FireWorks Gallery

Three Decades at FireWorks: A Brisbane Gallery Story

FireWorks Gallery has been running in Brisbane since 1993 in a converted concrete warehouse at 9/31 Thompson Street in Bowen Hills, QLD 4006. The raw space with its striking double-storey void works brilliantly for hanging contemporary art. The gallery came up during Brisbane's early push to build its own cultural scene, growing out of connections to Campfire Group consultancies. From the start, it set out to tackle what the founders called 'Aboriginal Art & Other Burning Issues', and that framing still informs what gets shown on the walls today.

Michael Eather has been running the place since the beginning, and in 2003 The Bulletin's Arts & Entertainment Smart 100 called him out for his work in contemporary art. The gallery presents Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists side by side, which creates conversations and context that collectors and visitors actually value. After thirty years, it's evolved past being just a place to sell paintings. It's now a cultural institution that seriously engages with different voices and perspectives in Australian art.

Indigenous, Contemporary and Portraiture Work

You'll find work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, many of them established names whose pieces sit in the National Gallery of Australia and Queensland Art Gallery collections. Emily Kngwarreye, Barbara Weir, Dorothy Napangardi, and Minnie Pwerle have all shown here over the years. The gallery also carries contemporary portraiture alongside abstract, figurative and expressionist work, so there's plenty of range in what's on offer at any given time.

The recent exhibitions Samantha Hobson's Wuntalpa Time and David Paulson's Artist Portraits both draw on the gallery's two main threads: Indigenous storytelling and contemporary portraiture. What makes FireWorks different is the stockroom out back. It's packed with paintings, sculpture, installations, works on paper and new media that aren't on the walls. This setup lets collectors and visitors browse and find pieces that resonate with them personally. The gallery also builds collections for private and corporate buyers, working with both established and emerging artists so clients can get involved with an artist's work at whatever stage of their career.

Exhibition Program and Publishing

FireWorks Gallery, Bowen Hills, QLD 4006, puts on a regular rotation of shows that work for serious collectors, art enthusiasts, and people just getting interested in art. The gallery's got three decades of exhibitions in the archives, stretching back to 1993. Beyond hanging pictures on walls, FireWorks takes on bigger work. It coordinates public and private commissions for artists, runs collaborative projects, and publishes limited-edition print folios from estates like those of Lin Onus and Vincent Serico.

The gallery's started commissioning limited-edition sculptures too, which has opened up what contemporary Australian art can look like and how people get to experience it. This mix of exhibitions, publishing, commissions and collection building means FireWorks operates as a cultural producer rather than just a shop. You can go for different reasons. Want to expand a collection? Commission a piece? Check out what's happening in contemporary Australian art right now? There are ways in for all of that.

Bowen Hills and the Warehouse Space

Bowen Hills has morphed into a genuine creative hub in Brisbane, and FireWorks Gallery on Thompson Street has been central to that shift. The converted warehouse space with its soaring double-height void works brilliantly for what gets shown there. That kind of industrial building gives you the breathing room that artists and galleries need, and big works and installations simply have more room to exist. It changes how you experience the art, and the building itself becomes part of the whole thing, connecting what's happening inside to the neighbourhood around it.

Visiting FireWorks Gallery

They keep things moving with regular new shows and generous storage space, so you'll generally find something different each visit. Art collectors, practising artists, and curious visitors all find the gallery staff knowledgeable and welcoming. Thirty years of working between Aboriginal art and contemporary work gives them real credibility if you're serious about understanding what Australian artists are actually doing right now.