Behind the Art

Locust Jones is a contemporary, Australian artist. For over 20 years, Locust's practice has woven layers of stories and images that replicate the frenetic pace at which society consumes everyday news and current affairs, in a variety of mediums. Jones' exhibition, To Bear Witness featured large scale vertical drawings cascading through RMOA’s Atrium Gallery. 18 October 2025 - 26 April 2026.

In 2025 Sally Smart transformed RMOA’s Long Gallery, responding to the monumental yet intimate scale of this space through exploration of the legacies of theatre and visual art.

Right of Reply: a response to 'Cane' exhibition at RMOA 28 February 2026 - 21 June 2026. Joella Warkill, Imelda Miller and Jacob McGuire in conversation with Dr Melinda Mann.

Artist, Wendy Mocke, in conversation with Dr Melinda Mann, First Nations Art Officer at RMOA in 2025.Mocke's work is on display in State of the Art: Reimagining Queensland from 19 July - 12 October 2025.The exhibition is an introspective and memory-honouring consideration of Queensland. Showcasing Queensland artists, it contests and explores the idea of the State in all of its conceptual and geographical character. Artists blur borders to clarify the meaning of Queensland through stories about people and places before and since colonisation. This diverse assembly of Queensland artists remind us of who and where we come from, and explore where we are going.Featuring James Bourbon, Darren Blackman, Rachel Burke, Ruth Cho, Jamie Congdon, Ernest Garrett, Naomi Hobson, Seinileva Huakau, Tara Lewis, Noel McKenna, Wendy Mocke, Sally Molloy, Glen O’Malley, Teho Ropeyarn, Joel Sam, Clare Jaque Vasquez, Judy Watson, and Keemon Williams.Co-curated by Robert Connell, Ashla Doherty, Melinda Mann, Jonathan McBurnie, Tessa McIntosh and Emily Wakeling.

Artist in Residence, Louise Lawrence, in conversation with Helen Kavanagh. Learn more about Lawrence's four week residency at RMOA and how works from the Collection inspired new directions in her artistic practice.About Louise LawrenceCurrently Lawrence resides in Mount Morgan on Ghungalu Country. Since encountering yellow fireclay on her property and its links to the historic gold mine brickworks she has been exploring the characteristics and varieties of local wild clay. It is with these clays that she creates sculptures and carved bowls which are bisque fired in her hand built wood fired kiln. She seeks to use sustainable methods for all her ceramic creations and prefers slip sgraffito decorations rather than glazes.Lawrence is passionate about supporting fellow artists and has recently organized the artist run school holiday workshop program for local school children in Mount Morgan. She frequently visits regional towns to engage new communities in pottery and supports local festivals and markets in collaboration with other local artists. Having taught Visual Arts at different high schools in Central Queensland she has recently ceased full time teaching to pursue art professionally and embrace home education for her youngest two children.

Join Dr Melinda Mann, First Nations Art Officer at RMOA, for a conversation with writers Daniel Kielly-Davis, Kusangalala Mkoka and Melissa Mills. Learn about how these three Central Queensland-based creative writers were commissioned to write and perform a poem in respose to D Harding's artwork, ‘Wall Composition on Darumbal’ (25 February 2022 - 20 July 2025), and listen to them read their poetic works. Video documenting this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2fUTxYzAs4

Learn more about artist Phoebe Paradise in this conversation with Jonathan McBurnie. Phoebe delivered two workshops at RMOA during 2025 and her work, FORTRESS, was exhibited in Maximum Madness at RMOA in 2024.About Phoebe ParadisePhoebe Paradise is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician and designer based in Brisbane, Australia; specialising in illustration, murals and public art installations. Phoebe’s practice explores the everyday poetics and visual identity of her hometown through surreal architectural renderings and suburban tableaus that border on speculative science fiction. Often playful and dripping with nostalgia, Phoebe’s body of work is hyper-niche, yet elicits a universal sense of belonging that has captured the imagination of her broad audience.

