An Introduction to Oral History

Today I sat in on one of Museums Galleries Scotland's workforce training events- An Introduction to Oral History. MGS run a workshop about once a month, each one focusing on a single issue. This workshop had twelve participants and was delivered by Dr Gary West, University of Edinburgh- it gave a great outline of what's involved in undertaking oral history projects. Gary ran through the planning, interview and management phases of the project and then showed us the sort of equipment that's now being used for oral history interviews.

As in Australia, solid state recorders are now the most commonly used recorders. He showed us the ZOOM H4N which has two microphones in built and the capacity for a further two external mics to be attached. These recorders take SD cards and utilise about 2 GB of memory for an hour's recording. He recommends recordings are done in .wav files (not MP3) 44.1 kHz 16 bit or 48kHz 16 bit format. At the School of Scottish Studies, where Gary is based, they store master copies of the recordings they undertake on large hard drives with further masters burned as files onto DVDs. As is the case in Australia, there is still no certainty about the longevity of storage systems for digital files.

In the afternoon, the participants were given the opportunity to test out the equipment and their interviewing skills by interviewing each other. Finally Gary showed us some material from the School of Scottish Studies digitisation project Tobar an Duachailis. This is an incredible website that provides access to the School of Scottish Studies vast archive of oral histories, music recordings and songs that go back to the 1950s. The site is still in test mode but is well worth a visit.

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.

Old Town, Edinburgh

After my visit to Britannia, I went on to Edinburgh and had a wonderful walk around Old Town where I managed to run in and see the last 15 minutes of a wonderful photography exhibition of works by the American photographer Edward Weston, an early to mid twentieth century artist. Weston had an interest in those wonderful positive and negative spaces that can be revealed in black and white photography and the exhibition was filled with wonderful studies of both vegetable and human form. There were a couple of images of a nautilus shell that were particularly memorable, the shapes seemed to be mimicked in a study of a nude woman he did some time later. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade them to let me up to see William Wegman's dogs which finished that day, but I'll be going back as the shop had some great local works...

I then went up to the Royal Mile which runs from Holyrood Palace up to Edinburgh Castle (famous for its annual tattoo which as a child I thought happened at Christmas time). I called into a wonderful little place called the Scottish Storytelling Centre which also runs the John Knox House. John Knox played a pivotal role in the Scottish reformation and the establishment of the Presbyterian church in the mid 16^th Century and is said to have been one of the main figures behind the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots who was staunchly Catholic. The exhibition in the house interweaves the story of John Knox, who is believed to have spent the last few months of his life in the house, with that of James Mossman. Mossman was a goldsmith and the Keeper of the Royal Mint. A staunch supporter of Mary and Catholicism, Mossman was eventually hung for leading a revolt.

The house was built in the mid 1500s and rescued by the Church of Scotland in 1850 to tell the story of John Knox. At that time the Old Town area had become a slum and was one of the most densely populated areas of Europe with up to 10 people living in a single room. While there is no disabled access to the upper floors, an interactive audiovisual has been developed that provides detailed views of all of the rooms.

The house sensitively tells the intertwined stories of John Knox and James Mossman within a significant heritage site complete with a beautifully painted ceiling. I was impressed with the use of carefully lit showcases which display a series of original John Knox publications and the puzzles children were invited to play with.

Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia

Good morning from a cool but sunny Edinburgh. I had hoped to post this last night but the internet got the better of me! After a false start on Saturday I spent Sunday getting oriented around Edinburgh, visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia which is now an historic vessel moored at Ocean Terminal. The city of Leith (where I’m staying) won the right to house the ship (as I would count it more as a ship than a yacht) when she was decommissioned and have seen it as the spearhead in a rejuvenation of the Edinburgh docklands. The area reminds me somewhat of the White Bay/Pyrmont area of Sydney with some contemporary apartments springing up in the midst of an industrial wasteland. In the midst of this is Ocean Terminal- a large, very contemporary shopping centre with its own Royal Yacht.

Britannia is apparently one of Scotland’s most visited attractions and although a bit sceptical I must say it was a great tour. Each visitor is handed a handset with a keypad to dial up the commentary at each stopping point so that you can choose to listen to it all or move on. I was impressed that as well as a good range of languages, the tour was also available in Visually Impaired (I presume this was an audio description), Basic English/Learning difficulties and Child. The tour was quite revealing about the queen’s lifestyle, including the fact that she and Prince Phillip have separate bedrooms. I did wonder how I would feel revealing such details of my life whilst still around! I was quite amused by the fact that there was a tea room positioned halfway through the tour and a lolly shop a little further along- clearly the Britannia have a good sense of playing to their audience!

2010 IMAGinE Awards

22 October 2010 - 2010 IMAGinE Awards

On Friday night about 100 people gathered on the Circular Quay Terrace at the MCA to find out who had won the 2010 IMAGinE Awards. With fantastic food and wine by Culinary Edge and the Sydney rain holding out a great night was had by all. Below are some (lo-res) images form the night.  More will be added over the next few days. 

 

Celebrating and acknowledging excellence and innovation, the 2010 IMAGinE Awards were held on Friday 22 October, 2010 at the Museum of Contemporary Art with winners coming from the ACT, metropolitan and regional NSW and large and small museums and galleries.

