The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre
Designed for a new generation
A new generation University of Queensland landmark excelled in the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Architecture Awards 2006. The triple award-winning James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre, home of the University of Queensland Art Museum, is effectively Queensland’s public building for 2006.
The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre* (Wilson Architects)
– FDG Stanley Award for Public Buildings Architecture
– Conservation Award
– Public Building Architecture Award
*Adaptive reuse of the former Mayne Hall
See link to architecture awards
The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre is named in honour of the benefactors whose many donations to The University of Queensland included the land for the St Lucia campus. Formerly Mayne Hall, the Centre was transformed into a well-appointed art museum with a significant donation from The Atlantic Philanthropies and officially opened in April 2004.
 
Mary Christison
Self portrait c. 1870
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The University of Queensland Art Museum (UQAM) was established in 1976 to house the art works collected by The University of Queensland since the 1940s. Located in The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre, adjacent to the University's Great Court, the UQAM researches, exhibits and publishes the work of significant Australian and, in particular, Queensland artists.
The University was one of the first in Australia to acquire works of art and to use bequest funds for this purpose. Today, with more than 2,500 works by Australian and international artists, the University Art Collection is Queensland's second largest public art collection. With the move to new, larger premises, the UQAM is developing a unique additional focus to its collection – the National Collection of Artists' Self-Portraits, the first of its kind in Australia.
