Icing on the Cake: Yamba Museum on winning an IMAGinE Award

Ghosts of World War I – 101 Local Heroes at Yamba Museum – The Story House in 2012. The Port of Yamba Historical Society built the exhibition around Peter Edmund’s research using local records, National Archives at the War Memorial, and interviews with veterans’ families. Image courtesy of the Port of Yamba Historical Society.

In 2012, Port of Yamba Historical Society won an IMAGinE award in the Exhibitions and Public Engagement category for Ghosts of World War I - 101 Local Heroes. This exhibition included the service records of 101 local heroes (including local Aboriginal Diggers) and objects from WWI, loaned by local families, partner organisations, and donations.

This wasn’t the first time the Yamba Museum had won an IMAGinE award. In 2008, Society President Marea Buist won an Individual Achievement award and, in 2011, the Museum received a Highly Commended award for their exhibition, Nursery Rhymes Exposed.

Because the museum is a successful veteran of the IMAGinE awards, I asked Marea Buist to offer advice to newcomers.

Why was Ghosts of World War I a successful exhibition?

It was successful but not for the reasons we anticipated. We plan exhibitions that will appeal to all ages but we didn’t think Ghosts of World War I would appeal to young people. As it turned out, we had many school visits and the children were interested in learning about this part of our history.

We also didn’t anticipate the community response. The exhibition was in the Old Kirk (the old Presbyterian church next to the main museum) and this created a spiritual context for the exhibition. It didn’t matter how many visitors were in the space they treated it more like a memorial than an exhibition.

Is it easy to prepare an IMAGinE nomination?

No, it’s never easy. How do you articulate a large project in so few words and images? How do you convey the goals of what you were trying to achieve? While your museum may think a project is fabulous, to a stranger it can mean absolutely nothing.

Completing the nomination takes a few weeks. Rather than trying to figure it out at once, we write a draft and then return to it repeatedly until we feel we’ve captured the essence of the exhibition. 

How did it feel when you won the IMAGinE award?

Fantastic. So many people put in so much work and effort and this rewarded their effort.

When you’re preparing an exhibition you don’t do it for accolades, but when your peers say that you put together an exhibition of real value then it’s the icing on the cake.

Beyond peer recognition, what value do you think there is in getting an award?

Winning an IMAGiNE award can provide great publicity. People are interested in what you’ll do next and expect a high level of quality. Maintaining this standard can be hard but it’s part of the challenge of sustaining a significant and relevant museum.

Peer recognition also builds networks between our museum and others. There’s nothing better than sharing advice with other museums and having this support reciprocated.

Any chance you’re nominating this year?

Yes, we are. VISION4CHANGE is a collaborative exhibition project between the Yamba, Grafton, Maclean and Lawrence Museums and is a first time partnership with a number of Aboriginal Elders throughout the Clarence Valley to share their stories. It’s been very special.

For further information about the IMAGinE awards including downloadable nomination forms go to our website.

IMAGinE awards - Individual achievements

Nominations closed last week for the 2012 IMAGinE awards. Museums & Galleries NSW are pleased to announce that we have received the most nominations to date. We are glad so many of you want to celebrate your museum, gallery or keeping place's achievements with us.

Each fortnight we will be introducing you to the nominees and their exciting stories. 

CATEGORY 4: INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT - VOLUNTEERS

Trevor William Dean, Curator
Australian Aviation Museum, Bankstown 

Trevor is a founding member of the Australian Aviation Museum and has been involved with other aviation museums and groups affiliated with Museums Australia, giving recognition to those who keep Australia’s history of aviation alive.

Trevor has worked on many mutually beneficial partnerships with the Air Training Corp cadets, TAFE students, volunteers and with the Work for the Dole program.

To keep to museum best practice, Trevor has travelled at his own expense to study aviation museums in the UK, USA and NZ.

To obtain funds for the Museum, Trevor approached the famous Australian flying boat pilot, Captain Bryan Monkton and assisted with writing his memoirs. After the Captain sadly became ill, Trevor carried out his wishes and published the book.

Trevor Pascoe, Former President
Millthorpe & District Historical Society
Golden Memories Museum 



Trevor led the Golden Memories Museum to become the leading volunteer museum in the Central West. This included the development of the Museum’s Strategic Plan.

Trevor was passionate about the social history collection and sharing it with the community. He initiated open days to create awareness of Millthorpe’s history.

Trevor made considerable effort to recognise the outstanding achievements of volunteers.

He encouraged and assisted members with grant applications, the most recent being for the production of the Strategic Plan. He liaised with Blayney Shire Council to gain interest free loans for developing infrastructure, in particular the extensions to the Rural Technology Building.

