Congratulations to South East Museums!

The Standards Program journey has finally come to an end for eleven museums in the South East region who participated in our 2011 program.

Yesterday Michael, Andrew, Sarah-Jane and I joined South East Arts, local council and other supporters of the museums in Cooma to congratulate the participants on their great achievement. Everyone put in so many volunteer hours and hard work to improve their museums and, despite some very challenging moments, persevered to the finishing line!

Before the celebrations began, each museum had a chance to talk to the group about their experiences in taking on the program. Everyone described significant challenges but also rewarding experiences.

Some of the great feedback we got included ‘the Standards Program got us to focus on what we have as well as what’s missing’; ‘participating in the program brought us together so we know each other’, and ‘we found the independent view and positive feedback about our displays and museum valuable.’ 

Part of the Standards Program includes on site reviews of each participant by Standards Reviewers. It was clear that all the museums appreciated the huge amount of advice and assistance from the reviewers.

Congratulations to everyone who participated, and thank you for being such a great group to work with! Thanks also to Andrew at South East Arts for all the support and helping us make it happen in the South East.

Happy (and relieved) participants of the Standards Program 2011 

Platform to Heritage- Accessible Arts in Heritage Sites

On Monday 28 November, M&G NSW co-hosted an event with Accessible Arts exploring the requirements and challenges facing audiences and arts professionals with disabilities in heritage buildings. We were fortunate enough to have a range of speakers including disability specialists, architects and people working in heritage buildings operating as museums and galleries. A number of powerpoint presentations from the day have been uploaded to our website and are available through M&G NSW Resources. Speakers included:

Vince Sicari, Heritage Branch NSW, Office of Environment and Heritage

Vince is the Manager of the Conservation Team at the Heritage Branch and gave a great outline of how a building gets to be heritage listed, the implications of listing, the use of interim heritage orders, the relationship between the Heritage Branch and its guiding body, the Heritage Council and the sort of advice that the Heritage Branch can provide, through its Fire, Access and Services Advisory Panel (FSAP) Vince also mentioned two documents the Heritage Branch have produced New Uses for Heritage Places (which outlines the process of adapting a heritage building for a new use, including access for people with disabilities) and Design in Context (which outlines the process of building new structures within a heritage precinct).

Eric Martin, Eric Martin & Associates- Architects

Eric is an architect with over 35 years experience developing heritage buildings for disability access.  Eric provided an outline of the various pieces of legislation that impact on the provision of disability access to heritage buildings.  In particular the

Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards 2010 which came into effect in May 2011. Eric also mentioned the newly formed NSW Building Professionals Board's newly formed Access Advisory Committee, who are able to provide advice related to the Disability Standards including decisions about unjustifiable hardship.  Eric outlined the steps undertaken in planning for disability access to heritage buildings as follows:

1. Review the significance of the place and identify the elements of greatest significance
2. Undertake an Access Audit to determine existing and required levels of accessibility.
3. Evaluate access options within a conservation context. This process includes consultation with authorities and approval of the proposed action.
4. Prepare the access policy or action plan.
5. Implement the necessary action.

 From Eric's perspective, the key areas to consider include:

• •Parking 
• Access to building entry 
• Access through public entrances 
• Circulation throughout the main building 
• Access to other floors 
• Egress 
• Toilets 
• Other facilities
• Information

Eric's website includes a great series of images showing approaches not only to providing physical access to building but also ideas for improving access for people with visual impairment that can improve their enjoyment of heritage spaces.  The website also includes a series of publications related to access to buildings including Improving Access to Heritage Buildngs.

Mark Relf, Accessibility Solutions  

Mark runs a consultancy focusing on disability access.  Mark outlined mobility issues including: Lower reach ranges, lower viewing/sight lines, accessible amenities and steps.  He spoke of the need for ramps, lifts and also appropriate handrails.  Mark also highlighted approaches to improve access for people with vision and hearing impairment including: the use of tactile surfaces, Braille/raised print, large format labels/guides, audio description, increased general light levels, assistive listening systems (such as hearing loops), Auslan interpreters, captioning and printed material.

Mark encouraged people to consider not just access to the building but the entire visitor experience including  booking a ticket, finding out information prior to a visit, signage about access for people with disabilities,  where to park/drop people off, availability of seating/rest points, sightlines (which will be lower for people in wheelchairs), access to interactive exhibitions, the location of accessible toilets and staff/volunteer awareness. 

