Wagga Wagga Grants Seminar

Yesterday I reunited with my funding friends Clare Power (National Maritime Museum, Sydney) and Dianne Dahlitz (National Library, Canberra) who last week had joined me in Dubbo for Access to Funding. This time we were speaking about our funding programs to arts organisations in the Riverina region of NSW.

The Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga were the hosts of this Grants Funding Information session, and attracted a varied and enthusiastic audience of council and arts workers, community groups, and volunteer museums.

Also speaking were
Lani Houston – Regional Development Australia - Riverina
Scott Howie – RADO for Eastern Riverina Arts Program
Louise Conibear – Industry & Investment NSW, Wagga Wagga

It was really interesting to see that all the funding providers stressed the same kind of important points about writing grant applications – such as the imperative of including a clear budget (that adds up!), thinking of a catchy title to grab assessors attention, remembering to actually sign the application, and keeping in good contact with the grant providers to make sure you are on track.

Don’t forget M&G NSW has some helpful info sheets about writing applications, and also project management.

Speaking of Wagga Wagga, everyone loved the giant Chinese dragon in the foyer of the Museum, that was made by local school children to welcome in Chinese New Year. Heres a short video made by the ABC about the project.

MONA

Without a doubt, Hobart’s Museum of Old & New Art (MONA) is the must see visual arts attraction – dare I say, probably world-wide.

With the pulling power of a Guggenheim, MONA opened earlier this year to much trumpeting and excitement. So my visit two weeks ago was an inevitable result of always being attracted to the unusual – or as Andrew Frost concluded in his most recent Artscape for ABC TV – an attraction to feel the weird.

MONA is David Walsh’s $150m home for his 3000 odd work collection. I’m sure you have heard about it! Installed & themed around ideas associated with sex & death, the range of works – from Egyptian mummies to recent (and rude) video art – jettison the rule book one might normally expect institutional caution and curatorial rules to follow. On entering, there is an excitement and theatrical escape from the norm to be felt, and from my observation people were lapping it up. On the Saturday we were there, the audience was huge, they were mixed (dare I say demographically), wide-eyed and sparking with enthusiasm. Solemnity is not a word associated with this place.

In retrospect what really stood out was the overall level of detail, of course architecturally, but also significantly, in visitor services and installation practice. The staff were remarkably attentive, unobtrusive and superbly helpful. The building has been beautifully designed, each install empowers the artwork. Overall intimate encounters and commanding views are provided, inside and out.

Much has been made of the lack of traditional instruction; there are no labels or didactic panels to inform visitors – no names, titles or hints towards artistic intention – the closest we came to this kind of old school formality was a wine list. Cleverly, they have combined a form of locative media, with the above information, which can be read through an ipod device ‘on demand’ in front of the artwork you wish to know more about. Selected works also have an audio component attached to their file. This technology allows your visit to be recorded in great detail, providing the museum with valuable visitor data. It can also be  emailed home and revisited with artworks ‘liked’ & ‘disliked’ highlighted.

Attached here is a link to the ABC website and more about Andrew Frost’s encounter with MONA. 

If the opportunity arises, make sure you get down there soon.

Michael Rolfe

Accessing Fun in Dubbo!

Sarah-Jane and I were on the road again last week, this time we headed northwest to Dubbo for the yearly Access to Funding workshop.

We put this workshop on in a different region of NSW each year, in this case bookending the Standards Program that took place in Orana last year.

We were pleased to have the following speakers:

· Arts NSW (Gabrielle Eade)
· Regional Arts NSW (Annette Eassie)
· Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Wendy Miralis and Hilary McClure)
· National Library of Australia (Dianne Dahlitz,)
· Australian National Maritime Museum (Clare Power)

I also spoke on our VIM Grant Program.

It was a great opportunity for people from arts organisations to have a one on one chat with funding providers, ask questions and float some funding ideas. I found there were lots of people to catch up with at the workshop – from past Standards participants to groups who had previously had VIM Grants. Again it’s always so nice to meet people in person, some of whom we had been talking on the phone to and emailing yet never met!

We were also lucky to hear an inspiring keynote presentation from Angela O’Brien of the 2828 Committee, an innovative community venture based in Gulargambone (a small town of 395 north of Dubbo). It was incredible to see how a wide cross section of the community had come together and worked really hard to build a cafe, art gallery and gift shop, a successful function centre and a quality catering service.

