Winner

Museum of Brisbane

Micro Museum

In March 2025, Museum of Brisbane (MoB) launched the Creative Space—an innovative, all-ages destination for hands-on exploration, creativity, and connection. As a permanent, free-entry space grounded in universal design principles, it reflects MoB’s commitment to inclusive, informal learning and audience-first engagement.

The inaugural activation, Micro Museum, invites visitors to become curators of their own miniature exhibitions using thousands of tactile objects. Inspired by MoB’s major exhibition Precious, it blends nostalgia, storytelling, and playful taxonomy to make museological concepts like collecting and categorising accessible through open-ended play. With magnetic walls, archival imagery, and minimal didactic instruction, the space fosters intergenerational discussion, storytelling and sensory-rich discovery. 

Highly Commended

Living Museum of Logan

Tattoo: Story Lines

Tattoos: Story Lines is a powerful and intimate exhibition presented by the Living Museum of Logan, celebrating the personal and cultural significance of tattoos within one of Australia’s most diverse communities. Featuring large-scale photographic portraits by Genya Baikaloff and unedited first-person narratives, the exhibition centres the voices of eight Logan residents, each sharing the story behind their tattoos—stories of identity, heritage, loss, pride, and belonging.

The exhibition reflects Logan’s multicultural identity, with a strong focus on the sacred Samoan practice of Tatau. Through deep community collaboration, the Museum was granted rare access to document a live Tatau session led by renowned Tufuga Su’a Faamanatu Suluape. This experience, paired with a live public demonstration and storytelling, offered audiences a rare and respectful insight into Samoan cultural protocols and values. The exhibition also featured Indian Henna (Mehendi) traditions, further broadening cultural representation.

Finalist

Bundaberg Regional Galleries

The Closet

In June 2024, Bundaberg Regional Galleries launched The Closet, a bold and deeply resonant community engagement program and exhibition that addressed the need for greater visibility and support for the LGBTQI+ community in the Bundaberg region. Curated by Carrie McCarthy, the exhibition featured works by 10 LGBTQI+ artists, including Troy-Anthony Baylis and Patrick Lester—both of whom spent formative years in Bundaberg. Their return to exhibit in their hometown was emotionally powerful, underscoring the exhibition’s personal and cultural significance.

Planned to coincide with Pride Month, The Closet emerged in response to community feedback about the lack of local LGBTQI+ representation. Despite facing public criticism and calls to cancel the program, the Galleries remained steadfast in their commitment to inclusivity and opened the exhibition to an audience of 80, many of whom were first-time visitors.