Mark pointed out that the low light levels in exhibitions can make it very difficult for people with vision impairment to find their way around and suggested that higher general lighting or lights with timers could help with this.  Similarly he suggested that strip lights on stairs could be of assistance.  He also pointed out that exhibition furniture hanging from the ceiling or sticking out into pathways could also be a hazard, as well as temporary barriers in the form of cables, ropes or retractable belts.  Mark provided links to some recent papers from the USA's National Center on Accessibility who have recently written papers on the museum experiences of people who are blind and vision impaired including

Exhibit Design Relating to Low Vision and Blindness: 

Current Media Technology, Appropriate Application of Technology, Future Research Needs 

What Visitors with Vision Loss Want Museums and Parks to Know about Effective Communication

Research on Effective Use of Tactile Exhibits with Touch Activated Audio Description for the Blind and Low Vision Audience

Tactile Mapping for Cultural and Entertainment Venues

The afternoon gave us an opportunity to hear from a range of people working in heritage buildings, mostly being used as museums and galleries which led to some really interesting discussions between the speakers and audience. Speakers explored approaches to improving access into buildings, virtual tours to fragile sites and approaches to improved access for people with vision and hearing impairment as well as the Deaf community. Speakers included:

Mantej Singh Head of Western Sydney Portfolio, Historic Houses Trust of NSW
As Head of the Western Sydney Portfolio, Mantej is responsible for a range of properties including Rouse Hill, Elizabeth Farm and Meroogal. Historic Houses can be difficult to provide access into as many are being interpreted in the manner of their original use, (including homes, small shops and a farm) which provides challenges, in particular with upper floors. Rouse Hill is a point in case where the fragile nature of the upper floors prevents any visitor access. Instead, the Historic Houses Trust has developed a virtual tour which not only provides panoramic views of each room in the property but allows visitors to open drawers, cupboards etc. to explore contents that wouldn't be accessible to anyone on an actual tour. The full virtual tour is available on terminals at the Rouse Hill Visitors Centre and Caroline Simpson Library (at the Mint, Macquarie St). Five of the panoramas are available for viewing on the HHT's website.

Julie McKenzie, Associate Director, Tonkin Zulaika Greer Architects
As an architect, Julie has worked closely on the redevelopment of a number of heritage sites for arts purposes including museums, galleries and performing arts. Julie has worked with Mark Relf on a number of projects and spoke of the importance of seeing the potential of a site in a design sense and consulting widely to ensure good access. She spoke specifically about three projects that she has been involved in- Carriageworks the train workshops in Eveleigh that have been redeveloped into a dynamic performing arts venue; Casula Powerhouse in western Sydney, an old powerstation that has been redeveloped into a dynamic gallery and performing arts venue in several stages over a ten year period and the Paddington Reservoir which was being used as a carpark prior to being converted into a sunken public garden.

Joe Eisenberg, Cultural Director, Maitland Regional Art Gallery
Joe outlined the work involved in redeveloping an early twentieth century technical college into a twenty first century art gallery. As with Casula Powerhouse, the redevelopment of Maitland Regional Art Gallery was undertaken in stages and has included the introduction of a new building to link two existing buildings (and in doing so avoiding the use of steps between spaces), the installation of a lift to the upper level, inclusion of accessible toilets and a sensory garden. A ramp was included at the new entrance to the building, Joe reflected on the fact that most people use the entrance at the other side, which comes straight in from the carpark. He pointed out that this in many ways has become the main entrance to the building as more people arrive by car than other modes of transport.

Julie Baird, Deputy Director, Newcastle Museum
Julie pointed out that not all heritage buildings are created equal, particularly in terms of access. The museum had been located in a heritage listed brewery on seven levels, with a lift that could only fit one wheelchair. The Newcastle Museum reopened in August this year at a more accessible heritage site, a railways workshop beside Newcastle's Civic railway station. As the building was originally designed to move train carriages through it, it has large entrances, with most operations on a single level, which is in terms of access and the movement of collections around the site. There is no fixed furniture in the cafe or theatrette which allows both to be arranged according to visitor needs and the activities being undertaken. The museum inherited a number of chairs from council which have been placed throughout the public spaces (including the accessible toilet) as the need for rest spots had been identified during the museum's redevelopment.

Newcastle Museum Volunteer, Di Taylor, who uses a wheelchair, has been providing feedback to Museum staff about accessibility issues as they arise, particularly in terms of exhibitions where a couple of showcases had been set too high. Julie acknowledges that there are some accessibility issues that haven't been overcome, such as the need for collections in some spaces to be at least 1m from the ground in case of flood and the fact that the tram which visitors are invited to climb in and explore is not accessible for those with a physical disability.
The Museum's motivation to continue to improve access for all people into around the site is reflected int their recent work with Vision Australia. Following the arrival of temporary exhibition Living in a sensory world: stories from people with blindness and low vision the Museum has been collaborating with the Newcastle staff from Vision Australia to develop audio described tours and material that can be accessed through a DAISY reader (Digital Accessible Information System- an audio reader used by many people with vision impairment).