We were so pleased to be able to put the workshop on in the stunning Western Plains Cultural Centre, an excellent venue for a workshop. Thanks so much to Andrew Glassop and his team for all their help in putting this on.

Hopefully people took away with them some new inspiration for getting their projects off the ground, maybe even from funders they hadn’t thought would be relevant.

Clare Power from the National Maritime Museum presents on their funding program

Annette Eassie leads a practical session on the Regional Arts NSW funding program

Broken Hill

Michael Rolfe visits the Daydream Mine

On a recent trip to Broken Hill and Wilcannia it was heartening to witness first hand the collegiate and supportive relationships that exist between Broken Hill Council museum and gallery staff, Broken Hill Historical Society volunteers and West Darling Arts.

As Gallery Director, Bruce Tindale leads a committed team that has, in recent years, overseen the redevelopment of the gallery within the impressive Sully’s Emporium precinct. That work continues apace, with construction of a new collection store now well underway. When completed, it will enable the gallery’s sizeable and historic collection to be housed in the one place. With easier access, environmental controls and improved security, this project will ensure that the gallery’s collection continues to grow its profile within the dynamic history of public collections in NSW. Equally, Angela Bailey, manager of the Albert Kersten Mining & Mineral Museum runs an impressive museum dedicated to the mining history of one of NSW’s most iconic destinations.

I was also fortunate to meet several members of the Broken Hill Historical Society and to visit The Silverton Gaol Museum, Broken Hill Synagogue and the Railway, Mineral and Train Museum. In particular I want to acknowledge the work undertaken by the society in bringing to life stories associated with the Synagogue and Railway Museum. Margaret Price (a society committee member) showed great delight in telling me about the commitment and work undertaken at the Synagogue and my meeting with Clr Christine Adams and Society Chair, Shorty Reville, at the Railway Museum was loaded with my own memories of train travel and of the significant capacity and great energy volunteers bring to the museum and gallery world.

In a meeting with Broken Hill Council’s General Manager, Frank Zaknich, it was clear that council is focused on the need to maintain support for the town’s symbolic arts and cultural infrastructure. Funding of course remains an issue and the sustainability of programs is demanding that an entrepreneurial approach be pursued. This is clearly evidenced through council’s involvement in the Broken Hill Film Studio development, which will transform Central Power Station complex into state of the art film studios.

I accompanied West Darling Arts RADO, James Giddey, on a trip to Wilcannia where he has been actively involved in plans to build a community focused arts/cultural centre. We met with a range of people including local artists Eddie Harris, Waddy Harris & Kevin Cattermole along with Wilcannia Central School Principal, Michelle Nicholson. While plans for the centre are still being developed the school is actively involved in supporting efforts to generate art making and skill development opportunities for artists from throughout the community. The Darling River was roaring through town, at maybe just a metre below the bridge. In fact there was so much water, bird life and green landscape throughout my visit that one can only believe that such positive forces act as a metaphor for what was also a dynamic arts and cultural landscape.

There's a War On! Website Launch

On Tuesday 1 March, M&GNSW launched our new wiki website There's a War On! at Chifley Home Education Centre, Bathurst. The website has been developed as a follow on to the earlier thematic studies on collections and sites associated with World War I and World War II activities in NSW which led to the travelling exhibition There's a War On!

Launching the wiki website at Chifley Home Education Centre, gave people the added opportunity of viewing the exhibition There's a war On! and visiting Chifley Home. Ben Chifley's significant contribution to the Australian community during World War II, first as Treasurer, then as Minister for Post War Reconstruction and finally as Prime Minister following Curtin's untimely death in July 1945.

The website provides an opportunity for users to look at sites and collections associated with the homefront during WWI and WWII across NSW. Utilising google map technology, the sites and collections are mapped out on a map of NSW with the capacity to zoom into particular locations and view the map in either satellite or map mode. Each entry has a "pin" on the map, clicking on the "pin" takes the user to a page for that particular object or site. These pages provides information about the object or site which can include description, location, history and an image.

It is hoped that the information on the site will expand over time as users are invited not simply to visit the site but to become contributors adding information about their own collections or sites associated with World War I and World War II in NSW. The site also invites contributors to include their memories of particlar sites or object. We hope that this will allow people to share their thoughts about sites such as air training bases, POW camps or Women's Land Army Hostels.

