About the exhibition
Take a drive down memory lane, celebrating the milestones we’ve shared with our cars, the adventures across bitumen, sand and dirt, and the enduring passion driven by our love for them.
You never forget your first car. The thrill of turning the key for the first time, the radio crackling to life, and the exhilarating sense that the open road is suddenly yours to claim.
Cars are part of life’s most unforgettable moments. From a baby’s first trip home, to the flashy ride for your school formal, the vintage wedding car, and even that final farewell in a hearse, our rites of passage often unfold behind the wheel, in the backseat, or right there in the driveway.
Experience State Library’s remarkable collections dating from the early 1900s through to the gas-guzzling muscle cars and off-roading 4WDs of the late 1970s. Watch rare home movies of people and their cars as well as a huge array of motoring memorabilia and historic photographs. Embrace car culture through an eye-catching display of artworks loaned from across the state, including an inflatable car by renowned Queensland artist Robert Moore, and a large display of historic and contemporary licence plates.
Don’t stall – cruise into Driven, our free summer exhibition, fuelled by nostalgia.
Free exhibition
6 Dec 2025 – 8 Feb 2026
slq Gallery, level 2
9am – 5pm Monday to Friday
10am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday
slq Gallery, level 2
Acknowledgements
Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) is the major sponsor of State Library of Queensland's Driven exhibition.