The seminar ended with a lively discussion between the audience and speakers about some of the challenges encountered when using heritage buildings as museums and galleries.

Engaging audiences through Perth's CHOGM exhibitions

There was much discussion during the Museums Australia & Interpretation Australia conference At the Frontier about audience engagement, storytelling and collaboration. John Holden spoke of the development of active and intimate relationships between museums and audiences and Viv Golding spoke of the embodied knowledge objects hold and gave us some wonderful examples of the alternative histories and understandings that can be held within an object. I was particularly struck by Susan Cross's presentation where she reminded us that storytelling is at the heart of our work and that visitors are wanting a good story to take away from their visit so that they can share the experience with others.
Perhaps because all of this was so fresh in my mind, I was struck by the very different way in which I responded to these two exhibitions that on the surface appeared to have a shared focus on powerful, singular objects that highlight the power and majesty of the former British Empire.

Princely Treasures

Princely Treasures is an exhibition of key works from the Victoria and Albert Museum focusing on European decorative arts from 1600 to 1800. The exhibition includes a number of pieces owned by European Royalty, popes and significant figures of the period. Objects are simply displayed with the focus on the works themselves. There are a few wall panels that contextualise each theme (Princely Patronage, Power and Glory, Religious Splendour, Display in the Interior and Fashions & Personal Adornment) with images taken from paintings of the period to give some further context.

Descriptive labels that tell something of the object's history (if known) and some information about its manufacture and the materials used are provided for each object.



The Art Gallery of Western Australia appear to be opening their doors to a broader audience. The Gallery has extended their opening hours on a Friday night, visitors are invited to take photographs (no flash of course), a range of events have been held in conjunction with the exhibition, the children's program with an enormous crawl in palace and puppet show is delightful and the blog on their website is both lively and engaging. Despite these efforts, and perhaps because it was late on the Friday evening, I didn't feel engaged with the exhibition- there was no contextual information about the objects on display, no map of Europe to help understand the political geography of the region and no information about how these incredible objects were made (admittedly this could have been provided in the audio tour which I didn't take). None of the liveliness of the blog was present in the gallery spaces, the only staff were uniformed security staff clearly more interested in the imminent weekend's activities than the exhibition or the visitors.

Despite this, visitors were finding ways to build their own engagement, tell their own stories and provide further context to the exhibition. I overheard one visitor explaining to her friend in great detail the process of producing a sword with a nielloed surface. Another visitor was so enthralled by a pair of 1800 pointy pink shoes with polka dots that she called out to her friend "you must see these, they are SOOO you!!". Interestingly, these same shoes feature in Miss Hijabi's blog. All this left me wondering- do we need the contextual information? Can people just do it for themselves?

Extraordinary Stories

The next day I visited the British Museum's exhibition Extraordinary Stories from the British Museum at the WA Museum. Like Princely Treasures, Extraordinary Stories focuses on significant objects with interpretive labels. In this case the objects are from a range of Commonwealth countries and time periods (1.8 million years BCE to 2011 CE), mostly drawing on the British Museum's collection with several key items from the WA Museum. A short text panel at the entrance to the exhibition sums up the intent of the exhibition "Some of the most important stories are not those told by gold and silver, but through wood and stone. All of these objects have unique tales to tell." Even though this exhibition used a similar approach to Princely Treasures, the experience was quite different. The focus was on drawing out the story behind each object, at many points the label text invited the visitor to think further, admitted uncertainty and made connections with other objects in the exhibition.  

One of the first objects in the exhibition is a handaxe from Tanzania. The label is titled "Is this the World's most successful technology?" it invites the visitor to hold their hand up in front of the object and asks "Is it a coincidence that this ancient tool is roughly the shape of a hand?" The label goes on to explain how a handaxe is made and points out that handaxes have been made in the same manner for over a million years (whilst metal objects have only been made for 7,000 years).

Cone Shell beads, Exmouth area WA

Nearby, a set of cone shell beads from Exmouth WA (in the WA Museum's collection) dated to 30,000 BCE are identified as being the "oldest examples of human adornment in Australia", a link is made to a necklace from Kiribati, also in the exhibition. The label then asks "But 32,000 years ago were they merely a form of personal adornment? Or were they an indication of status, or the wearer having passed a formal stage of growth to adulthood?". I was particularly entranced by the objects that told stories of trade, mysterious items that turned up worlds away from where they'd been created. One such item was The Asante ewer, a bronze jug made for King Richard II of England between 1390 and 1399 that 500 years later was owned by the King of Asante, West Africa where it sat under a sacred tree in royal palace in Ghana, 1896. Another fascinating item was a drum that entered the British Museum's collection soon after opening in 1753. The drum came from what was at the time the Colony of Virginia (contemporary USA) and had been thought to be a native American drum. Further research has since revealed that it is an African drum from Ghana that would have been brought to Virginia on a slave ship.  

