Proposed Research
Argument
Despite the growing recognition of artist books as significant works in contemporary art collections, museums continue to struggle to effectively display, facilitate engagement with, and provide access to these works. Artist books are inherently multi-dimensional objects, intended to be handled, read, and experienced sequentially, yet institutional imperatives of preservation, risk management, and resource limitation often restrict their use to static display or limited consultation. As a result, existing exhibition and access models frequently diminish the experiential and conceptual intentions of artist books, creating a disconnect between the object, the institution, and its audiences.
Within the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), there has been limited critical examination of how institutional policies, curatorial practices, and conservation frameworks shape the visibility and accessibility of artist books in the collection. While digital surrogates and mediated engagement strategies are increasingly employed, their effectiveness in addressing issues of materiality, reader interaction, and equitable access remains underexplored. This research addresses this gap by critically analysing current practices at QAGOMA and situating them within broader museum and book arts discourse, with the aim of developing more informed, sustainable, and ethically grounded approaches to the display and access of artist books in museum collections.
Thesis Proposal
This research investigates the display, engagement, and access of artist books within the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) collection, focusing on the tensions between the material specificity of artist books and institutional practices of preservation, exhibition, and public access. Artist books occupy an ambiguous position within museum contexts, functioning simultaneously as art objects, reading materials, and archival items. Through an examination of current and historical display strategies at QAGOMA, this project will analyse how curatorial, conservation, and institutional frameworks shape the visibility, interpretation, and use of artist books, and how these practices influence audience engagement.
Employing a qualitative, object-based research methodology, the study will draw on selected case studies from the QAGOMA collection, supported by archival research and semi-structured interviews with curators, conservators, and educators. The research will be situated within theoretical frameworks from museum studies, book arts scholarship, and access and participation theory. By critically assessing existing models of display and access, the project aims to offer new insights into sustainable and ethically informed approaches to exhibiting and mediating artist books in museum collections, balancing conservation demands with meaningful public engagement.