Marking Time: 30 Years of the UniSC Art Collection

Presented for UniSC’s 30th Anniversary year.

Over three decades, the UniSC Art Collection has grown alongside the University itself. From early acquisitions reflecting a young institution’s ambitions, to recent works that respond to place, sustainability and contemporary practice, the Collection is more than a catalogue of individual works; it is a living archive that keeps time with the institution and its communities.

With more than 1,000 works, the UniSC Art Collection is now the most extensive public art collection on the Sunshine Coast. To mark UniSC’s 30th anniversary, Marking Time presents over 100 works drawn from the Collection. The exhibition highlights key areas of the Collection, including contemporary Australian Indigenous art, contemporary photography, local stories and Queensland art. Together, these works trace how UniSC’s collecting priorities have expanded in response to shifts in contemporary art practice and evolved with the institution’s changing landscape and priorities.

The title gestures to the act of keeping records and the way art registers the passage of time. Marking Time is a pause for reflection, an invitation to look back, look closer, and look forward, and to acknowledge and celebrate the generosity of the many individuals who have supported the growth of UniSC and the Collection.