To provide further information, a series of touch screens are positioned around the exhibition where the exhibition's curator (British Museum's Head of Research, Jeremy Hill) talks personally and with great enthusiasm about some of the objects. An interview with Jeremy on local Perth radio station RTR gives a sense of his engaging delivery style.  

As well as engaging with audiences, the exhibition has drawn in many Perth locals who have volunteered as guides for the exhibition. Rather than running tours of the exhibition, numerous volunteer guides are positioned throughout the exhibition space acting as both storytellers and low key security. The guides are extremely well informed and very keen to share their knowledge about the exhibition. I myself prefer to look at exhibitions on my own and the guides were in no way pushy, nor did they intrude on my viewing of the exhibition. In conversation with one of the guides, he spoke with great delight about curator Jeremy Hill who came out to Perth prior to the opening and spent a week showing the guides through the exhibition, giving lectures on aspects of the exhibition and generally involving the guides in the final phase of the exhibition's realisation. 

 I suspect that it is this process that has led to such enthusiasm with the guides who are clearly delighted to be associated with the exhibition and keen to share its stories with visitors. Exhibition experiences are by their nature a personal thing, but for me, the emphasis on stories so prominent in Extraordinary Stories was an unexpected delight and has given me numerous stories to pass onto others following my visit.

Wooden Shield, Kaipel Ka PNG 1980s

Jandamarra Crossing Helicopter, Alwin Reamillo & Roseline Eaton Fitzroy Crossing WA, 2003

Throne of weapons, Cristovao Canhavato (Kester) Mozambique 2001

Snettisham great Torc, 150-75 BCE found England 1950 CE

 

Regional Interactions At the Museums Australia Frontier

An interesting theme running through this year's Museums Australia & Interpretation Australia conference At the Frontier has been an examination of the approaches taken to supporting community based museums.

Alison Russell, Community Liaison Advisor, Orange City Council and Kylie Winkworth, former Museum Advisor for Orange City Council spoke of the innovative Sustainable Museums Project undertaken in the local government areas of Orange, Cabonne and Blayney. Designed to examine and respond to issues within the volunteer museums of the region, the project has attracted funding from a range of sources including the three councils, M&G NSW (through our Museum Advisor program), Arts NSW, Greater Western Area Health Service and the Migration Heritage Centre. Expert advice and support has been provided through a range of partnerships with specialists working in larger institutions such as the Powerhouse museum as well as Museum Advisors and consultants.

Starting with a focus to develop a better understanding of the state of the collections in the region, the project has delivered a range of outcomes including

• improved collection storage conditions
• the introduction of interpretive panels in exhibition areas
• the development of regional exhibitions
• support for participants in M&G NSW's standards program
• the development of a shared website

Alison Russell has been pivotal to the ongoing success of this program. Her continued support from within local government reminds us of the important role local government can play in supporting the community museums of their area and what can be achieved through meaningful collaborations. For more information go to Central NSW Museums

John Watson, Community Museums Program Officer, Victorian Goldfields spoke about a methodology for assessing the impact of the program on the community museums involved in the Community Museums Pilot project. Now in its third year, the project brokers support to improve collections management for and community engagement with collecting organisations in the Victorian Goldfields region.

John has approached this by looking at both the collection needs and tourist experience of community museums. Through this, he found that whilst many of the museums in the area had sound infrastructure, their capacity to engage with tourists was limited. Similarly, whilst most collections policies and procedures were in place, when he dug beneath the surface, 40% of organisations had catalogued less than 50% of their collections. while 100% of organisations had computers and 85% had digital cameras 40% were only using manual cataloguing systems. The survey also highlighted the fact that few of the volunteers had undertaken any training in areas of key importance to museums.

In reponse to this John has brokered a series of training opportunities in the region aimed at improving the capacity of volunteers to manage their collections and provide an engaging tourist experience. John aims to survey the collecting organisations again in early 2012 to guage the impact of the training and targetted projects. More information on the Community Museums Pilot project can be found on Arts Victoria's website.

