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Brisbane Powerhouse

Contemporary arts centre in a heritage-listed 1920s power station on the river at New Farm, with theatres, a free year-round gallery, guided building tours, a store, three restaurants and its own river hub in front.

New Farm$$

  • Date night
  • Big group
  • Special occasion
  • Rainy day
  • With the kids

Photograph reused under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike, credited above and linked to its source. It has been resized and re-encoded for the web, and that modified copy is offered under the same licence.

Book a session

Performances are ticketed per event, with many sold through Ticketek. Building tours are booked on (07) 3358 8600, minimum group size 10, not available Sundays or public holidays. Accessibility in the venue's own words: "There is a drop off area in the Brisbane Powerhouse car park with level access to the Stores Building and lift access to the main building. All levels of Brisbane Powerhouse are accessible by lift. The Turbine Platform can be accessed via ramp." Accessible seating should be requested at the time of booking, a minimum of 24 hours in advance — "Please note that balcony seating in the Powerhouse Theatre is not wheelchair accessible." Companion cards are accepted unless otherwise stated. Wheelchair accessible toilets are on all levels, an assisted listening hearing loop can be requested at booking, and the venue runs Auslan interpreted and Relaxed Performances plus a published Access Key and Social Story.

Booking via direct · checked 2026-08-25

The story

Brisbane Powerhouse runs guided tours of the building it occupies: "Discover the history of our striking Modernist building, from the late 1920s when Brisbane Powerhouse supplied electricity for Brisbane's tramway system, to when underground artists, performers and the homeless inhabited the ruins from the 1970's to 2000, resulting in superb heritage-listed graffiti art." The venue's newest space is the Fairfax Studio — "the first ever purpose-built, year-round exhibition space for the venue in our history … constructed as a multi-use gallery to present a program of free contemporary art." The New Farm Park River Hub sits "on the river directly in front of Brisbane Powerhouse with easy vessel access for all things that float". Brisbane Powerhouse acknowledges "the Yuggera and Turrbal people, the First Nation Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather."

In their words, from their site· checked 2026-08-25

What you can do a sample

  • Guided building tour – adult$15 pp
    • 10+ players

    Guided tour of the heritage-listed building and its graffiti art. "A minimum group size of 10 guests applies to all tours. Tours are not available on Sundays and Public Holidays." Bookings on (07) 3358 8600.

  • Guided building tour – school groups up to Year 7$9 pp
    • 10+ players

    "$9 per person (teachers free)".

  • Guided building tour – school groups Year 8 and over$15 pp
    • 10+ players

    "$15 per person (teachers free)".

  • Fairfax Studio gallery

    "a program of free contemporary art" across installation, sound, video and visual art. "The Fairfax Studio is located on the ground floor of Brisbane Powerhouse, across from the Underground Theatre and is accessible by stairs or lift."

  • Theatre, music, comedy and festival program

    Ticketed performances across the venue's theatres and festivals. Prices vary by event; individual event pages and Ticketek listings carry the fares.

Prices as at 2026-08-25. They change —the venue's own pricing is the authority.

Good to know

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Accessible bathroom
  • Licensed
  • Outdoor seating
  • Paid parking nearby

"Parking is limited at Brisbane Powerhouse. We encourage you to consider transport alternatives such as public transport, taxi, rideshare, shuttle bus, cycling, scooter, walking or river vessel." New Farm Park (enter from Brunswick Street) has 200 free spaces, gates open Mon–Fri 8.30am–11pm and Sat + Sun 6am–11pm with the exit gate open until 12.30am. The Brisbane Powerhouse Car Park (enter from Lamington Street) has 148 paid spaces and six accessible spaces for permit holders, and operates 24/7: "Less than 30 minutes parking is free at all times. Between 30 minutes and 3 hours, parking is $10 from 3am to 5pm daily. Between 3 hours and 12 hours, parking is $12 from 3am to 5pm daily. For parking from 5pm the flat night rate is $15. Lost Ticket $20".

Closest bus stop is Brunswick St at Oxlade Dr on route 196 (480m walk through New Farm Park); route 199 stops at Merthyr Rd at Hawthorne St (700m walk). Closest ferry terminal is New Farm Park at the end of Brunswick St (440m walk through New Farm Park). The venue is on the Newstead-New Farm Bikeway, which connects to the city centre via the New Farm Riverwalk, with secure bike racks outside the Stores Building.

Only what the venue states itself. Anything not listed here we haven't verified — worth a call if it matters.