M&G NSW's journey to Tamworth

Michael Rolfe, CEO and the M&G NSW Board with volunteers from the Tamworth Powerstation Museum and staff from Tamworth Regional Art Gallery outside the Powerstation Museum.

Recently, the M&G NSW Board met in Tamworth and also visited Armidale and Uralla, as part of a packed two day visit and regional tour designed to familiarise members with a selection of galleries, museums and Aboriginal cultural centres within the region. Following the meeting, which was held at Tamworth Regional Gallery, the board visited Tamworth’s Powerstation Museum, the Historical Society’s Calala Cottage and well-known Country Music Hall of Fame. The Powerstation Museum celebrates all things electric, transforming an astounding historical fact (that Tamworth was the first city in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lighting) into a wonderful story about the impact, design and use of power generation in the region. Ron Greer and his associate volunteers have done a remarkable job carefully restoring and designing a set of displays of huge interest for visitors and residents alike.

Similarly, Calala Cottage captures the essence of early Tamworth life around the time of white settlement. The Historical Society, under President John Vickery, patiently volunteers time and resources to keep Tamworth stories alive. Their work, reflected in similar efforts all around NSW, is to be applauded for its commitment and contribution to the region. Similarly the Country Music Hall of Fame relies on the energy and commitment of volunteers to capture the history and storytelling that abounds in the town’s now world famous Country Music Festival.

Sandra McMahon, Director of the Tamworth Regional Gallery, helped organise a dinner to complete a busy first day. Board members were able to mingle with a range of local government reps (staff and councilors), local arts professionals and invited special guests. It was a great night and a chance for board chair, Professor Colin Rhodes, to acknowledge the commitment from a community that has produced a strong arts and cultural legacy in regional NSW.

The following day the board traveled to Armidale, visiting the Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place (during which they participated in a community charged celebration as part of Reconciliation Week) and then on to the New England Regional Art Museum for a tour of the collection and lunch with Director, Caroline Downer (and what a lunch it was)!

Kent Mayo welcomed us to the ‘must see’ McCrossin’s Mill in Uralla that features engaging displays in a beautifully restored three story granite and brick flour mill. Kent introduced the board to the planned developments of McCrossin’s Mill before returning to Tamworth and flights home.

Michael Rolfe, M&G NSW CEO.

Rapping at Walla Mulla

Museums & Galleries NSW continues its Reconciliation Action Plan journey and is on track to deliver its first ever RAP at the end of this month.

Our second workshop built on the importance of place and continuity of existence of people and culture in the local area of Woolloomooloo, where M&G NSW’s office is located. While our first workshop focused on the local people and culture pre-European contact, this time we looked at some aspects of contemporary Aboriginal life.

It was only a five minute walk from our office to those of the Walla Mulla Family and Community Support Centre around the corner in McElhone Street. Walla Mulla is a quiet achiever you may not have heard of before. The not-for-profit organisation has been around for many years offering counseling, family support, information, referral and advocacy on a range of issues including health, housing, education & training, employment and legal. It is there for the whole community but its work with the Aboriginal community and particularly court support and legal advocacy has drawn requests for the team’s help from across greater Sydney.

Walla Mulla means place of plenty in the local Gadigal language. Even so, we made sure we brought plenty of chicken, salad and bread with us to share with the Aunties. Food is important in so many cultures and for the mob even lunch becomes a relaxed celebration of stories, laughter and connection. The simple lunch was also our offering for the stories and knowledge the Aunties shared with us.

Everyone loved the Aunties for their strength and good humour as they shared stories of their lives and their current work at Walla Mulla. Although they receive some funding from the Department of Community Services, they provide critical Aboriginal perspectives at the grassroots case management level and go to great lengths particularly to try to keep children with their family wherever possible. Some of their stories made for difficult listening but are the reality of many Aboriginal families today, long after the assimilation and stolen generations policies have been abandoned and the impact of those policies echoes through subsequent generations.

After lunch we stayed on at Walla Mulla to work in teams on our RAP plan. The Reconciliation Australia website is fantastic with plenty of examples of successful RAPs, a toolkit with a RAP template and further advice only a phone call away. Working through the template we looked at what work we already embraced such as Welcome to Country at M&G NSW events and what more we could do in the three key areas Reconciliation Australia recommends: relationships, respect and opportunities. Happily everyone agreed we should engage more with the local community through places such as Walla Mulla and events such as the Woolloomooloo annual NAIDOC Week celebration and encouraging our arts neighbours at the Gunnery to join us. RAPs are very practical so we have committed, as one example, to some annual fundraising for the local community through Walla Mulla. Standby for news about the raffle!

Steve Miller, M&G NSW's Aboriginal Sector Programs Manager.

Survivor at Gosford Regional Gallery

Survivor: Dadang Christanto is a major art project by contemporary Indonesian-Australian artist Dadang Christanto. Initially developed in 2008 as a live protest against an environmental disaster that occurred in East Java which saw hot volcanic mud wipe out eleven villages and destroy many lives, Survivor has since transgressed beyond cultural borders, evolving into a universal, multi-faceted reflection upon human survival and what it means to endure tragic historical events, loss and death.

On April 1 Gosford Regional Gallery staged a two hour performance. Local volunteers silently occupied the gallery space in silent vigil, symbolically covered in mud and holding a photographic portraits of faces lost in the disaster.

Museums & Galleries NSW captured the whole day on video; interviewing artist Dadang Christanto, Aaron Seeto from 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sarah Samild from Gosford Regional Gallery and various participants in this extraordinary event. 






Regional gallery tour

Gosford Regional Gallery 

31 March - 20 May 2012

Lismore Regional Gallery 

20 July - 25 August 2012

The Glasshouse Regional Art Gallery
15 October - 2 December 2012

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
1 April 2013 - 31 May 2013

Devonport Regional Gallery
1 June - 31 July 2013

Pinnacles Gallery
23 November - 15 December 2013

Presented by Kultour in partnership with 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and toured by Museums & Galleries NSW. This exhibition is supported by the Contemporary Touring Initiative through Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian Government and state and territory governments.