Tod Jones, Research Associate, Curtin Sustainable Tourism Centre, Curtin University outined the use of statistical indicators to show the social and cultural impacts of Indigenous Cultural Centres and programs. Tod reminded us that the us of indicators can change behaviour and that it is important that indicators aren't one sided but developed in partnership. He outlined nine categories of impact that could be considered as follows:

• Social Capital
• Cultural Capital/knowledge
• Health
• Quality of output
• Organisational capacity/strength
• Financial (internal to the organisation)
• Economic (external to the organisation)
• Education, training and employment
• Politics/Advocacy

Tod outined the strong links between cultural capital and health & wellbeing outcomes and how this often happens in the casual/informal spaces. He cited the case of the Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre in Carnarvon whose outdoor spaces and cafe have become an important place for casual get togethers within the Carnarvon community.

While we can become overburdened trying to assess and document everything we do, these three projects remind us of the importance of good background information to show the worth of both our organisations and the projects operated within them. In conversation at the end of the conference Alec Coles, Director of the WA Museum and Frank Howarth, Director of the Australian Museum reminded us that when looking for support it is important to show our worth and the great impact museums and galleries have on communities rather than constantly complaining about leaky rooves and aged infrastructure. Developing tools to show this worth are a key component to positive conversations with government, funders and our broader community partners.

NSW museums and galleries win MAGNA awards

Museums Australia's Museums and Galleries National Awards (MAGNAs) were announced at a dinner held last night at the WA Museum. The dinner was held in the beautiful nineteenth century Hackett Hall Gallery which has been both a museum and library space and now houses both temporary exhibitions and functions. Contemporary WA artworks were placed through the space and provided a wonderful foil to the red brick and polished timber of the building and furnishings.

The evening gave museums and galleries of all sizes an opportunity to shine and it was wonderful to see the array of organisations and projects that were honoured. NSW winners included:

Exhibition

Winner small museum

Mosman Art Gallery Australian Accent: The Designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the 40s and 50s

Highly commended small museum

UNE Heritage Centre Through the collector's lens: Dissecting Booloominbah

Winner large museum Temporary Exhibition

Art Gallery of NSW

The First Emperor: China's Entombed Warriors

Public Programs

Winner Small Museum

Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum

Scattered Bones

Sustainability Project

Winner Small Museum

Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM)

Development of Guidelines for Environmental Conditions for Museums and Galleries

Winner Medium Museum

Orange City Council

Orange, Blayney, Cabonne Regional Sustainable Collections Project

National Winner

Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM)

Development of Guidelines for Environmental Conditions for Museums and Galleries

The ICOM awards that recognise Australia's work beyond our borders were also announced at the dinner. Winners included the Australian Museum for their work with the University of Goroka in Papua New Guinea in the development of the Bird of Paradise exhibition and Vinod Daniels for his work through Ausheritage.

For more information on the MAGNA Awards please go to the Museums Australia website

At the Frontier with John Holden, Demos

At the Frontier, the joint Museums Australia, Interpretation Australia conference began yesterday here in Perth.

Following a moving Welcome to Country, we had a powerful keynote from Professor John Holden of Demos, a UK based Think Tank that in John's words is "not politically aligned but very well politically connected" According to John, Demos aims to bring together people who wouldn't normally get together to look at issues, they undertake a lot of research and writing on a range of topics, including culture.

John's paper, titled Next generation Culture: Why culture, organisations and leadership are changing, looked at the tension between what he sees that the three spheres of culture- Art, popular culture and home made culture- and the huge shift that has occured in the last ten or so years in this relationship.

Through changes in technology including the advent of the internet, cheaper technology (including musical instruments, cameras and scanners) and the development of software, far more people are able to create their own art, blurring the lines between home made, popular culture and Art. John pointed out that not only are more people creating their own work but they have become curators of their own work both what we consume and what we make. He pointed out that technology such as ipods have become personally curated spaces where each individual selects the music, images and other material for inclusion.

John believes that not only has this changed the relationship between cultural institutions (such as galleries, museums and theate) and their audiences but has placed culture in a more central position within the community and political spheres. If everyone is engaged in culture, be it high end, popular or home made, then it is in his words the second ecosystem of humankind and a central part of everyone's life. John believes that there has been a real blurring between creator and audience in the last few years which is now being addressed in the way a number of cultural organisations are starting to operate. Visitors:

• Sometimes want to sit and listen (or look)


• Sometimes want a social experience


• Sometimes want to produce things for themselves (and may want help with this)

The blurring of the line between the audience and creator is certainly well recognised in Australia, but perhaps we haven't yet thought about the impact this has on the place of culture, and its three spheres upon the political landscape, certainly food for thought. John was interviewed on Art Works last Sunday, the audio of that interview can be found on the ABC's website.