Artists in Residence, LeLarnie Hatfield and Joanna Joy, in conversation with Dr Melinda Mann, First Nations Art Officer at RMOA. Learn about how Hatfield and Joy's collaborative film project took inspiration from RMOA's Collection during their residency. About LeLarnie Hatfield and Joanna JoyLeLarnie Hatfield and Joanna Joy are collaborating on a project that seeks to turn the written works of poet and activist Judith Wright into a television series. The project will be set in Central Queensland and both filmmakers want to ensure local community perspectives are considered in the “World-building” of this series. “World-building” refers to the process of creating a world within a film or TV show, including the characters, locations and events. To ensure the world of the project is reflective of Central Queensland’s multi-lingual, multi-cultural history the artists are inviting local members of the community to share their perspectives throughout their residency. Hatfield and Joy are a creative duo who have spent the past four years collaborating on the creation of cross-cultural representations in film. Shot on Darumbal Country, their most recent work ‘Generations of Men’ has screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Flickerfest, Brisbane International Film Festival, Darwin International Film Festival and St Kilda Film Festival. This residency seeks to continue their long term creative collaboration on Darumbal Country. Hatfield has a long history of cultural leadership and facilitation. Whilst her most recent work uses the medium of film - the nature of Hatfield's cultural and community leadership has led her to work across dance, animation, literature and photography. Most recently nominated for the Kearney Group First Nations Film Creative Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Hatfield is an emerging practitioner who has already created a cultural impact with her work. Joy is an interdisciplinary artist with a passion for intersectional storytelling. Joy’s practice centers itself on community collaboration. Outside of Darumbal Enterprise, Joy has spent the last three years working within the Bus Stop Films community - facilitating accessible filmmaking and inclusive film sets. Most recently selected for the Accelerator Film Lab at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Joy is an emerging practitioner with growing recognition in the industry. Together these two artists combine their respective expertise and shared interest in facilitation to collaborate on the birth of their latest development. Returning to RMOA is a “full-circle” moment for these artists who have spent many hours taking inspiration from the newly built space and exhibitions.

Artist in Residence, Jodie van de Wetering, joins Easton Dunne for a conversation discussing their four week residency at RMOA. Learn more about how artworks selected from the Collection inspired the play that they worked on throughout their residency. About Jodie van de Wetering Jodie van de Wetering is a writer, performer and generator of creative chaos based on Darumbal Country in Rockhampton. Their laid-back storytelling style and sardonic wit is inspired by bush poets and yarnspinners, growing up with repeats of Doctor Who and The Goodies as babysitters, and being the generation that started school with rotary-dial phones and graduated with MySpace accounts. Jodie’s work reflects their confusing tangle of identities: neurodivergent, nonbinary, disabled, a solidly working class second-generation Australian, a hopeful dreamer and a grumpy grouch.van de Wetering’s work has concentrated largely on live performance, including stand up comedy, improv, and theatre both conventional and experimental. They have been part of several live comedy tours of Central Queensland organised by event producer Anna Brennan, and have performed at local events including Beef Australia, River Festival, and the Village Festival. They have several film credits to their name, working with Capricorn Coast-based Blue Eagle Productions on improv comedy web series Koch & Boules, feature film Lost and Found, and several short films.van de Wetering was born in Rockhampton and raised in the rural community of The Caves. After leaving the region to work for the ABC, they returned in 2013 and have since become an active member of the region's arts community. They organised Allsorts Open Mic, an open-access event providing stage time for new and emerging performers, and continue to support other local artists of all kinds while continuing their own practice.

Hear from artist Ken Done as you wander through the Ken Done: Poems from Home and Other Paintings exhibition.

Hear from artist Ken Done as you wander through the KenDone: Poems from Home and Other Paintings exhibition.

Hear from artist Ken Done as you wander through the Ken Done: Poems from Home and Other Paintings exhibition.

Hear from artist Ken Done as you wander through the Ken Done: Poems from Home and Other Paintings exhibition.