.
The manuscripts embellish the print component of the Library. Included are such important documents such as letters written by explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, navigator La Perouse, and writer Henry Lawson as well as Lionel Lindsay's own papers.
The library (The Bolton Reading Room) is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11am - 3pm and on Sundays from 1pm - 4pm.
The city collection imparts another dimension to the other permanent collections in the gallery by focusing principally on 20th century Australian art.
Paintings, drawings, prints, photograph, ceramics, small scale sculpture and jewellery are all represented, with an emphasis on works by regional artists and with regional themes. The Dr Irene Amos OAM Collection - Amos Bequest is a recent major acquisition and now forms an important part of the overall catalogue of works.
Artists and craftspeople can gain encouragement and recognition from the Toowoomba Biennial Acquisitive Fine Art Award and the biennial Contemporary Wearables Jewellery Award. These are important events for both art lovers and participants, and provide acquisition opportunities for the city collection.
Guided tours of the gallery are available. Both individuals and groups are welcome and are encouraged to book at least two weeks ahead if a guide is required. The gallery can cater for students from preschool to tertiary level as well as community groups with a range of interests. Enquiries from educators who would like to tailor their visit to suit their program are most welcome. For more information on visiting the gallery as a group, guided tours or if you have a special request please email or contact us and ask for the gallery.
Please visit the Art Gallery education program page for more information on other educational initiatives on offer at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.
The Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery offers a space dedicated to the exhibition of new work by local artists. The Cam Robertson Gallery, named in honour of long-serving Gallery Trustee A. C. (Cam) Robertson OAM, gives local artists as well as curators, arts workers and arts organisations a space where they can develop and exhibit their creative projects in the heart of the city.
We encourage applications from local artists, curators, arts workers and arts organisations in the Toowoomba Regional Council area. To be eligible for this space, applicants must reside in the Toowoomba Regional Council area or have studied an accredited course at a recognised local educational institution in the Toowoomba Regional Council area within the last 12 months. Exhibition proposals must be made for the exhibition of new work which has not been exhibited previously.
Exhibition proposals for 2020 are now closed.
Other gallery spaces at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery are dedicated to the display of our permanent collections, touring exhibitions and gallery projects. At this stage we are not seeking applications or proposals from artists for our other Gallery spaces.
Contemporary Wearables Biennial Jewellery Award and Exhibition recognises and promotes innovation in design and use of materials in the creation of contemporary jewellery and adornment.
The award was established in 1989 by Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery with the help of the Toowoomba Gallery Society Inc. The award exhibition is curated by Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery which is owned and managed by Toowoomba Regional Council. The award is open to prominent and emerging jewellers from Australia and New Zealand. Award prize money was sponsored by the Toowoomba Gallery Society Inc. up until 2017, while works are acquired for Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery's Toowoomba City Collection.
The Contemporary Wearables ’21 exhibition will be in September 2021 at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.
To keep up to date with future awards, subscribe to the Contemporary Wearables Biennial Jewellery Award and Exhibition Mailing List.
This award exhibition brings together a diverse range of contemporary works created by jewellers, artisans and makers that are contemporary both in design and social commentary.
The 2019 award exhibition was juried by Simon Cottrell, Lecturer / Researcher, Gold and Silversmithing Workshop, ANU School of Art & Design; Claire Sourgnes, CEO Artisan; Chloë Powell, Curator and Exhibitions Manager, Craft Victoria / Co-founder and Director, Radiant Pavilion: Melbourne Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennial. The appointed judge for 2019 was Marian Hosking, Silversmith.
Congratulations to the following award winners:
Two awarded works have been acquired for the Toowoomba City Collection.
The following works were also acquired for the Toowoomba City Collection:
2019 Award Winner Melissa CAMERON / Corporate entity / corporeal entity 2017 / Neckpiece: stainless steel, vitreous enamel titanium / Reproduced by kind permission.
Contemporary Wearables '17 was juried by Dr Sabine Pagan, contemporary jeweller and interdisciplinary practitioner and Mr Kevin Murray, independent writer, curator and managing editor for Garland Magazine. The appointed judge for 2017 was Mr Phill Mason, Gem-Cutter, Goldsmith and Studio-Jeweller.
Winners
The three awarded works have been acquired for the Toowoomba City Collection.
2017 Award Winner Luke ABBOT / Mandible setting 2017 / articulated ring: titanium, 925 silver, gem / 2.8 x 2.1 x 0.7cm / Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery - Toowoomba City Collection 2207 / Acquired from Contemporary Wearables 2017 Biennial Jewellery Award & Exhibition / Reproduced by kind permission.
Contemporary Wearables '15 was juried by historian and artist-jeweller, Dr Dorothy Erickson and Assistant Curator, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Melanie Pitkin. 48 jewellers were selected from Australia and New Zealand. Sabine Pagan, contemporary jeweller and former Head of BA (Jewellery) at Charles Sturt University judged the award.
The following works were acquired for the Gallery’s Collection:
No student award was presented.
2015 Award Winner Christel VAN DER LAAN / Eureka 2014 / brooch – ceramic honeycomb, oxidised silver, gold, onyx, mirror, paint / 9.0 x 10.0 x 2.5cm / Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery - Toowoomba City Collection 2121 / Acquired from Contemporary Wearables 2017 Biennial Jewellery Award & Exhibition / Reproduced by kind permission.
Free guided tours of the gallery are available and we cater for students from kindergarten to tertiary level with a range of interests. Home-schooled and school groups of any year are welcome and are encouraged to book at least two weeks ahead if a guide is required. We encourage enquiries from educators who would like a tailored visit to suit their program.
Delivery can be flexible so if you have an idea, contact us to discuss your needs.
The gallery offers special access to artworks not currently on display for research and educational purposes. Schools wishing to view collection items that are not on display as part of their gallery visit should contact the gallery with at least a 48 hour notice to make a request. Access to items is not guaranteed but will be provided if possible.
Providing public access to the Bolton Reading Room for educational purposes is a key aspect of our service. We cater for a wide range of users from casual browsers to professional researchers. Gloves-on access is required and is by appointment only. To make an appointment or for further information, please contact the Bolton Reading Room on 07 4688 6693 during the gallery’s open hours.