Museums Australia MAPDA Awards

The Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards (MAPDA) awards were announced tonight at the State Library of Western Australia as part of At the Frontier the joint Museums Australia & Interpretation Australia conference. Congratulations go to the NSW winners including:

Art Gallery of NSW

Winner Exhibition Catalogue (major) Level C Wilderness: Balnaves Contemporary Painting

Highly Commended Catalogue (major) Level C Alfred Stieglitz: The Lake George Years

Winner ExhibitionBranding Package Level C The First Emperor: China's Entombed Warriors

Australian National Maritime Museum

Winner Educstional Material Level C Shark Planet- Predator or Prey

Campbelltown Arts Centre

Highly Commended Exhibition Catalogue- Major (over 64 pages) Level B for Edge of Elsewhere 2010

Highly Commended Magazine & Newsletter Level B for Campbelltown Arts Centre Magazine

Winner Poster Level B for Campbelltown Arts Centre 2010 Contemporary Dance Program

Kaldor Public Art Projects

Exhibition Branding Package Level A Stephen Vitiello/ Kaldor Public Art Project #20

Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery

Best in Show (print publication) for their poster for the Carnival exhibition

Winner Level A for their poster for the Carnival exhibition

Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design

Best in Show for their website Spring Series 2010

Winner Website (B) Level B their website Spring Series 2010

Joint Winner Website (A) Level B for their website Audio Design Museum

Powerhouse Museum

Highly Commended Exhibition Catalogue (small) Level C for Creating the Look: Bernini and Fashion Photography

Winner Level C Poster Creating the Look: Bernini and Fashion Photography

State Library of NSW

Highly Commended Catalogue (major) Level C One Hundred: A Tribute to the Mitchell Library

Winner Corporate Level C Library Council of NSW 2009-10 Annual Report

Winner Magzine & Newsletter Level C State Library Magazine

Winner Calendars of Events & Information Brochure What's On

Sydney Jewish Museum

Winner Educational Material Level B for Schools Brochure

For more information about the MAPDA awards including the full list of winners from across Australia go to Museums Australia's website

Ignite the Power of Art- An evening with Gail Davitt, Dallas Museum of Art

We were privileged last week to have a visit from Gail Davitt, Chair of Learning Initiatives and Director of Education, Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) Gail's trip to Australia was organised by Museum and Gallery Servicess Queensland through funding from the Australia Council. Over a six year period the DMA undertook extensive audience research which has led them to rethink their relationships with audiences and indeed who those audiences are.

The research was undertaken over two key periods, an initial survey period from 2003-5 and a follow up in 2008. Randi Korn and Associates were engaged to undertake the research, and found that visitors could be statistically grouped into four distinct visitor groups:

Observers (26%)

• neither knowledgeable about art nor comfortable/emotionally connected to art
• interested in basic straightforward information about art
• Least comfortable explaining it to others
• 31% of this group are DMA members, 30% first time visitors

Participants ( 24%)

• want to connect with art in a variety of ways and seek interpretation through different mediums
• Acknowledge that they aren't familiar with art terminology, not comfortable talking about the meaning of a work of art to others
• 33% DMA members, 28% first time visitors

Independents (20%)

• Moderately confident viewing art
• Like to do so on their own terms without explanation and interpretation from the museum
• 32% DMA members, 28% first time visitors

Enthusiasts (30%)

• Confident, enthusuastic and emotionally & intellectually connected to works of art
• Comfortable looking at and talking about art
• Interested in all types of information about art
• Active participants in DMA programs and actively use interpretation offerings

The research has led the DMA to rethink who their audiences are, what audiences expect from the museum and how audiences engage with art.

One of the study's findings was that many visitors are interested in a variety of art forms. In response to this, the DMA has incorporated performing arts and writing into the interpretation of art through performances in exhibition spaces, the use of literary quotes in exhibition labels and inviting performing artists to respond to works. An example of this was a label in which Raphael Parry Executive and Artisitic Director Shakespeare Dallas (and Director of Texas Boumd, Arts and Letters Live at the DMA) responded to The Cloud Club a work by Matthew Barney incorporating a grand piano. The director's response provides a perspective on the work that was engaging and provided visitors with a new perspective on the work.

A further development was the inclusion of soundscapes in the recent exhibition Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea. The exhibition focused on coastal landscapes in paintings, works on paper and photographs from 1850- present. Faculty and students from the Arts and Technology department of the University of Texas created a variety of soundscapes that provided another layer to the visitor's experience of the exhibition. Similar to the way lighting is used in a gallery, some of the soundscapes washed through the space whilst others were only accessed when standing directly in front of the work.

