Program 2011

Place, Space & Identity: New Directions for NSW Museums
Macquarie University, 18-19 April 2011

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Join the dialogue.
 
PLENARY SESSIONS

Renaissance, Reformation and Reinventing the Wheel: Seeking an Integrated Solution to Museum Provision
Alec Coles, OBE, CEO of Western Australian Museum

Alec will discuss some of the possible models for ensuring that not only do museums work to mutual benefit, but above all for public benefit.He will draw on his experiences in the UK and particularly the evolution, development of the Renaissance in the Regions program. He will consider the relationships between national, state, regional and local museums; between public and private museums; between the volunteer and professional curators. How can these work best without turf-wars, duplication or jealousy? What are the structures that can enhance provision - and which get in the way? And as we invent and reinvent our structures, does anyone remember about the public? 

‘End of Multiculturalism’ – Myth and Reality
Curatorship & Community Engagement at the Crossroads
Professor Amareswar Galla, PhD, Chairperson, ICOM Cross Cultural Task Force, Paris & Director, Pacific Asia Observatory for Cultural Diversity in Human Development, UNESCO Project.

The past decade has witnessed radical polarisation of opinions and public policy in the domain of multiculturalism. Radicalisation of Islam and the counter radicalisation strategies of governments, especially in the west, have informed the post 9/11 global uncertainty. While Theo Van Gogh’s murder has swung the Dutch and their neighbours into a conservative frame of mind in dealing with multiculturalism, German and British heads of governments are mooting the end of ‘state sponsored multiculturalism’. Integration is the buzz word, a platform that the immigrants have always wished for as opposed to simplistic assimilation to the establishment set of values. While the past hegemonic discourse was about the essentialist other, recent calls for a national code is posing the threat of ‘self-essentialisation’ by the establishment. This talk addresses the transformations of curatorship and community engagement in this complex environment. Critical reflections from select countries, the Netherlands & Australia included, and the dilemma for museums in complex societies in the face of a leadership crisis will be addressed. The works of select artists will be used to illustrate the talk.

Find and Get: Broadcasters and Museums in the Internet Age
Chris Winter, Innovation Division, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Internet has opened up great possibilities for broadcasters and collecting institutions. What are some of the drivers? How are the ABC and other media companies responding to the challenges and opportunities? How can broadcasters and museums combine to provide better access to the riches they generate and hold?

Cultural Heritage: A Question of Economics?
Professor David Throsby, Macquarie University

The economics of heritage is a subject that has grown considerably in recent years. It looks at the economic dimensions of conservation decisions, with a particular focus on methods to measure the economic and cultural value of heritage items, from artworks to historic buildings. This presentation will outline how economics can contribute to decision-making in this field, and discuss some practical applications.

Beyond Guarding Ground: A Proposal for a National Indigenous Cultural Authority
Terri Janke, Solicitor Director, Terri Janke and Company Pty Ltd

A Strategic Plan for the Visual Arts and Museum Sectors in NSW
Deborah Ely, consultant to the Arts NSW Project

More on the Museum Diet: Ten Strategies for Sustainable Museums and Collections in NSW
Kylie Winkworth, museum and heritage consultant

Have Australians turned museum-making into a community hobby where collecting is verging on hoarding? The figures, and the facts on the ground, suggest Australia has an unsustainable number of museums and collections. The legacy of the last 50 years of collecting arguably surpasses our capacity to be true to the idea of a museum holding a collection in perpetuity. Our collecting binge imperils the opportunities for the next generation to create collections that are meaningful for them. Australia and NSW needs to go on a museum diet. Building on a paper presented at last years MA Conference, this paper proposes a recipe for more sustainable museums and collections.

M&G NSW: the Next Decade
Michael Rolfe, CEO of Museums and Galleries NSW

Trove and Museums: An Opportunity to Be Realised?
Alison Dellit, Acting Trove Manager, National Library of Australia

In late 2009 the National Library of Australia released version 1 of Trove to the public (http://trove.nla.gov.au). Trove facilitates searching of more than 115 million items from over 1000 libraries, museums and archives and other sources. We can now explore a wealth of resources and digital content like never before, including full text-books, journal and newspaper articles, images, music, sound, video, maps, websites, diaries, letters, archives, people and organisations. The National Library encourages contributions from museums and other organisations. What are some of the things it has learnt about aggregating content for Trove and other services such as Picture Australia, Music Australia and the Register of Australian Archives and Manuscripts? How can museums take advantage of this new facility?