Unfortunately, Trevor passed away earlier this year but he will be remembered for this dedication to the Museum.

Peter Feitz 
Uralla Historical Society 
McCrossin’s Mill 



Peter first became involved with the Society by serendipity. In 1986 the Society received a grant to employ a builder for restorations. Peter was employed and with volunteers, mischievously called “monkeys”, they slaved away every Sunday until the money ran out and they could no longer pay ‘Feitzy’.

“So what?” he retorted. “You blokes all work here for nothing, so that’s what I’ll be doing too, as of next Sunday!”

As a highly skilled builder, Peter has become a teacher, displaying extraordinary patience. Without exception the volunteers have come away from working bees knowing they achieved something and have learned new skills along the way. This also includes people who have been given Community Service Orders.

Kevin Jewell, Volunteer Researcher
Gerringong and District Historical Society 



Kevin has donated time on two valuable projects. The first Gerringong Then and Now has involved gathering over 800 historical photographs and returning to the location for a ‘now’ shot. By speaking to many about the project he is creating interest in local history.

The second project involves meticulously researched history articles in the local magazine. Kevin only publishes information he can verify with primary research. His articles are engaging and have contributed significantly to local historical knowledge. The editor reports most community feedback is about Kevin's articles.

One resident commented, “I suspect people who wouldn't dream of reading a history book, find the articles most accessible."

Kevin's approach to research is an inspiration to the Gerringong Historical Society. 

Ken Smith, Past President and Secretary
Parramatta & District Historical Society
Hambledon Cottage House Museum 



Ken is seen as the catalyst for positive change. Members ask "what is the next improvement he is planning". He leads by example and trains other volunteers to take over duties.

Projects include implementing planning and budgeting, introducing collection database InMagic, seeking grants for training, writing policies and procedures, finalising a Conservation Management Plan which led to a State Heritage Register listing.

He has participated in working groups involving council and other museums. Ken’s been on the M&G NSW Volunteer Reference Committee and a Standards Program reviewer. He assisted the Royal Australian Historical Society to prepare a Strategic Plan and budget.

Ken has engaged schools in museum activities, resulting in an annual History Day with some 230 students involved.

Jennifer Colless, Volunteer Member
Walgett District Historical Society
Walgett Historical Society Museum 



Since retiring 8 years ago Jennifer has channelled considerable energy into the Walgett Society.

Jennifer fundraises through raffles and tour guiding. She promptly replies to community requests for information and photographs.

As the ‘go to’ person for family trees, Jennifer developed a Family Tree Starter Kit which was launched at the 2012 Walgett Community Festival where the supporting display won Champion Exhibit. Jennifer was there distributing kits and assisting people with their family trees. The Kit is important as it encourages locals to document their history creating a rich resource for the future. Jennifer also archives historical information. Although time consuming, she want to provide a good service to the community and leave a valuable resource for future generations. 

Daphne Salt
Sutherland Shire Historical Society & Museum

Daphne is an invaluable member of the Society. Daphne is generous with her time in detailing, recording and transmitting material for the Museum.

Daphne has spent 590 hours digitising all copies of our journal which commenced in 1966. Using the Society and her own personal collection of photographs she has produced a series of tablemats which were an excellent fund raiser.

Daphne is constantly available to answer questions from members and the public. She engages the community with presentations to various groups. Daphne has also produced many books on the history of the Shire. Always approachable and full of ideas, Daphne is the cornerstone of the Society.

CATEGORY 4: INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT - PAID STAFF

Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, Director
Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia



 “I was very fortunate to fall in love with contemporary art at university and I have spent a career trying to share that passion with a wider audience.” Elizabeth Ann Macgregor

Through her ability to focus on expanding the accessibility and understanding of contemporary art, Liz Ann has changed the perception of the MCA from an elitist, inaccessible institution to an engaging success.

She introduced free entry in 2000 resulting in attendance figures increasing five-fold to over 580,000 in 2010 and secured the financial future through a combination of efficient systems, self-generated income, private, corporate and government support.

During her time with the MCA she has piloted numerous access initiatives that have simultaneously increased attendance figures.

Leszek Strzelecki, Statewide Manager of Museums Retired Commissioned Officers Association Corrective Services NSW  



Les’ passion and determination for safeguarding Corrective Services’ antiquity was instrumental in establishing the Museum in Cooma. He continues to devote time, zeal and personal sacrifice to ensure the continuation of the vision he brought to the Museum at its inception.

Les has embraced the organisation’s focus on offender rehabilitation by employing a workforce of serving offenders in the Museum, preparing those individuals for a virtuous return to the community.