Thank you to Bathurst Regional Council for hosting the event, in particular Sam Malloy, Grant Weatherstone and the other Chifley Home Staff. Thanks also to Carah's Bakery for the marvelous catering. It was also great to have Ian Rufus, heritage re-enactor from Lithgow, reveal the inner secrets of the .303 rifle and its dispersed production in feeder factories across the central west of NSW during World War II.

2011 Standards Program kicks off in Bega

Last Friday Sarah-Jane and I were lucky enough to travel the beautiful South East and meet with eleven museums who have signed on for this year’s Standards Program. After a scenic flight down the coast to Merimbula, we drove up to Bega for the workshop at the Bega Council Chambers. We were delighted to have a representative there from each of the participating museums, and it was great to see some familiar people as well as meeting some for the first time (after many emails and phone conversations!). Many had driven some distance to be there, which was greatly appreciated.

The Introduction to Standards workshop introduced the museums to the range of activities they will be completing throughout the program. It was also a chance for the museums to meet some M&G staff, and to get to know their fellow standards participants for the year.

The eleven museums that are embarking on the program are a diverse group, including the Thredbo Museum, the Eden Killer Whale Museum and the Cooma Corrective Services Museum. Each museum had the opportunity to give a short presentation about their unique organisation. We can tell this group will make for a really interesting program this year.

We were also lucky enough to have a pair of Standards Program veterans join us all the way from Gilgandra in the Orana region. Jeff and Shirley Marks completed the program in 2010 and generously provided their invaluable experiences and advice. One of the main recommendations they stressed to the incoming group was the necessity of working through the activities as a team, in their experience this made completing them much easier.

The participants are now busy completing their first activity, and will all get together again in August for a mid program practical workshop. Keep an eye on our weekly email Alert where we will soon be featuring each museum’s profile.

The Standards Program is initiated by Museums & Galleries NSW, and is an important museum development program that is being put on this year in partnership with the South East Arts Region (SEAR), and is supported by local councils including the Bega Valley Shire Council, the Cooma Monaro Shire Council, Eurobodalla Shire Council, and the Queanbeyan City Council.

Participating Museums include:
Adaminaby Snowy Scheme Collection
Bega Valley Historical Society
Bermagui Historical Society
Clyde River & Batemans Bay Historical Society
Cooma Correctional Museum
Eden Killer Whale Museum
Moruya & District Historical Society
Merimbula Old School Museum
Queanbeyan Museum
Tathra Wharf Museum Committee
Thredbo Museum

Jenny Drenkhahn and Stevi Goldsworthy from the Eden Killer Whale Museum, Kerrie Ruth from the Queanbeyan Museum

Robyn Levy and Denise McGlashan from the Bermagui Historical Society.

Putting Poverty in the Museum: Can public galleries be agents for inclusive change?

Lisa Anderson (UTS Shopfront), Michael Huxley (Museums and Galleries NSW) and Vanessa Kredler (UNESCO)

In an event partnered by UTS Shopfront Community Program and the Research Centre for Creative Economy and Cultural Practice, and Museums and Galleries NSW, Vanessa Kredler, Program Specialist, UNESCO Cultural Sector, gave an illustrated talk on her experiences working on the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo. UNESCO focuses on capacity building, including in this example and in previous work with the establishment of the Nubia Museum in Aswan (opened 1997), working with the Egyptian government on major capital works, training museum staff and providing technical and specialist assistance.

Questions on the nature of poverty, defined as 'capacity deprivation', the role of UNESCO in 'human development' and the link between culture and development were explored. Vanessa led a discussion based on her international experience on the nature of successful inclusive practice, its many challenges including cross cultural differences and ethical considerations and invited the audience to discuss projects with similar aims of social inclusiveness in which they were involved.

Michael Huxley, General Manager, Finance and Administration, Museums and Galleries NSW, presented the findings of the three year Australia Council core project funded audience research ‘Guess Who’s Going to the Gallery?’ 7000 responses from visitors to 41 galleries from across New South Wales were analysed to provide information on the composition and characteristics of gallery audiences. These results, useful for sector advocacy, are available at www.mgnsw.org.au.

Thirty cross-sector representatives participated in the lively and interesting discussion and networked afterwards over drinks.