In only their third year, the IMAGinE Awards celebrate the achievements and extraordinary diversity of the NSW and ACT museum and gallery sector and those who work within it, both paid and volunteer staff. Comprising of over 650 organisations and approximately 5000 paid and volunteer workers, these galleries and museums also provide a major contributions to their local communities, economies and cultural life as well as playing an important role in tourism across urban and regional NSW and the ACT.

With so much diversity across NSW and ACT, the IMAGinE Awards shine a spotlight by showcasing a sector full of creativity, inspiration, education and knowledge and this year’s winners cover the widest cross section of museums and galleries. Across each category, there were nominations and winners from large metropolitan institutions to smaller local museums and regional galleries, all showcasing excellence and contributing to the unique visitor experiences.

The IMAGinE Awards not only acknowledge, celebrate and promote excellence across the sector, they also forge important networks and links between the paid and volunteer staff within museums and galleries.

Recipients of the 2010 IMAGinE Awards

Category 1 COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

Volunteer- Port Macquarie Historical Society
Paid Staffed - Art Gallery of NSW

 

 

 

 

 

Category 2 EXHIBITIONS

6 or less staff- Living on the Waters Edge - Hurstville City Museum & Gallery -
7 or more staff -The Tinytoreum Powerhouse Museum

Category 3 EDUCATION / PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Volunteer - Hand on History The Oaks Historical Society - Wollondilly
6 or less staff - Scattered Bones - Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum
7 or more staff – Joint winner - Radio Frequency Identification Program Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
7 or more staff– Joint winner- The Shell Questacon Science Circus Questacon

Category 4 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Volunteer- Port Macquarie Historical Society & Museum
6 or less staff – Joint winner - Glasshouse Regional Gallery Port Macquarie
6 or less staff– Joint winner - Lady Denman Heritage Complex Huskisson Inc
7 or more staff- Museum of Contemporary Art

 

 

 Category 5 INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Volunteer - Pat Elkin - New England Regional Art Museum
Paid Staff- Kylie Winkworth 

Well it's now 9am on my first full day in Scotland. The sun finally turned up at about 8am and it's going to get to a rather chilly 7 degrees Celsius, brrr. It was a lovely sunny afternoon when I arrived yesterday and apparently remain sunny through to tomorrow which is great news. Yesterday the UK government announced their austerity budget so people are feeling a bit nervous right now. I'm reminded of what SA and Victoria went through in the 1990s, thanks to the collapse of some other financial institutions.

As I look out this window, I'm thinking about the connection to harbours on this journey so far. Of course Woolloomooloo, where M&G NSW is located, is right on Sydney Harbour, and is where my grandfather first arrived in Australia on WWII British naval ship and now here I am in Edinburgh looking at the harbour that is the other end of that journey.

I was really struck by the bustle of Hong Kong harbour, barges filled with containers headed for ships, ferries, little service boats, huge cruise ships etc etc. While it is a very modern place with wall to wall skyscrapers, the hills still rise up behind all of this, reminding one that there is an ancient presence behind it all. Strangely I could still imagine the trading partners of the East India Company arriving in their sailing ships and the battles of the opium wars with the ships being blown up not far from the harbour.

I'm off to catch up with the staff of Museums Galleries Scotland for lunch

Working Spaces 4 Conference

Sarah-Jane and I drove down to Galong last Friday to attend the famous Working Spaces 4 conference at St Clements Monastery. This is the fourth year this highly popular conference for museum volunteers has been put on, organised by the Museums Australia Lachlan Chapter.

St Clements Monastery is located about 20 minutes from Harden in the Southern Tablelands. It is a huge red brick building surrounded by farmland, complete with a grotto and a rather filmic gothic cemetery. It even has a small museum which tells the fascinating story of the original residents of ‘Galong castle’.

Around 40 participants from as far as Orange and Victoria were there and it was great for Sarah-Jane and I to catch up with some old friends and put some new faces to names. Treacherous weather meant some attendees had a somewhat interesting journey, with several people delayed by the conditions.

The conference covered many areas of museum practice such as paper conservation, writing Oral Histories, Significance, working with schools and graphic design; and aimed to provide volunteers with “hands-on” practical experience.

We presented a morning session on the Art of Winning and Writing Grants. We were lucky to have a really great group of enthusiastic volunteers from places such as Willoughby, Liverpool, Temora, Queanbeyan and Lambing Flat, who were clearly dedicated to their organisations and keen to develop different projects to keep their museums thriving. We discussed different funding avenues they could try, went through our Grants & Funding booklet and detailed the VIM grants now available from M&G NSW.

We gave them some tips on what makes a great grant application (and not so great ones!). More resources here.

A highlight of the weekend was ‘Postcards from Home’, held after dinner on Saturday night. Representatives from each museum presented for 2 minutes (precisely timed by a cow bell!) on what they felt was their most interesting collection item. It was then put to the vote, decided by the participants and also the presenters. There were so many captivating and intriguing stories, provoking a lot of debate during the deliberation! Winners were the Lambing Flat museum, who took the prize for ‘People’s Choice’ with a photo of the highly significant “Roll Up” banner, from the Lambing Flat riots of 1861,

and Cootamundra Heritage Centre taking out the ‘Presenter’s Choice’ with their unique set of 163 handmade dioramas depicting aspects of Cootamundra’s social history.

Big congratulations to the MA Lachlan Chapter, organisers of Working Spaces on another hugely successful conference, in particular to Glen Johns who is stepping down from the committee this year.

Sarah-Jane, Glen Johns and Phoebe