Les has worked tirelessly to bring the community closer to Corrective Services NSW, through the Museum. By dispelling the unknowns about the organisation, the community has become more receptive to the essential role Corrective Services plays in creating a safer community for all of us.

Dr Nick Lomb, Curator of Astronomy, Horology, Meteorology and Surveying
Sydney Observatory (Powerhouse Museum)



While he is a world-wide renowned expert, Nick is a generous, humble person who has had major impact. He has championed the protection of Sydney's colonial history and the recognition of Indigenous Astronomy.

Nick's high profile has contributed to the scientific community's understanding of the educational role museums play, enabling contemporary scientists to appreciate the value museums have in communicating science to the broader community.

Nick has engaged the community in many aspects of his work including instigating inclusion of community contributions to the Sydney Observatory blog site. This led the Australian Financial Review to declare Sydney Observatory in the top 15 blog sites of 2008.

Chatting with the IMAGinE 2011 winners

Below short videos that showcase winners of the 2011 IMAGinE awards and recipients of the 2011 IMAGinE highly commended certificates.

In our first video, IMAGinE award winners share their stories of excellence and innovation with us.

In our second video we talk with M&G NSW board member and gallery director, Belinda Hanrahan, about the significance of Special Achievement recipient Edmund Capon AM, OBE to our sector. 

 


Bob McKillop from Willoughby District Historical Society talks about their winning exhibition, 'The Tales of Flat Rock Creek' that explores the impact of urban development on a pristine natural environment since the European settlement, through the eyes of Willoughby residents.

The Bundanon Trust briefly explain their digitisation project for which they won the IMAGinE award for Collection Management- 5-20 paid staff.

Sharni Lloyd from The Glasshouse Regional Gallery discusses the exhibition People Of the First Sunrise, winner of the IMAGinE award Exhibitions and Public Engagement 1-4 Paid Staff. This exhibition was made in partnership with Port Macquarie TAFE, MCA and the Gallery.

To download a special brochure on the winners and highly commended click here.

If you've published anything electronically about the 2011 IMAGinE awards we'd love to post it!

To see the article on the posthumous honour of Glen Johns click here:

http://www.boorowanewsonline.com.au/news/local/news/general/top-honour-for-boorowa-man/2316585.aspx

To see the article on the Australian National Maritime Museum win click below:
http://anmm.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/imagine-award/
  
And the Grafton Regional Gallery received a trophy and a highly commended:
http://www.artsmidnorthcoast.org/grafton-regional-gallery-wins-at-the-2011-imagine-awards/

Arts Northern Rivers e-magazine covered the award and highly commended picked up by Grafton Regional Gallery
http://www.artsnorthernrivers.com.au/pages/news-latest-news-news-grafton-regional-gallery-wins-at-the-2011-imagine-awards

Only Three Days to GO until IMAGinE night

With only three days to go until the fourth annual IMAGinE awards things are certainly hotting up. The delicacies are ordered, the wine is cooling, everyone has figured out what frock they're wearing, and, most importantly, the nominees are awaiting breathlessly for the judges' results.

As well as the awards night we are also running a day of workshops, presentations and seminars on marketing and tourism at the Australian Museum. Called Talk the Talk, this is an unmissable event if you want to hone that digital strategy or get more punters through the door.

This Friday will certainly be a day and night to remember!

If you wish to register for the IMAGinE awards night or attend Talk the Talk during the day then click here.

But without further ado we know why you're here. And the nominees for Education and Audience Development in alphabetical order are . . .

Albury Art Gallery

Meet the Maker is a monthly program profiling regional established and emerging artists in retail. It offers the public the opportunity to understand the total creative process. The program presents unique opportunity for artists to communicate their craft to the public, to generate income from their art practice and fulfill the public’s curiosity about the professional expertise required in producing handmade objects. This program has initially fostered relationships between regional artists, the community and the Albury Art Gallery. Over the longer term, the retail products will become synonymous with the Gallery shop and support strong relationships between the Gallery and the artist.

Art Gallery of NSW

Open Weekend: art+soul. For the past three years, the AGNSW has hosted an annual Open Weekend that celebrates a particular collection area. The 2010 Open Weekend (held over the 2010 October long weekend) focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and was one of the Gallery's most intensive and rewarding programs. The weekend celebrated art + soul, which is the title of a major exhibition of Indigenous art at the Gallery, the corresponding comprehensive catalogue, and the ground-breaking three-part ABC documentary series written and presented by Hetti Perkins, Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, and directed by award winning filmmaker Warwick Thornton. This landmark Open Weekend brought together 60 Indigenous artists, writers, musicians, performers and academics from all around Australia, many who featured in the exhibition and TV series.