Victorian Collections: the Community Collections Management System
Peta Knott, Field Officer, Victorian Collections Project

Museum Victoria and the Victorian Department of Business and Innovation are developing a free online cataloguing system for small metro and regional collecting organisations in the state of Victoria. The project is in its pilot phase and will be available online to the general public in June 2011. The cataloguing fields are based on the Small Museums Cataloguing Manual and the easily searchable system will allow the general public to browse collections from across the state. Victorian Collections will work to up skill volunteers, record Victoria's valuable cultural heritage, help to identify significant objects and promote collaborative discussion within the state's collecting community.

Building for NSW Aboriginal Arts and Culture
Steve Miller, Manager, Aboriginal Sector Development at M&G NSW

Historically, the distinctive art and cultural practices of NSW Aboriginal nations have been neglected and practically invisible in the mainstream views of Aboriginal Australia. While still sporadic across the state, sector and Government support is reinvigorating maintenance, development and visibility. The Museums & Galleries NSW strategy and summit seek to harness these disparate energies towards a collective and networked approach focused on regional hubs of creative and social enterprise.

New Vibrancy in an Old World: Observations on the Scottish Museum and Gallery Sector
Sarah-Jane Rennie, Manager, Sector Development, M&GNSW

Following a recent secondment to Museums Galleries Scotland, Sarah-Jane will share some observations of the current museum and gallery scene in Scotland including the ongoing fallout from the Global Financial Crisis, recent developments in community engagement and innovative uses of technology.

The Needs of Regional Galleries in NSW
Kathleen Von Witt, Director, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery & Museum

The network of regional and public galleries in NSW reflects a huge investment in Visual Art and Culture by Local and State Government. Kath will talk about the needs of regional galleries from her experience as Director of both Hawkesbury Regional Gallery and Hawkesbury Regional Museum. There are many similar needs of a regional gallery and a regional museum, foremost being strong community support, caring for cultural collections of public property and creating a curated space. The differences rest predominantly on what is being curated and cared for – art or material culture. The needs of regional and public galleries are philosophical, political and cultural, logistical and practical, require specialist knowledge and grassroots involvement and most importantly involve art and art practice.

Words, Technology, Infrastructure and Money: the Elements of Future Policy
Paul Bentley, Museums Australia NSW Executive Officer

What if museums didn’t exist and Australian governments said they would provide about three quarters of a billion dollars to help develop them, what would you invent? In the funding quagmire of federated Australia, what do we spend the money on now? What don’t we spend the money on now? Do we need to change anything?

WORKSHOPS

The Fabric of History: Introducing the Australian Dress Register
www.australiandressregister.org
Michelle Maddison, curator Museum of the Riverina, Kate Chidlow, conservator Powerhouse Museum, and Lindie Ward, Curator of Design and Society, Powerhouse Museum.

The Australian Dress Register (ADR) is a thematic online register which is attracting new audiences for collections. The Register unearths personal stories though the garments they wore, and links the objects, collections and places involved in these stories. ADR provides a rich and detailed view into the past, a better understanding of significant collections and a new template for working with regional and community museums.  It is a very effective model for resourcing the documentation of collections, and influencing the way we collect. The workshop will include a practical demonstration of the website and highlight the benefits of becoming involved in adding new collections to the register

The Connected Classroom – new opportunities for collections
https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/about-us/how-we-operate/connected-classroom
Penny Packham, Public Programs Officer, Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, Bathurst,  Karen Player, Coordinator, Museum in the Box, Australian Museum, and Andrew Glassop, Manager of the Western Plains Cultural Centre

The Connected Classrooms Program is a NSW Government initiative providing the department's staff and students with new opportunities to connect with each other using enhanced technology facilities for sharing resources and data collaboration. This session will present two case studies describing how museums are using this program to connect with school audiences. It will also explore the opportunities for all museums, big or small, to become involved.

