Students studying anywhere in Australia or overseas will have online access to details of artworks in The University of Queensland's Art Collection from February 15.
UQ Art Museum director, Dr Campbell Gray said the launch of The University of Queensland Art Collection Online would provide access to the records of some 3000 works of art, including approximately 800 digital images.
This launch is the culmination of a two-year project, during which copyright permissions were obtained to reproduce artworks, artworks were photographed, records checked, and the database prepared for public access.
“Opening up public access to the Art Collection not only demonstrates the University’s commitment to sharing the Collection as a major public resource, but also the Art Museum’s resolve to expand the educational reach of the Museum,” Dr Gray said.
“Those at UQ studying Art History and Museum Studies will have access to information relevant to their studies, but so too will students in Townsville, Darwin or Los Angeles – and they will be able to save and share their research."
“Previously we had no means of making the catalogue of artworks and reproduction images publicly accessible without assistance from our staff,” the Art Museum’s Collections Coordinator Kath Kerswell said.
“The Collection Online enables students, researchers and the general public to access the same database information as curators, exhibitions, and collections staff,” she said.
The University of Queensland’s Art Collection began to be developed in a systematic way in the early 1940s, and is now the second-largest public art collection in Queensland.
Details of artworks that have entered the Collection through purchase, bequest and gift, including those works gifted under the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, will be available through The University of Queensland Art Collection Online.
“We are particularly pleased that artworks that have been so generously given by donors will be continuously available to a wide audience,” Dr Gray said.
To use The University of Queensland Art Collection Online and follow the links.
Media: Ms Michele Helmrich, Email: m.helmrich@uq.edu.au or phone +61 7 334 68759