Campbelltown Arts Centre

Edge of Elsewhere engages communities across Sydney to develop and produce a series of contemporary art projects in partnership with artists. Developed through an open-ended curatorial structure, the project is conceived not only within the framework of geography—that being greater Sydney, with a particular focus on suburban Western Sydney and Sydney’s Chinatown district—but also through the cultural demographic of these particular places. Edge of Elsewhere has emerged from a strong history of community engaged practice that Campbelltown Arts Centre has developed through continuing to test new models of engagement between contemporary artists and communities. Through this experience and ongoing commitment, Campbelltown Arts Centre has identified that if long-term relationships between communities and artists can be sustained, the significance of the outcomes and level of innovation in the work produced in such contexts extends exponentially.

MINTO:LIVE was a large-scale site-specific performance event presented as part of 2011 Sydney Festival in Minto. The event brought together national and international artists to work in collaboration with the residents of Minto to create eight new performance works that reflected and celebrated the stories and experiences of Minto residents. The event ran for three-days and was presented in the form of a walking tour, with local volunteer ushers who accompanied the audience through public and private housing estates to experience contemporary theatre, dance, song and film.

Chifley Home

The Chifley Home Education Centre has been purposely designed and constructed in the house adjoining Chifley Home which was purchased by Bathurst Regional Council in 2008 with the intention of developing an Education / Interpretative Centre to support the Chifley Home museum and its significant collection. The development of the new Centre has been assisted by grant money from the Commonwealth and NSW State Governments together with continued financial support by Bathurst Regional Council. Its aim was to enhance and engage a broader visitor audience to Chifley Home whilst not comprising the integrity and intactness of the house museum and its original collection.

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery

As part of the exhibition GW Bot: the long paddock A 30 YEAR SURVEY an education kit was designed to enhance student engagement with the exhibition and provide vital ideas for teachers in developing theoretical understanding and practical artmaking experiences. The education kit is a comprehensive resource for preschool, primary school and high school students and contains information about the artist that is informative to the general public or anyone interested in learning more about GW Bot and printmaking.

Grafton Regional Gallery

The Postcard Station project was produced by Grafton Regional Gallery in conjunction with the Friends of Grafton Gallery FOGG to celebrate International Museum Day 2011. The Postcard Station project was a community out reach arts project completed at multiple venues across the Clarence Valley. Each Postcard Station was equipped with blank postcards and a selection of materials to create a unique postcard. Finished postcards were ‘posted’ in the Postcard Station mailbox. At the completion of the project every participant was mailed a randomly selected postcard created by another participant. If you made a postcard you received another in the mail! 

Powerhouse Museum

Reveal is a Museum trail where visitors uncovered small, fictional yet empathetic stories about museum objects by children’s author, Morris Gleitzman. The trail is a series of texts, written in invisible ink in dimly lit places adjacent to a featured object and can only be revealed by a black light torch. Reveal was the basis of a successful holiday program, an associated Sydney Writers Festival Event – Writer Overnighter and now part of the Museum's regular offer. Reveal incorporated hand-made puppets in the vicinity of each object, an illustrated print trail, three writing stations for visitor responses and a journey throughout the museum. As a children’s program it hit the intergenerational sweet spot proving popular with all the family members.

Tocal Homestead

"Tales of Tocal - The Mystery in The Creek" built on the success of "Tales of Tocal" dinner theatre at Tocal Homestead in 2008 and 2009. The true story of the discovery of a headless body in a creek on the Tocal property in November 1874 was retold through audience encounters with characters around the farm. The audience made their way around the buildings and grounds at twilight before enjoying dinner in the re-used hayshed. This project was to build a new audience for this site and in that regard well exceeded expectations.

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IMAGinE Exhibitions Nominations Part Two

The 2011 IMAGinE award nominations have closed and as always we have been inundated with entries from throughout NSW. With less than two weeks to go we continue to highlight the nominees in each category as we warm up for a glamorous night of canapes, wine and awards at the Australian Museum's Terrace Room.

This week we're highlighting the second half of the nominees for Exhibitions and Public Engagement. 

EXHIBITIONS AND ENGAGEMENT: 5-20 STAFF

Campbelltown Arts Centre

Edge of Elsewhere is a major contemporary arts project that commissions artists from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific region to produce new works in partnerships with communities across Sydney. The Project is committed to the development of long-term relationships between the community and artists, sustaining these relationships for the duration of the project and beyond.

