A conversation with curator Megan Williams

As UniSC celebrates 30 years of its Art Gallery and Collection, curator Megan Williams reflects on a remarkable journey that has transformed two artworks into a collection of more than 1,100 works valued at $8.5 million. She shares the milestones, people and partnerships that have shaped the collection and the vision guiding its future.

How fast has the UniSC art collection grown?

Pretty rapidly. It started with just two works back in 1995, before the Sunshine Coast campus had even opened its doors to students yet! Those first two pieces were a stone sculpture by Zimbabwean artist, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, and a series of wildlife photographs taken on campus by a local photographer named Gary Glover. Fast forward to today and we're sitting at 1,107 works in the collection valued at $8.5 million. So, the growth has been remarkable.

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori All the fish in the sea 2005. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. UniSC Art Collection. Donated through the Australian Government Cultural Gifts Program by John Mainwaring in 2012. © Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda/Copyright Agency, 2026. Photo: Mick Richards

There have been some real standout moments along the way. The first being when Sunshine Coast architect John Mainwaring donated 81 artworks, mostly by Australian Aboriginal artists, in 2012 including the monumental All the fish in the sea (2005) by Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori.

The biggest single-year jump was in 2015 when we received a bequest of 260 works from the estate of Arija and Richard Austin. That alone pushed the total collection value to almost $5 million, and it included works from some significant Australian artists including Jeffrey Smart, Lin Onus and Goobalathaldin Dick Roughsey.

And we're still evolving. In 2023 we commissioned our very first digital work through our UniSC Contemporaries program, which was an exciting milestone. It's a stunning sound-and-video work called Beeyali, created by Kabi Kabi artist, Lyndon Davis with UniSC academics, Dr Leah Barclay and Dr Tricia King. 

What’s the biggest factor in the Art Gallery’s success?

It comes down to community support. It started with the Sunshine Coast back when we only had our first campus, but as we've grown and opened new campuses, that support has spread all the way up to the Fraser Coast and down to Moreton Bay.

UniSC Art Gallery after redevelopment in 2020. Photo: Hossein Farahani

And when I say community support, I mean it in a real, tangible way. 83 percent of our collection has been donated over the past 30 years and on top of that, community fundraising is what gave us our bricks and mortar.

A $6 million purpose-built gallery at Sippy Downs that opened in 2004 became a reality through a hugely successful community fundraising campaign, then more recently, we received the Arija and Richard Austin bequest which helped fund a major redevelopment of the gallery in 2020 (pictured below).

At every single stage of our growth, the community has shown up. We wouldn't be where we are without them.

What was the first donated artwork to the collection?

Fittingly a series of Sunshine Coast landscapes including one of Hell’s Gate in Noosa National Park by Harry Marriott-Burton (1882-1979). They were donated by his wife Gwenda Lynn in 1997. After travelling extensively, Harry and Gwenda Lynn settled in Noosa in 1954 and became part of the region's cultural milieu. Harry was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London and his landscape works demonstrate his dedication to painting and ongoing fascination with the region's natural environment. 

Harry Marriott-Burton Hell's Gate, Noosa National Park n.d. Oil on board. UniSC Art Collection Donated by Gwenda Lynn Marriott-Burton in 1997. Photo: Carl Warner.

What’s the most divisive artwork?

Probably the late Sydney artist Adam Cullen’s Lightening Ridge Hare. The hare has gnarly teeth and claws and looks aggressive, so this might be why it’s confronting for some people. But young people really respond to it saying it’s “cool”. Cullen won the Archibald Prize in 2000 for a portrait of David Wenham and achieved fame and infamy in the art world before his untimely death at age 47 in 2012.

Adam Cullen Lightening Ridge Hare 2011. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas.  UniSC Art Collection. Donated by Gerhard and Ingrid Schnorbus in 2011.

What’s the most visited exhibition so far?

A national touring exhibition in 2024 titled OCCURRENT AFFAIR. It was developed by UQ Art Museum and featured works by the Brisbane Aboriginal artist collective, proppaNOW (pictured below). The title was a clever nod to a certain style of TV journalism, and it was provocative, political and compelling. It was such a great opportunity to bring the work of artists like Richard Bell, Vernon Ah Kee, Gordon Hookey, Laurie Nilson, Megan Cope and Jennefer Herd to the Sunshine Coast.

Installation view of OCCURRENT AFFAIR, a UQ Art Museum exhibition at UniSC Art Gallery in 2024. Photo: Carl Warner

We've also had a lot of love for our new media exhibitions. The Experimenta Triennial back in 2019 was hugely popular, and Strange Weather in 2023 went down really well too. And then just last year in 2025 we had this beautiful exhibition called Transfer, which looked at contemporary visual artists with connections to Southeast Asia. It explored textiles as a medium and featured some incredible artists including Eko Nugroho, Moe Satt and Arahmaiani. That one really resonated with people too. 

How does the uni decide what art to collect?

We have a formal policy that guides everything, but at the heart of it there are a few really clear priorities that shape what we collect.

First up, we're really focused on Australian artists, specifically works that have been made within UniSC's own lifetime, so from 1996 onwards. We like the idea that the collection is growing up alongside the university in a way.

Sam Cranstoun Albert Siepert Points Out Highlights of Apollo 10 Liftoff to Belgium King and Queen GPN-2002-000010 2023. Pencil on paper. UniSC Art Collection. UniSC Contemporaries commission supported by the De Deyne Family, 2025. Photo: Carl Warner. © Sam Cranstoun.

We also have a strong focus on Queensland artists more broadly, and within that we have a meaningful commitment to collecting works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. It’s something we take seriously and are proud of.

And then there's that local connection piece. Artists who have a direct connection to UniSC itself or to the regions where our campuses are. That feels important because it ties the collection back to the communities we talked about earlier, the ones who have supported us so much along the way.

Leonard Brown They now go naked from the waist up 2008. Oil on Belgian linen. UniSC Art Collection. Acquired in 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Leonard Brown. Photo: Mick Richards © Leonard Brown

Who’s the longest-serving volunteer at the gallery?

We have a big team of volunteers who help visitors daily, as well as during public programs and events. Wendy Tonkes is a former primary school teacher and principal from Sydney who will celebrate her 20-year anniversary volunteering with us in August. She loves the arts and her enthusiasm is infectious; she’s a hoot.

What’s an artwork that stands out for you?

That's a bit like asking me to pick a favourite child! But if pressed, I'd have to give a special mention to Michael Cook and his work.

Michael Cook Undiscovered #4 2010. Inkjet print on paper. UniSC Art Collection. Donated through the Australian Government’s Philanthropy Program by Paul Greenfield AO and Louise Greenfield in 2020. © Michael Cook.

Michael is actually a Sunshine Coast local who's had this remarkable career. He's shown his work right across Australia and internationally, and we're lucky enough to have 45 of his works in our collection.

One of the things I'm proud of is that when we reopened the Gallery after our 2020 redevelopment, we put on a survey of the first decade of Michael's practice. It felt like the perfect way to mark that moment, not just for us, but for Michael too. It was an important point in his career and a chance to show people that we have this incredible artistic talent right here in our own backyard.