DEMONSTRATION

Multi-touch technology for museums, galleries, learning and teaching – by Object Consulting and Red & Robin

For further information, please visit www.touchingthesurface.com.au, with examples of the capability of multi-touch technology (including videos) at the Touching the Surface gallery: http://touchingthesurface.com.au/multi-touch-demo-gallery/

PANEL DISCUSSION

Advocacy: Getting the Pitch Right
Panel includes Dr Dawn Casey, Director Powerhouse Museum; Katharine Brisbane AM, Chair and Executive Director, Currency House; Dr Gene Sherman AM, Chairman and Executive Director of Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation; Andrew Simpson, Director Museums Studies Program, Macquarie University; Gay Hendriksen, President, Parramatta Female Convict Factory Action Group, and Liz Gillroy, Regional Museums Coordinator, The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Making Applied History Work
Gina Hammond, Jane Chapman, Rhonda Davis and Andrew Simpson, Macquarie University

This presentation argues that people from the world of museums can aid the process of collaboration between historians, curators and their staff by encouraging awareness by all concerned of 5 main conceptual issues that need to be addressed. First, applied history for exhibitions and displays needs a big idea, or theme. Secondly, an exhibition needs artefacts or illustrations and the historian may well find that these are not always readily and easily available in the course of their everyday academic research. Thirdly, ‘iconic’ artefacts are needed – ones that symbolise something important and wider from the past. Fourthly, explanations need to be both clear but also to reflect the process of discovery. Last but not least, both sides need to recognise the skills of the other side if a synergy is to emerge – and it is precisely the nature of that synergy that museum studies lends itself to understanding.

Creating Portable Local Histories: Berowra’s Living History Project 
Rhonda Davis, Macquarie University Art Gallery

Berowra’s Living History Project was developed to document unknown stories pertaining to the locality by recording oral histories and personal recollections of a selected group of seniors who had lived in Berowra for an extended period of time. Initially developed under the auspices of the University Art Gallery and Australian History Museum, the project has since evolved into a portable and moveable package. Several exhibitions have been produced across the community within alternative spaces and venues. This strong visual presence of local history ignited tremendous interest and excitement throughout the community. With senior members took centre stage ─ sharing local knowledge through memory and stories ─ the younger generation were entranced and connected. Rhonda will explore some of the broader implications of the project, and some of the techniques used.

Idealistic Dream, Exhibition Nightmare: Managing a Permanent Exhibition Space for Temporary Exhibitions at the Australian Tennis Museum
Aimee Deaves, Australian Tennis Museum

The Australian Tennis Museum has grown from a one room operation at White City in 1983 into library, storage and exhibition facilities at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. With the appointment of a curator, the museum has developed a program of temporary exhibitions  with the aim of increasing visitor numbers. Aimee explores the challenges of managing a permanent exhibition space with temporary displays, the adaptability of small museums to change and the importance of remaining connected to the community through engaging displays and enchanting stories.

Museum Space: Directions for Change?
Scott East, University of Western Sydney

This paper draws on an industry based-project exploring museum roles in Climate Change debates which explored how museums can position themselves in contentious and highly public discussions. It is common to acknowledge that audiences connect with museums in various ways, but what does this mean for the museum seeking to be socially relevant? Is it the role of museums to direct change through delivering information and education? Drawing on recent exhibitions, the multi-sensory experiential space of the museum becomes a place in which logic and quality information is only a few of the things at work. Engaging with the risky and fickle-world of responses requires active experimentation and responsiveness rather than a check-list approach of good practice. Provocatively the paper will suggest the space of museums already contain the directions needed for change.

New Directions in Exhibition Design
Susan Freeman, Director, Freeman Ryan Design

Susan will look at some new directions in exhibition design, including through the integrated use of multimedia, soundscapes, and interactive interfaces into design. As the pressure from technology-savvy visitors increases, how are we responding in design terms, and how do we measure success. The presentation is principally a visual one, using images of exhibitions currently or recently on display.

Space, Place, Identity and sustainability
Lyn Hicks, Macquarie University

Space, place and identity. Lyn will deconstruct these ideas, or perhaps ideals, from the perspective of the volunteer toiling in the museums, galleries and collections of NSW.  She will consider how space in this huge country of ours is at a premium, how place is an incredibly important concept in terms of our individual and national wellbeing and how the notions of individual, local and national identity are all played out in the halls of the state’s museums on a daily basis. Along the way she will explore policy and practice in terms of government underwriting of NSW museums and how the volunteer may fit into the grand scheme of the Arts NSW’s Strategic Plan. She will also consider just how sustainable this is from the perspective of the volunteer in NSW museums. 

Small Grants Make a Difference
Tamara Hynd, Coordinator Southern Highlands and Illawarra Chapter & Curator Tongarra Museum, Shellharbour City Council

Small volunteer-run museums are the cultural heart of many districts throughout New South Wales. Tamara examines how M&G NSW VIM and Leg Up grants have built capacity and revitalised these institutions, enabling them not only to attract more visitors, but also to attract more volunteers. In addition, grants acquired by Museums Australia Southern Highlands and Illawarra Chapter for the purpose of training workshops, invigorate the Chapter and help participating museums increase their professionalism.