The River Project was a major contemporary arts project held at Campbelltown Arts Centre and at sites along the Upper Georges River, Sydney, Australia from 21 August – 31 October 2010. The River Project brought together Australian and international artists to explore the contemporary relationship of cultures to, and the issues facing, river systems in Asia and the Pacific. The project comprised an exhibition, publication, performance and community engaged projects, education and public programs.

Casula Powerhouse

Body Pacifica was successful in cementing the Casula Powerhouse Art Centres’ commitment to the Pacific Communities of Western Sydney and the broader community whilst generating partnerships across the creative and cultural sector. Body Pacifica was a celebration of contemporary and traditional pacific island cultures and also featured seven exhibitions in collaboration with the Australian Museum and the National Rugby League.

Mosman Art Gallery & Community Centre

Australian Accent: The designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the ‘40s & ‘50s revealed a part of Mosman's heritage which linked closely with the development of Australian design history and a growing sense of a modern national identity. This exhibition strengthened relationships between the Mosman Art Gallery and the museum and industry design sector and broke new ground in Gallery programming. This exhibition was the first time that Mosman Art Gallery (in collaboration with Mosman Library) had initiated a design based exhibition.

Newcastle Regional Art Gallery

Curious Colony, a twenty first century Wunderkammer was an exhibition held at Newcastle Region Art Gallery (NRAG) in 2010 as part of the 200th anniversary of Lachlan Macquarie’s swearing-in as Governor of New South Wales which was commemorated with a statewide celebration program. The selection of exhibition items included colonial works of art and objects referencing the era as well as the commission of a contemporary Wunderkammer reflecting on the Macquarie Collectors’ Chest, created in Newcastle, New South Wales around 1818 for Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and currently held in the NSW State Library

Sydney Jewish Museum

Serving Australia: Jewish Involvement in Australian Military History commemorates the wars in which Australia has participated, recognising the roles played by Jews serving in Australia’s defence forces and those supporting the Australian war efforts from home. The exhibition draws upon a large collection of diverse objects donated by the community. Each item tells a story of service, commitment and courage representative of the significant contributions made by Jews to the Australian Military.

Sydney University Museums (University Art Gallery)

The Japan in Sydney project included a curated exhibition, a bilingual catalogue (hard-copy and online pdf) and an extensive public and education program. The exhibition featured the University's collection of Japanese pre-World War II modernist prints, and a selection of works by prominent European and Australian modernist artists, sourced from public and private collections. The fully-illustrated, bilingual catalogue presented concentrated research by Australian and Japanese art historians and scholars, on European, Australian and Japanese modernism in prints

Tweed River Art Gallery

Surface Tension: the art of Euan Macleod 1991 - 2009 was initiated and developed by Tweed River Art Gallery and curated by Gavin Wilson. It is the first major touring exhibition of work by an artist considered to be one the finest painters of his generation. This survey exhibition of 47 works traces Macleod's oeuvre from both the Australian bush and his homeland of the South Island of New Zealand. Surface Tension presents major works drawn from public and private collections, the paintings showcasing the best of Macleod's practice

EXHIBITIONS AND ENGAGEMENT: 21+ STAFF

Australian Museum

Rituals of Seduction: Birds of Paradise is a traveling exhibition and invites the visitor to consider - are we more like birds than we think? This exhibition looks at how both birds and people engage in a variety of decoration, display and dance to draw attention to themselves (for the birds this is usually part of courtship rituals) - and at the close relationship between birds of paradise and people. It features magnificent still photography, film footage and mounted specimens showing the species’ range of eccentric attributes. Also on display are items from the Museum’s anthropology collection including wigs made from human hair and several magnificent feathered headdress.

Australian National Maritime Museum

On their own – Britain’s child migrants' is a traveling and online exhibition that traces the history of child migration schemes from Britain to Australia and Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries. This significant – and previously hidden – part of Australia’s history has not been explored in a major exhibition before. The story of British child migration is placed within the global thematic framework of immigration and child welfare policy. The personal experiences of child migrants are balanced alongside material illustrating the schemes, their motivations and their often tragic impact. 

MCA

The Begin-Again was a two-night art walk through Hurstville CBD. The event, created by Australian artist Angelica Mesiti, was commissioned by Hurstville City Council in collaboration with C3West. Mesiti created four site-specific videos and one performance that directly involved more than 90 local residents as performers in the story of their area. Each one of these works responded to community concerns such as the increase in high-rise development, traffic congestion and growing population, and how they affect Hurstville’s sense of connectedness.

