Lady Denman exhibition opening

Lillian, Sarah-Jane and Phoebe were delighted to have the opportunity to travel down to beautiful Huskisson for the opening of the There’s a War On! exhibition at the very impressive Lady Denman Heritage Complex.

We arrived to the rousing tunes of war time performed by the local choir that was perched up on the deck of the Lady Denman boat! The music really added to the festive atmosphere of the exhibition and surely evoked many memories for people in the crowd.

The exhibition is housed within the main gallery space and exemplifies the possibilities of presenting touring exhibitions such as There’s a War On! with existing museum collections – in this case, a curated display of Lady Denman’s objects in the joint exhibition entitled Down To the Wire! The Bay and Basin in WWII. Interpretative panels, banners and video footage were shown alongside valuable historical objects drawn from the museum’s collection, allowing an interesting mix of factual World War II information while providing a local perspective of wartime experiences from the surrounds of Jervis Bay and Huskisson.



The exhibition also includes several activities catered for varying audiences, such as war costumes for children to dress up in, and laptops with internet access to the There’s a War On! wiki encouraging individual visitors to contribute their stories and memories from World War II to this public forum. After taking in the exhibition (and the delicious home baking on offer) we were very fortunate that the Curator of the Lady Denman, Graeme Hinton could spare the time to show us around the fabulous new collection management facility that the Museum acquired last year, including climate-controlled storage facilities.



Morgan Sant, President of the Lady Denman Committee (and Standards Program reviewer) also showed us the new theatre/conference room and the fascinating permanent maritime collection on display. There were lots of great stories associated with the collection and we all wished we had more time so we could look around the exhibitions some more. A return journey is definitely on the cards! There’s a War On! and Down to the Wire! are currently on exhibition at the Lady Denman Heritage Complex until Sunday 4 September 2011.

Phoebe and Lillian

Broken Hill's New Collection Store

Broken Hill Art Gallery's new collection store and loading dock.

On a recent trip to Broken Hill, to judge the 2011 Outback Art Prize and announce the winner, Bruce Tindale, director of the gallery, gave me a tour of the new (almost finished) collection store and loading dock.

One of the final pieces in the successful Sully’s Emporium puzzle, (the gallery moved to this impressive main street commercial premise several years ago) the new store will finally allow Broken Hill Regional Gallery’s remarkable collection to once again be housed and cared for under the one roof.

Tindale’s knowledge and eye for detail has ensured the design and construction of a flexible and efficient space. It’s large enough to cater for projected growth and cleverly connects to existing work areas in a way that improves workflow and admin activity. If visiting, check it out.

As I said in announcing the Outback Art Award the other night, in all respects, Broken Hill is the winner when it comes to regional museums and galleries.

Michael R

The Archibald Prize Packdown

Art Gallery of NSW team de-installing Adam Chang’s John Coetzee

Archibald Prize 2011 artworks being packed into traveling frames

Last Sunday 26 June was the final day of the 2011 Archibald Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) – and the first day of its extended life as a regional touring exhibition. After all of the hype with the judging and announcement of the winner, and thousands of visitors marching through the exhibition space in Sydney, the Archibald Prize kicks on with full speed and momentum to regional audiences in wider New South Wales and Victoria. 

After the AGNSW closed its doors on Sunday night, Sarah-Jane Rennie and myself attended the exhibition packdown. It took 6 strong men from the gallery’s installation group, 2 from Museums & Galleries NSW team, 41 custom-built wooden traveling frames, several electric drills and tools, a scissor lift and 5 action-packed hours to demount, carefully store, seal and label every painting and ensure each artwork was snug and safe in its traveling frame to venture on.

Specifically, our primary role was to document the step-by-step process involved in packing and handling each individual artwork. These instructions are then written up and provided to each of the upcoming host venues of the Archibald Prize as a tour manual to facilitate the proper care of the works at each regional gallery.

The Archibald exhibition left its home at the crack of dawn on Monday morning and will be shown at 7 galleries over the next 11 months, providing access to approximately 50,000 additional visitors in regional NSW and Victoria.

2011 Archibald Prize Regional Tour Itinerary:

Tarrawarra Museum of Art                           2 July – 31 July 2011

Tweed River Art Gallery                                5 August - 11 September 2011
Moree Plains Gallery                                    17 September - 23 October 2011
Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery                   28 October - 4 December 2011
Casula Powerhouse                                      9 December – 15 January 2012
Orange Regional Gallery                               20 January - 26 February 2012
Manning Regional Art Gallery                       2 March – 8 April 2012

For further information on the 2011 Archibald Prize touring exhibition and other touring exhibitions click here