Remembering the 2012 IMAGinE awards

Jennifer Colless from the Walgett and District Historical Association Inc passed on the following memories about last year's IMAGinE awards:

Once again Museums & Galleries have hosted a magnificent event on 23 November 2012,  in the most interesting setting, the White Rabbit Gallery at Chippendale.

This was a great evening and, to old and new members of museums, it was inspiring and awesome and a great showcase of the wonderful work being done by the museum development sector helping all areas of museum growth and progress.

It was pleasing to see the Barkers from Lightning Ridge being honoured after their years of preservation of the stories and artefacts of the Indigenous people and lovely to see the family still involved.  We wish them lots of success in the future.

We also congratulate all the Award winners, such a good job they have all done and the award a great reward of which they are justly proud.

Lovely to meet up with folk from other museums, some of whom we have met before, and to catch up on their efforts over the years.

The professionalism of the entries in the competition was good to see and we can all learn from that.

The Grant funding has expanded one of our newer member’s outlook and she will pass on her enjoyment and what she has learned from the function.  Members need to take the opportunity of attending such functions to develop a broader outlook and new expansive ideas develop more readily.  It is good for all members to see what work other museums are doing, how they display, what they use, their space  (OH for the space in the White Rabbit – it made our mouths water).

We were delighted to have the opportunity of viewing the White Rabbit’s galleries.  I loved the open space, the (apparent) simplicity of some of the exhibits and the cleverness of many of the works, they appear to be something else (the honeycombed paper exhibit looked like a lazy serpent waiting for some unsuspecting animal to come within its reach, the military display and the fascinating door, motes of dust , the log and chains, painted bottles, life sized interview (fascinating), porcelain table & chairs, sunflower seeds and so many others. 

It was great, just goes to show what can be done.  Loved it!!