The Museum of Australia Democracy

The Museum of Australia Democracy commissioned an artwork, in partnership with the Canberra Glassworks, to reflect the celebrations of Federation in 1901. Our aim was to create a work that embodied Australian communities’ celebrations of Federation, both in the artwork itself and, through community engagement, in the process of its creation. The resulting artwork, The Illuminations by Wendy Fairclough, is a collection of 20 blown glass vessels which echo contemporary domestic glassware, with a panorama of night-time celebrations sandblasted onto them. The panorama was inspired by research and hand-coloured photographs in an album in the museum’s collection

State Library of NSW

In 2010 New South Wales celebrated the bicentenary of the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie. The Governor: Lachlan Macquarie 1810 to 1821 project included a major exhibition with over 100 original items, presented at the Library in Macquarie Street; a touring exhibition with 40 original items hosted by regional galleries and museums; a display presented in western Sydney public libraries; public events held in 10 regional public libraries, presented by specialist Library staff and a display at NSW Parliament House highlighting the state-wide bicentennial celebrations.

IMAGinE Exhibitions Nominations

The 2011 IMAGinE award nominations have closed and as always we have been inundated with entries from throughout NSW. Over the next four weeks we'll highlight the nominees in each category as we warm up for a glamorous night of canapes, wine and awards at the Australian Museum's Terrace Room.

This week we're concentrating on the Exhibitions and Public Engagement. We've had so many nominations we need to split this category in two. This week we're looking at volunteer run organisations and those organisations run by 1-4 paid staff.

Without further ado, here are the nominations:

EXHIBITIONS & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - VOLUNTEER ORGANISATIONS

Australian Railway Monument
Stories from former Werris Creek rail employees a well as original footage from the days of steam up until modern day diesel and electric. This theme is believed to be unique in the Australian context and is based on the fact that Werris Creek is the first and last railway town in NSW.



Glenalvon Museum
This was a program of changing displays on local heritage themes whilst interpreting Glenalvon, classic Georgian two-storey town house located in Campbelltown and simultaneously undertaking a progressive upgrading of the room displays to create the experience of life during the last 180 years.


Port Macquarie Historical Society
A series of temporary exhibitions themed to link to local, statewide and national history festivals, other celebrations and visiting exhibitions. Each of the temporary exhibitions also included a public program event, usually an open day with free or gold coin entry and coffee morning with curatorial speaker or other relevant local guest speaker/s.

Port of Yamba Historical Society

A special exhibition, titled Nursery-Rhymes Exposed – Delve Deeper than the Ditty, depicted thirty-one Rhymes. Each was displayed alongside a colourful illustration and information labels explaining background and historical context, sourced from hours of research. Surrounding each was a collection of items. eg ‘Polly Put the Kettle On’ featured a collection of tea-sets and pots; ‘Baa-Baa Black Sheep’ - wool and shearing equipment.



Thredbo Ski Museum

The Kiandra Story which endeavours to display to the visiting public through historical photographs, DVDs, skis, apparel, historic newspaper articles, the rich story of organised alpine skiing beginnings in Australia and arguably ,the world to acknowledge and celebrate the 150th Anniversary of organised alpine skiing in Australia, beginning at Kiandra in 1861.




Willoughby District Historical Society Inc
The Tales of Flat Rock Creek exhibition explores the impact of urban development on a pristine natural environment since the European settlement through the eyes of Willoughby residents. The story is told through three primary themes: the Rugged Landscape to the 1930s; the Ruined valley resulting from industrial waste, the Willoughby Incinerator and the garbage tip that impacted on the downstream landscape, flora and fauna; and its Reclamation, which explores the rehabilitation of the area and restoration of the incinerator as public recreational facilities and a bushland walkway.
EXHIBITIONS & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - 1-4 PAID STAFF

Coffs Harbour Regional Museum

The Museum Pop Up was devised when the museum was flooded and closed in March, 2009.It was of vital importance to be able to reassure local residents the collection was in good condition and that their history was intact and was being managed in a responsible way although the objects were in storage. The "Pop Up" museum concept was embraced by the community.


Cowra Regional Art Gallery

The project was the co-curated presentation of the touring exhibition There’s a War On!  World War II at Home . The Cowra component was curated by the Gallery Director Brian Langer and showcased visual art and craft objects, photographs and memorabilia from community and private collections in Cowra that were linked in various ways to the works and curatorial themes of the touring exhibition.




George Hanna Memorial Museum

Audacciousville: the Story of Dacey Garden Suburb’ explored the history of Australia’s first public housing estate. Daceyville, as the suburb is known today, began construction in 1912 and was a product of the first labor government in New South Wales. Unfortunately, due to World War I and a change of government, the finished suburb was a fraction of its planned size.


