About cultural collections

As the arts and cultural hub of the University, our collections, exhibitions and programs speak to the past while imagining the future.

Our purpose

Arts and culture have been a part of the fabric of the University of Tasmania since its founding in 1890.

This portal is a window to the vast and wide-ranging art and cultural activities from the University. We provide experiences to observe, explore and reflect on historically significant artefacts and art objects that help us to understand the world and our place in it.

As the caretakers to a constellation of museums, galleries and exhibitions across our colleges and campuses, our role is to conserve and display the collection in ways that inspire new routes of inquiry.

This portal is coordinated by the Library and Cultural Collections department in close collaboration with the University’s academic divisions, students, and community, and the broader cultural sector.

What we do

Collections care

The University is a custodian to over 100,000 objects across more than 20 collections.

Teaching through collections

Our collections of fine art, artefact, scientific and historical items foster object-based learning.

Exhibition and cultural programming

We organise exhibitions, campus displays, talks, and symposia, among other programs, that strengthen arts and culture.

Arts engagement with the community

Our projects are accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds – whether for study, curiosity or enjoyment.

Develop cultural and creative skills

Using creative pedagogy, we enhance transferrable skills such as critical looking, communication and creative thinking.

Who we are

At the University of Tasmania, creative thinking is a way of being. We honour our collective pasts and the objects that connect us to them, while engendering conversations about our present and future.

Our staff in the Library and Cultural Collections department combine expertise across curatorial, academia, librarianship, and collection management to care for and encourage engagement with our extensive cultural collection.

Connect with us