This deeper understanding of audiences has influenced the developement of the DMA's SmARTphone app which provides users with a variety of opportunities to engage with and gain a deeper understanding of art. Introductory information provides a general understanding, for those who wish to go deeper, information is available about the artist, maker and/or cultural context of the work. This information is provided through photos, video, conversations and music. For those interested in engaging beyond the work itself, Responses uses sound design, film, visitor conversations and interactive opportunities for the audience to engage with and be inspired by the work.

One of the most interesting outcomes of the research has been the development of the Center for Creative Connections (C3). The C3 has been designed as a multigenerational space where both adults and children are invited to be creative and interact with both and exhibitions. The space includes a performance area, exemplary works from the collection and programming to encourage intergenerational activities. Audiences are invited to engage with the works on exhibitions through a range of activities such as Lick and Lather (Janine Antoni) a work involving busts of the artist in soap and chocolate. A barrier in front of the work held a series of magnetic words taken from the artist's work which visitors were invited to play with to piecing together their own reponse to the works.

Gail emphasised that the DMA spent a lot of time finnessing audience definitions. She was really honest about some of their trials that hadn't worked so well and how the DMA continues to learn from each project. The Center for Creative Connections is about to be redeveloped for the third time since it opened. This new iteration will be developed in pods/modules which will allow them to be reconfigured independantly of each other which DMA believes will be a less resource hungry approach but will also enable the C3 to be more responsive to change.

Over time the DMA's work with visitors has led to a 100% increase in audiences with more than 50% of visitors participating in educational and public programs. DMA now understand that different audiences expect different things so provide a range of experiences tailored to their various audience segments.

The DMA has published a book highlighting their approach to visitor engagement entitled Ignite the Power of Art . The book is written by Bonnie Pitman (recently retired director of the DMA and Ellen Hirzy and is available through Yale University Press

Thank you to the Australia Council for providing the funding to bring Gail to Australia and providing the venue for her talk and to M&GSQ, particularly Ann Baillie, for organising her journey in the midst of recent turmoil with Qantas.

RPG NSW 2011 conference an unqualified success

Over two days, commencing Monday 31 October,  55 regional and public gallery affiliated professionals, M&G NSW staff and M&G NSW Board members met in Port Macquarie at the 2011 Regional & Public Galleries NSW conference, titled, Currency: resilience, relevance, resourcefulness.

The conference program was structured around the theme of sustainability, with a range of presentations intended to provoke thought and generate ideas about tackling issues beyond (but also including) environmental concerns. Biripai Elder, Uncle Bill O’Brien gave a moving Welcome to Country and an inspired set of speakers was led by Lucy Neal, who ‘skyped’ in from the Outer Hebrides to deliver a key note based on her landmark Sustainable Ability report and Happy Museum project (see www.sustainableablility.com & www.happymuseumproject.org for more info).

Welcome drinks at Glasshouse Regional Gallery

Jason Smith, Director of Melbourne’s Heide Museum of Modern Art (www.heide.com.au) spoke about the greening of Heide and his holistic approach to the development of sustainable practices as they relate to his vision and re-imagining of the gallery, its collection, gardens and grounds. Alison Clouston gave an artist's perspective and described a number of projects she has initiated with partner Boyd, including one in response to the destruction (by lightning and fire) of their much treasured studio situated in the Burragorang Valley, between Sydney and Goulburn. Clouston is known for her sculptural installations based on environmental themes, and carbon audits and offsets are an integral part of her practice.

The conference was used as a platform to launch a report commissioned by Museum & Gallery Services Queensland (in partnership with RPG NSW) titled: Lighting and Energy Effectiveness. This report was produced by the engineering firm Steensen Varming and is soon to be published on the MGSQ website www.magsq.com.au. Following its presentation, a lively discussion considered a range of questions towards identifying strategies to achieve sustainability in a gallery/museum context.

Day two centred more on ideas and models for improved audience engagement with delegates being somewhat enthralled by Elizabeth Mead’s presentation on the approach Hobart’s MONA has taken to achieving outstanding (and distinctive) success in such a short time, since opening earlier this year. Krista Huebner, most recently employed at Sydney’s MCA, spoke about the use of social media and artist Jenny Fraser, co-founder of CyberTribe talked about web based and digital applications she has used to promote work by Aboriginal artists.

Belinda Hanrahan, Director of Hazelhurst (and M&G NSW Board member), Tristan Sharp, Assistant Director of Newcastle Art Gallery and Grainne Brunsdon, representing Arts NSW, spoke about funding in the context of generating partnerships and sponsorships, Federal Government programs and NSW State Government grant initiatives through their Arts Funding Program. Tristan also outlined plans for the $21m re-development of Newcastle Art Gallery. Work is expected to commence in early 2012.