Glasshouse Regional Gallery

People Of the First Sunrise was a project in partnership with Port Macquarie TAFE, MCA and the Gallery. Over a 9 month period, Aboriginal TAFE students developed a curatorium and selected works from the MCA Collections under the mentorship of Keith Munro, Curator Aboriginal projects, MCA. 24 works by 17 renowned Indigenous artists from eastern Australia were selected exploring current issues about identity and place

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery

GW Bot: the long paddock A 30 YEAR SURVEY is a solo survey exhibition of past and recent work by GW Bot and includes some new work. As one of Australia’s leading artists her printmaking, sculpture and painting is justly exhibited on its own. Bot’s unique visual language and imagery offers alternate ways of viewing the familiar.



Grafton Regional Gallery

The project involved two exhibitions Fire, Form and Fruition Geoff Crispin: a regional practice in clay and An Artist’s Influence on the Collection presented simultaneously in September 2010 at the Grafton Regional Gallery. Form examined the interactions between an artist and local and remote communities with in Australia and overseas. An Artist’s Influence demonstrated the interaction between an artist, Geoff Crispin, working in a regional area and his impact on the collection development of their regional gallery.
Macquarie University Art Gallery

India ─ Past, Present and Abroad provides broad access to the understanding of our multi-cultural nature of Australian heritage, by presenting the perspectives of local photographers and historians on the contribution of Indian culture. Travel photography and newspaper heritage is made accessible for audiences to conduct similar research.



Peacock Gallery

Auburn Youth Art Showcase-"Own it"- An exhibition of works by local young people aged 12-24 during Youth Week and School Holidays ( 1 April to 1 May 2011) at the Peacock Gallery, Auburn Botanic Gardens. The strategies used resulted in the provision of an engaging exhibition and public programming aimed at engaging youth in the arts



UNE Heritage Centre, University of New England
THROUGH THE COLLECTORS LENS - DISSECTING BOOLOOMINBAH exhibition at NERAM exhibition provides an opportunity to use a large `museum standard' exhibition space to explore the diversity of collections held by the university and to introduce them to a general audience. The project was to develop an exhibition which could use scientific and cultural collections to explore a common theme which would be interesting to a general audience

2011 IMAGinE Individual Achievements

The 2011 IMAGinE award nominations have closed and as always we have been inundated with entries from throughout NSW. Over the next four weeks we'll highlight the nominees in each category as we warm up for a glamorous night of canapes, wine and awards at the Australian Museum's Terrace Room.

A strong category this year is Individual Achievements celebrating specific people in our sector who have tirelessly sought excellence and innovation for their museum, gallery or keeping place. Whether volunteer or paid, these ladies and gentlemen have proved to be invaluable and irreplaceable for their organisations and the sector as a whole. 

And the nominees are . . . 


VOLUNTEER STAFF

Glen Johns contributed tirelessly to the museum sector across NSW from the late 1990s through to his death on 31st January 2011. Glen's contribution to the museum sector began with his work with the Boorowa museum in the late 1990s when he moved to Boorowa.

Within museum circles, Glen is probably best remembered as the man behind the Working Spaces  conferences held at St Clements, Galong. As a man who believed anything was possible, Glen approached Museums & Galleries NSW in 2006 with an idea for a volunteer museums conference with "no talking heads" and plenty of practical workshops. In no time, Glen had convinced the major cultural institutions in Canberra to contribute staff to run the various workshops and the Working Spaces conference was born.

Gillian Kelly has shown great leadership as a volunteer Curator working with QDHMS (Society) members and CIT Museum Studies Students with the support of QCC in transforming the Queanbeyan Museum's displays over the last 8 years. Amongst a great deal of work, Gillian has researched, developed, consulted on, planned for and led a team that has set up an average of two new exhibitions in the Museum each year.

Led by Gillian, the volunteer team  has transformed Queanbeyan Museum into a high quality and accessible community facility that tells the many stories about Queanbeyan and its history. Gillian is also a local historian and received an OAM for her contribution to the history group Lacemakers of Calais.

In April 2002, Jill Madew, a long term resident and business woman of Adaminaby, heard the heavy machinery previously used in the construction of the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme in NSW would be offered at auction. Under Jill's leadership, a group of Adaminaby residents formed a fundraising committee and in a frantic scramble before the auction, the committee raised $40,000. The money raised by the committee enabled the purchase of eight of the ten items earmarked as most historically important.

With the beginnings of a collection in hand, Jill converted the fundraising committee into a museum committee and set about the long and arduous task of convincing Governments through grants applications and other fundraising endeavours, that the proposed museum was needed as a tribute to one of the engineering wonders of the modern world. Next month, Snowy Scheme Museum Adaminaby opens to the public. 

