QUEENSLAND.- Premier and Arts Minister Anna Bligh announced the arts heart of Queensland, the Cultural Centre at South Bank, will reopen to the public on Wednesday, February 16, after it was closed due to flood damage.

“Since flood waters inundated the lower-lying facilities of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Queensland Museum South Bank, Queensland Art Gallery, State Library of Queensland and Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), a team of contractors and staff have been working round-the-clock to get the Centre reopened,” the Premier said.

“The collections were kept safe and secure from floodwaters but all of the five buildings sustained minor damage, particularly to the complex electrical and mechanical systems.

“With more than 3.9 million visits recorded across the precinct annually, we wanted to make sure these buildings and their popular exhibitions were safe and accessible as soon as possible.

“The Centre will be open from Wednesday so Queenslanders can return to the Cultural Centre and enjoy the exhibitions, children’s activities, performances and services that have made the precinct one of Queensland’s best-loved icons.

“This weekend, 19-20 February, the precinct is celebrating its reopening with two days of free, fun-filled family activities.”

The Premier said Children and their parents should look out for Jurassic Joe at Queensland Museum South Bank and the new Megawatt exhibition in the Sciencentre, storytelling and songs in The Corner at the State Library, not to mention all the amazing children’s art activities at the Queensland Art Gallery and GoMA that are part of what makes these two institutions internationally renowned.

“The reopening of the Cultural Centre is also an important signal to visitors from interstate and overseas that Brisbane is open for business and a fantastic place to visit, bring your family and enjoy our world-class attractions,” she said.

The reopening of the Cultural Centre will be staggered with some levels and services already open to the public.

“QPAC’s Lyric and Cremorne theatres and Concert Hall have now been open for almost four weeks and the hit musicalWICKED has been attracting-sell out crowds and rave reviews.

“It is also great to see that the Queensland Theatre Company, whose West End premises were flooded, have been able to have their season ofSacre Bleu at the Cremorne and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra launched its 2011 season with theMaestro Series on 12 February.”

All levels of the Queensland Art Gallery and State Library of Queensland will be accessible from Wednesday, although The Edge, the State Library’s digital culture centre, remains closed.

GoMA will reopen its blockbuster exhibition21st Century: Art in the First Decade, which before its forced closure, had attracted more than 139 000 visitors in just three weeks.

At GoMA the Park Level remains closed. All of the Centre’s three undercover car parks are still closed and visitors are encouraged to take public transport to the precinct.

Some key events such asI Dig Dinos at the Queensland Museum, State Library’s Animation Station and GoMA’s21st CenturySummer Festival have been rescheduled for the April school holidays.