  

In the final session, M&G NSW’s own Steve Miller spoke about outcomes of the recent Building Cultural Futures in NSW summit. He noted that over a long period (since the European invasion) NSW Aboriginal people had certainly reflected a resilient and resourceful approach to maintaining their languages, heritage and culture, and that the summit had firmly placed their desire for cultural relevance and profile on the agenda (and you can check out the summit’s wiki at www.nswaboriginalsector.wetpaint.com). New England Regional Art Museum Director, Caroline Downer, gave a fascinating overview of their Art Alive initiative, an online education resource based on connecting school audiences with the extensive NERAM collection, check it out at www.neram.com.au, and Sharni Lloyd finished proceedings with an overview of A Viet Life project, a residency and exhibition by Vietnamese artist Dinh Luc.

It was agreed by all that the conference was an unqualified success, breathing new life into the collegiate sharing of ideas and experiences across the sector. 

You can view a number of the presentations at our website's resources section here: www.mgnsw.org.au/resources/conference_papers/

Michael Rolfe

The Cootamundra Arts & Cultural Centre

After travelling to Melbourne for the 5th World Summit on Arts & Culture, I took the opportunity to visit Wagga’s Regional Gallery & Museum of the Riverina. For a number of years Wagga has maintained a strong profile in the provision of cultural facilities and services. While this was not my first visit, the opportunity to hear first hand from Council GM Phil Pinyon and key staff reinforced the importance and effectiveness of the programs and plans that are in place.

After meeting council, museum and gallery staff at Wagga, I attended the opening of Cootamundra’s Tin Shed Theatre, the latest component of their inspiring Creative Arts & Cultural Centre.

I think it was in 2004 that Isabel and Leigh Scott and a band of volunteers began a concerted and planned campaign to develop a former farm machinery outlet into a thriving arts centre. To date, over 10000 hours of volunteer labour has been contributed by the Cootamundra community to the Arts Centre project. It truly has become a venue run by the community for the community. Before the theatre’s grand opening the centre already boasted a community gallery, artist studios, a workshop space, ceramics/ kiln room and a meeting space.

The Arts Centre has ongoing support from The Cootamundra Shire Council and has received a number of state and federal arts grants to complete various sections of the project. These grants have been made on a dollar for dollar fundraising basis. Patrons large and small have helped the Arts Centre on its way, from local tradespeople discounting their work, to local businesses selling tickets for events. This project demonstrates the creative and resourceful nature of the Cootamundra community and indeed regional communities generally.

The official opening was performed in front of over 120 local people by Mary Darwell, Executive Director of Arts NSW. It was a pleasure to meet Mayor Doug Phillips and to hear of his pride and enthusiasm for what has been achieved. I encourage you all to head to Cootamundra Shire – activities and programs can be found on the arts centre’s website www.ccacc.org.au. 

You can watch an interview with Isabel Scott, Program Manager of the Cootamundra Creative Arts & Cultural Centre on the development of the Centre below.


Michael Rolfe

The 5th World Summit on Arts and Culture

Scott Rankin, Director Big hART talking at the roundtable discussion day two IFACCA - The art of misdemeanor

From 3rd to 6th October, I was fortunate enough to attend the 5th World Summit on Arts and Culture at Melbourne’s rather grand Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Summit’s theme was Creative Intersections – and it brought together government and cultural leaders from over 80 countries to explore how artists can give voice to diverse communities and concerns through collaborations with experts in health and well-being, the environment, education, business, new technologies, cultural identity and more.

As many readers of this blog already know, arts and creativity are integral to our lives, to understand who we are as individuals and to how we engage with the world. The 500 or so delegates explored the possibilities of how cultural policy can be used to create opportunities and intersections within government and institutions, to create change and deliver creative connections within communities and peoples’ lives generally.

As an idea, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) commenced 10 years ago with the first summit held in Ottawa, Canada. Now planned to occur on a triennial basis, the next gathering will be in Chile, in 2014.

Both key-note and panelists spoke about Australia’s strong reputation as a leader in successfully building collaborations between the arts and other sectors of our society. The strength of our policy and institutional leadership, when compared internationally, was clear.

However, in my opinion, the need for our state and federal governments to re-focus their policy and funding initiatives also became apparent. Several informal discussions at the summit raised the need to now prioritise support for artists and the small to medium sector away from the current weighting (in dollar terms) toward major cultural institutions and performing arts companies.

Why? Because the small to medium sector and contributions of individual artists to culture is where the real intersection occurs, where change is manifest in new and exciting work and where the potential for policy becomes most effective.

For more information about the Summit and its outcomes follow the above link and visit the ABC website (arts) for in-depth coverage and reports.

Michael Rolfe