On moving to Grafton in 1976, Pam Fysh became an active committee member of the Jacaranda Art Society. The society established and presented the annual Jacaranda Art Prize and founded the Grafton Art Gallery which in 1988 became the Grafton Regional Gallery. Since then, Pam's guidance and actions in developing and supporting the gallery in its programs, collections and support groups, and its facilities and equipment has always been positively and diplomatically given.

Pam Fysh has been and continues to be an active advocate for museums and galleries in the Clarence Valley and beyond. Over the last year Pam has worked with the Grafton Showground Trust to upgrade the kitchen of the Barn, a heritage listed pavilion. Pam has been instrumental in gaining a grant of $100,000 through the Community Building Partnership of the NSW Government, gaining the services of an architect pro bono and having the project completed on time.

Christina Webb has had a significant impact on the community-based Thredbo Historical Society since she joined in 2000.

From 2001 Christina undertook the duties of Honorary Secretary/Treasurer. Her work involved correspondence, minutes, membership, accounts, banking, transcription of oral histories, 3 newsletters annually, publicity and archiving of printed material. Between 2000 and 2009 the Society membership increased from circa 60 members to 200. By 2009 the volume of Secretary/Treaurer’s work had increased so much that it was necessary to split the position in three, and Christina was appointed Honorary Museum Administrator/Publicity Officer.

Christina drives half hour drive from her home in Jindabyne to Thredbo in order to open the Museum, an activity which she combines with a ski prior to opening the museum during the winter months.


PAID STAFF

Gavin Fry has been Director of Newcastle Museum since 1999. Since then he has conceived, developed, supervised and brought to completion the redevelopment of the former Newcastle Regional Museum, bringing it firmly into the 21st century as an institution of which the community and the state can be justly proud. Year after year he systematically put in place the building blocks of the project, including the sale of the former museum site, acquisition of the new Museum Storage Facility and successful application to the Commonwealth which resulted in an $8.5 million grant. This was the largest made under the RLCIP nation building program and completed a $23.5 million funding package. 

Gavin is coming to the end of a 30 plus year career in Australian museums, having worked steadily up through a range of significant roles including Senior Curator of Art at the Australian War Memorial, Deputy Director of the Australian National Maritime Museum and Museums Review Consultant for the Department of Defence.

Julie Baird has been Curator of Newcastle Museum since 2002 and Acting Deputy Director since November 2010. Since the closure of the old museum in 2007 Julie has been developing a new suite of exhibitions for the revamped museum and has recruited and led an enthusiastic team to work towards the 2011 reopening. Recruited to Newcastle from her previous role as senior curator at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Julie has become an integral part of the Hunter region museums scene, reorganising and invigorating the Hunter Chapter of Museums Australia, acting as a leader and mentor for the smaller museums in the area.

The new museum's feature exhibition, Newcastle Story, is Julie's work from conception to completion. She provided the brief, worked closely with the architects and designers and led the installation team. The outstanding result achieved in the new Newcastle Museum could not have been achieved without her knowledge, enthusiasm, commitment and passion.

In 2009, Rebekah Schulz, Manager of the Library, Museum & Entertainment for Hurstville City Council, undertook a restructure of the Hurstville Library and Information Services, Penshurst Branch Library and St George Regional Museum to meet 21st century community needs. Rebekah converged the facilities into Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery (LMG), a centre of cultural excellence which aims to educate, inspire and engage.

Rebekah has worked on the following major initiatives including the development of Councilor education program, Hurstville’s Community Strategic Plan 2021, The Begin-Again, a Sydney-wide art event with C3West and MCA staff and a successful campaign for the Museum & Gallery to double its opening hours.

Rebekah’s impact on our organisation is evident of her being announced the inaugural winner of HCC's Leader of the Year Award in 2010.

Gary Corbert's twenty-three year career in the museum & gallery sector commenced at Broken Hill Regional Gallery where he worked as an Education Officer. Upon the then Director's resignation, he was subsequently appointed Director - continuing to work towards establishing a strong profile for the gallery, its collections and programs. He also contributed to the museum and gallery sector in various roles including his position as Museums and Galleries Manager at Broken Hill City Council. 

In 2002, Gary instigated the Border Art Prize, which is held at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery and the Tweed River Art Gallery in alternating years. The prize aimed to showcase the wealth of local talent in the Tweed/Gold Coast regions, has become one of the most popular in the region and continues to grow in size each year.

Who will win? Book now for the 2011 IMAGinE awards presentation event!