The opening of the Landmarks exhibition at the Powerhouse was my first visit there. So wonderful that the city of Brisbane has had the smarts to invest in itself. As the mayor of St Louis once said, "The best investment a city can make in itself is in culture."

The Powerhouse facilitates a great sense of creativity. I had so many good ideas just walking through the door (or was it the red wine I had at lunch?). The architects responsible must be congratulated for maintaining the structure with all its' imperfections - the broken off corners, the graffiti on the walls, even the the pilons out the front look like art. The classic romantic look of old European decay...hmmm there's something about it.

The Landmarks exhibition was opened by Michael Eather who curated the exhibition which showcased the creme de la creme of Aboriginal art. The paintings were fabulous - but why so few? There is so much 'space' in the Powerhouse that there could have been twice as many paintings around the place. Given the abundance of Aboriginal Art (and I mean really good art) around, one wonders about the thinking behind the size of the exhibition. However, it was nevertheless an inspiring experience to wander through the building and out onto the terrace overlooking the river, sipping (more) red wine from the makeshift bar upstairs and stumble into the lower echelons and discover another exhibition of photographs of the old building beautifully mounted with frosted green glass.

Whomever decided the overall design of the Powerhouse building is an artist themselves - a Zen Master even and we who love the facilitation of cultural acitivity in a hitherto Philistine environment are overjoyed at the opportunity to imbibe more divine awakening experiences in the future.

- Ruby Thunder

Brisbane Powerhouse Website