A Touch of Spice: Indian Australia
Leonard Janiszewski & Effy Alexakis, Macquarie University

Leonard and Effy will look at the development of a touring exhibition entitled A Touch of Spice: Indian Australia which sets out to correct existing misapprehensions within the Australian community about India-Australians and engender a great degree of social harmony. Developed under the auspices of the Australian History Museum at Macquarie University in Sydney, the exhibition highlights the role that museums and galleries can actively pursue in order acquire greater relevance and leadership within the Australian community.

Regional & Community Museum Services in Victoria.
Laura Miles, Executive Director, Museums Australia (Vic)

Provision of services to the museums and gallery sectors is handled differently to the way services are provided in NSW. What are the differences? And are there any lessons for NSW? 

New Tools for Chapters
Lee Scott, Manager, Museums Australia National Office

Museums Australia has improved the functionality of the MA website to enable direct management of chapter pages, management of events and member details. It has also developed new tools to assist chapters to manage their accounts and audits. What are the details?

Developing Regional Awareness in Future Museologists
Andrew Simpson, Museum Studies program, Macquarie University

In recent decades there has been a rapid expansion in tertiary education programs training students to become workers in the museums and collections sector. These programs are highly variable in terms of focus, content and pedagogy. Those seeking employment in a diverse sector such as ours in a state like NSW need to be aware of the range of opportunities and challenges working in regional areas. Some strategies for achieving this are outlined in this paper. Similarly, regional practitioners should give input concerning the skills and knowledge required of graduates to those designing tertiary study programs.

A Grenade: Imagine the Explosiveness of PURPOSE
Bill Storer, Museums Australia National Secretary

All museums have a collection policy. Most museums have a Vision and a Mission Statement because the neo-cultural economists and business management experts say these formed a vital part of a Strategic Plan. But how many museums believe they have a Purpose – and what is it? Bill will focus attention on collections, collecting and significance in the context of National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries.

Collaborative Cataloguing: A Cross-museum Approach to a Cross-museum Problem
Carly Todhunter, University of Sydney

Carly will discuss a potential future direction for New South Wales museums by considering the utility of a collaborative approach. It will explore the insight gained from a pilot project undertaken in 2010 to document the dairy collections of eight regional museums in southern New South Wales. In addition to explaining the methodology and strengths of the approach, she will also provide a perspective from a representative from one of the participating museums on how the approach could be adopted in future efforts to catalogue their collection.

Fostering 'Creativity' in Pre-Service Teachers at Museums and Art Galleries
Bronwen Wade-Leeuwen, Macquarie University

Bronwen shines the torch on research which fosters 'creativity' in pre-service teachers who run educational programs for children in museums and art galleries. The purpose of this research is to develop an Intervention discipline-based visual arts program that aims to improve pre-service teachers’ 'creativity’ so that they can more effectively mentor the children they teach.

Martyrs, Monuments and the Nation State: Recent Turkish Memorials on Gallipoli
Professor Duncan Waterson, Department of Modern History, Macquarie University

During the last thirty years there has been a spate of books and articles examining mostly Great War memorials in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Belguim the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. This paper examines the phenomenon of the rapid and numerous construction of monuments by the Turkish State on the site of the Ottoman Empire’s last significant victory in 1915 on the Gallipoli Peninsula.  Turkey with its exploding youthful population, urbanization, tension between the Army as the self-appointed guardian of the secular constitution and the need to reinforce the memory and legacy of the great commander and moderniser, Kemal Attaturk, has embarked on a massive redecoration of the Dardanelles, as well as a refurbishment of museums in Ankara, Istanbul and Canakkale.

 Review of Current Visitor Monitoring Practices of the Museums and Galleries Sector of New South Wales Based on Data from Selected Venues. 
Kreenah Yelds, Macquarie University  

Kreenah reports on findings and analyses visitor monitoring practice from surveys of 16 venues across NSW. The findings show that, although the sector is close to a unified approach in visitor monitoring, further development of a unified sector wide strategy is needed for economic and educational sustainability of museums and galleries throughout the state.

TOUR

Tour of Macquarie University museums and galleries, which include the Australian History Museum, the Biological Sciences Museum, the Museum of Ancient Cultures, and the Sporting Hall of Fame.