A nostalgic photo journey of Brisbane from the 1800s to present day will go on display at QUT this week on a huge 8m by 3m LED wall at The Cube at Gardens Point campus.
River City Stories will have an initial three-day run from October 1 to 3 and will then be added to The Cube's rotating schedule for the remainder of the year.
The Cube is a multi-wall, high-tech display space in QUT's Science and Engineering Centre that is open to the public and features digital interactive apps, research showcases and cultural exhibits.
The free River City Stories digital exhibition features old and new photos of inner Brisbane – including the city's streets, landmarks and mighty river – that can be browsed on the big screen and nearby interactive kiosks.
The photos are all from the QUT Digital Collections – an institutional and cultural archive that protects a treasure trove of images and documents from the university and around south-east Queensland and beyond.
Salvatore Fazio from the QUT VISER team (Visualisation and Interactive Solutions for Engagement and Research) said River City Stories brought together old and new technology.
"Our new large-scale, high-res LED wall and interactive displays will showcase the detail of these amazing old photos in ways never before possible," Mr Fazio said.
"River City Stories is about sharing Brisbane's history through visual storytelling – seeing where we've come from and how our city has taken shape.
"It reimagines archive access, transforming historical collections into immersive, visual experiences.
"We're turning hidden archives into engaging stories, bringing Brisbane's history to life for everyone to explore."
QUT Digital Collections librarian Jill Rogers said the exhibition brought the history of the city to life through comparisons of the same locations caught on camera in different decades – and even centuries.
"People can learn a huge amount about our city from these images," she said.
"There are photos of the Brisbane River, its bridges, city churches, hotels and gardens, and landmarks like Central Station and Parliament House … there's something for a variety of interests.
"All the photos were taken within the boundaries of a 1923 map of Brisbane that we have in the QUT Digital Collections – so within about 6km of the CBD."
River City Stories will also act as a "visual springboard" for people to dive deeper into the QUT Digital Collections, which is a free public resource accessed online by users around the world.
River City Stories will be open to the public from 10am to 4pm on October 1, 2 and 3. Entry is free. Ms Rogers will give a short talk about the exhibition at The Cube from 12noon to 12.30pm each of the opening days.
The exhibition will return during selected weeks later this year (check The Cube's weekly program for updates).
The Cube is located in P Block on QUT's Gardens Point campus at 2 George Street, Brisbane.
Photo at top of page: Story Bridge from Kemp Place, December 1954, by Jack Bain. QUT Digital Collections.
