Welcome to fabulous Brisvegas, Queensland

A couple of weeks ago I flew up to Brisbane for a conference for work. This was an annual conference run by the Australia Council for the Arts, bringing together my peers from almost all the arts organisations in the country, including theatres, symphony orchestras, productions companies, festivals, galleries and the rest. It was fantastic to spend three days away from the office meeting people who are all engaged with finding audiences for the arts in Australia. I won't go into the content here as it probably won't mean much to you folks far from Aus, but while I was in Brisbane I also tried to see a bit of the city.

The Brisbane skyline

Brisbane is about an hour's flight north of Sydney, in slightly warmer climes, and is quite a modern city built on a river. I spent most of my time there on the South Bank, which was the arts district, but was creepily similar to London's South Bank, with its concrete brutalist square architecture and a wheel that seemed a copy of the London Eye.

South Bank: London or Brisbane?

The Brisbane Eye

Brisbane's GOMA is a star attraction, the Gallery of Modern Art. I really enjoyed a Ron Mueck exhibition there. If you don't know him, he creates incredible lifelike human sculptures from silicone and real hair, only their dimensions are either tiny or absolutely huge. I found his work unnerving while strangely intriguing.

Two very little old ladies

A giant newborn

I also caught an exhibition from London's V&A museum (which I do miss terribly!) of Hats through the ages. It was beautifully curated and quite astonishing -- hats from the 1200s were placed next to Dior creations from last season -- and the through lines were wonderful. A surprise hit of my trip.

Hats galore!

It's taken me four years to make it up to Brisbane, and although it was a flying visit for work, I made sure I popped in on the rellies. Yes, my mum's cousin Sean lives in Brisbane, and I stayed with him and his 12-year-old daughter Caitlin, and their very cute Guide dog that they're training.

Trainee guide dog for the blind

It was a very brief trip but I really enjoyed myself. The conference was energising, and I got to see enough of the city to make me want to plan a return visit.

Sean and Caitlin saying goodbye at the station

I'm now back in Sydney riding out the winter and longing for the Spring. My new heater's making it more bearable, but it's so cold! The other day it got as low as 6 degrees and I just couldn't get warm. What a softie I've become!

cx