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.

Briefing & brainstorming for Bungaree: The First Australian

In addition to some much-loved sunshine and warm weather in Sydney, the first weekend of Spring also marked the beginning of the momentous Bungaree project; a new exhibition being curated by Djon Mundine (OAM), developed by Mosman Art Gallery and toured by Museums & Galleries NSW.

Bungaree: The First Australian brings together 17 major Aboriginal artists to create a contemporary multi-arts response to the historical figure of Bunagree - the first person described in print as being an 'Australian' and commonly known as a mediator between English colonists and Aboriginal people, circumnavigating Australia with Matthew Flinders in 1802.

In an action-packed 3 day residency, the artists were introduced to the story of Bungaree, with guest lectures by Dr John Maynard and Dr Keith Vincent Smith, participated in workshops, brainstorms, and walking tours around Georges Heights to get the creative juices flowing - all on the scenic site of Bungaree's Farm in Mosman, land gifted to him by Governor Macquarie in 1815. Artists present at the weekend residency include Frances Belle-Parker, Karla Dickens, Fiona Foley, Adam Hill, Warwick Keen, Gary Lee, Gordon Syron, Leanne Tobin, Jason Wing, Mervyn Bishop, Aroha Groves, Caroline Oakley, and Peter McKenzie.

Exhibition curator Djon Mundine and artists partcipating in a workshop

It was particularly interesting to hear these contributors share their thoughts about the controversial character of Bungaree and debate the benefits of his involvement in colonial settlement (or lack of!) - What were Bungaree's motivations in befriending Flinders? Which community was he really helping and why? It was also at times incredibly moving to be reminded of the consequent conflicts in control, culture and identity still so prominently faced by Aboriginal people now.

Over the next 12 months, the artists will be working furiously across multiple mediums (including painting, drawing, photography, digital media, sculpture and installation) to develop their artistic response, which will culminate in an inaugural exhibition at Mosman Art Gallery in September 2012 before embarking on a nationwide tour. This is one to watch!

6 times Antony Gormley, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

As the sun was out on Saturday morning I decided to walk along the waters of Leith, the river that runs through Edinburgh in search of a series of Antony Gormley sculptures- 6 Times. The cast iron sculptures of a human figure are located in 6 places from the Leith Docks along the waters of Leith with the final one (well actually the first one, but last on my journey) at the entry gate of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Four of the works are located within the river, gathering the detritus of the river as its waters flow by them.

The work has been commissioned by the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art and were a delightful introduction to their collection. Following the walk I visited the Gallery and its sister organisation, Dean Gallery across the road. The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art is celebrating 50 years since its founding with a wonderful exhibition exploring the collection ranging through Picasso and Kandinsky to Ron Mueck and Damien Hirst. The exhibition currently showcases the work of Robert Therrien and Gilbert and George in a joint project with the Tate Modern known as ARTIST ROOMS.

I was also intrigued by the work of the the Boyle Family- Barra Project World series 1992-2010. This is a project shared by Mark Boyle, his partner Joan Hill and their now adult children Sebastian and Georgia. The works draw on the family themselves and the world they live within and includes 2 metre tall prints of SEM scans of Boyle family hair, textural reproductions of tidemarks and a wonderful darkened room with lapping water projected onto a tabletop.



Update: An interview with Antony Gormley has just been added to the ABC's Art Nation program website, to view it please go to Antony Gormley interview

Museums Galleries Scotland

Well I've now had two full days in the offices of Museums Galleries Scotland and what a whirlwind it's been. I was asked to provide a brief talk to the staff about M&G NSW and the museums and galleries of NSW for the second morning so I had a very busy night pulling together something that gave an impression of us and the NSW museum and gallery scene- in 15 minutes! I'm not sure I fully did us justice but people were telling me all afternoon how interesting it was so I guess there was something there.

In putting together the talk I realised how much larger NSW is than Scotland. This is particularly striking when you consider that M&G NSW has about half the staff of Museums Galleries Scotland. MGS offer many of the same services that M&G NSW do, with the major difference being that MGS don't tour exhibitions.

MGS have a really strong interest in research which became focused a few years ago through the development of a research strategy. Following the development of the strategy MGS commissioned a study on the impact of museums on communities as a broad sweep study of this area. This study then led to two further studies undertaken in 2009- Volunteering in Museums and Cornerstones of Communities. What has been great about this research is the manner in which MGS has been able to use it to back up further work such as a wonderful glossy document written to promote the work of museums with Stakeholders also called Cornerstones of Communities and the document that promotes to government he role museums play within communities called How Museums Can Help You

The latest Saatchi exhibition- Newspeak, British Art Now opened in London last night and British Art- Show 7 is on in Nottingham. There's a bit of discussion going on about which is more representative of contemporary art in the UK today. Newspeak doesn't include any audiovisual works, presumably because these are not within the collecting interests of Saatchi which has led people to ask- is it better to have an exhibition of one man's collection or an exhibition curated by outside curators (as is the case with Show 7)? It would seem that this is also an opportunity to debate the strength of the arts in the north and south of the country.


Today I'm attending one of Museums Galleries Scotland's one day workshops, this one is focused on oral history and is being run for the second time this year as it filled up (18 people) when it was held at the beginning of the year. I'll be particularly interested to see what sort of equipment and storage methods are being used over here, as well as how people are using oral history in their museums.