2010 Parliament of NSW Aboriginal Art Prize Winner Annouced

On Wednesday, 20 October 2010, our Chair Colin Rhodes, incoming CEO -  Michael Rolfe, Acting CEO Michael Huxley, Manager-Touring Exhibition Services - Rachel Arndt, and I attended the official awards ceremony for the 2010 Parliament of New South Wales Aboriginal Art Prize.  There was a fantastic turn out and the venue, the Fountain Court of NSW Parliament House in Sydney, was packed with friends and family of the finalists and organising parties ( there are several partners involved in this exhibition- The Parliament of NSW, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Campbelltown City Council, Museum & Galleries NSW, and The College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales).

This year, the exhibition consisted of 43 artworks submitted by 37 individuals, all of which are Aboriginal artists born in New South Wales. The $20,000 winning prize was awarded to the Euraba artists and papermakers for their collaborative work, Gaduu – Murray Cod (pictured far left in image below).

The acceptance of the award by the Euraba group was definitely the highlight of the night as they were incredibly surprised, overjoyed and speechless. Seeing their reaction to the announcement really demonstrates how important the Prize is in recognising the artistic talent of local Aboriginal artists and providing them with an opportunity to proudly display their creations.

In addition, The College of Fine Arts (COFA) awarded their Professional Development Award to finalist Fabri Blacklock for her work, Gupi Yungera (Possum Skin Cloak). The Award aims to support an emerging Aboriginal artist with great potential, and includes an artist residency at COFA and financial assistance to result in a solo exhibition at EPS gallery.   

A big congratulations to all the finalists, winners and to everyone that was involved in arranging the ceremony - it was a fantastic night. - Lillian Lim

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

Recognised collections and the Perth Museum and Art Gallery

Museums Galleries Scotland manage a program that identifies and recognises collections of national significance to the people of Scotland that are held outside the national museums and galleries of Scotland. The Recognition process is extremely thorough and involves the organisation that owns the collection submitting a thorough report outlining not only why it is of national significance but why the theme of the collection is of importance to the people of Scotland. This is then assessed by experts and MGS staff and if it is felt to be an eligible collection it is submitted to an assessment panel who will then make the final decision.

To date there are 37 Recognised collections across Scotland ranging from archaeological material, through mining to the national football collection. Once a collection is recognised the organisation that owns it is able to apply for special funding to assist with the care, display and promotion of the collection.

One such collection is held by the Perth Museums and Art Gallery, located about an hour by train from Edinburgh. Perth is a beautiful town and I visited on a fairly rainy day- nothing like Perth in Western Australia. The museum is located in a purpose built 1930s building but the collection goes back to 1786 with the establishment of the Literary and Antiquarian Society of Perth, followed by the Perthshire Society of Natural Science in 1867. The collection has an incredibly broad scope and includes an enormous oil painting and watercolour collection, decorative arts (with a focus on local glassmakers and silversmiths), ethnography (including Australian Aboriginal and New Zealand Maori material from the early nineteenth century), a strong costume collection, natural science specimens (including some fairly recent road kills) and social history.

In the 1993 Perth suffered a major flood which included much of the collection area (493,000 gallons of water entered the building). When I was walking by the river the wall reminded me a little of the walls that have been installed around Murwillumbah for similar reasons. Within the museum, there was much work done in the collection areas to improve storage and reduce the number of opportunities for water to enter the building (including special seals on doorways including the lift).

As the space in the building is quite tight, the museum and gallery have been given funds through the recognition scheme to install numerous compactus units to increase the amount of collection they are able to store on site.

A large collection of works by Scottish colourist artist John Duncan Fergusson was acquired by the museum and gallery in 1990. An old water tower was refurbished to house the collection and opened in 1993 as the Fergusson Gallery. In 2010 a large collection of work by his partner, the dancer and choreographer Margaret Morris was donated to the gallery. Her collection includes paintings, costume and set designs, costume and an extensive photographic collection. Some of this was on display when I visited as it's the 100th anniversary of the Margaret Morris dance movement.

During my visit we discussed the value of being a recognised collection to the museum and gallery. It was felt that this status was really helpful not only by providing access to specific funding but because it helped the museum and gallery to highlight the significance of the collection to the council. A civic reception was held when the museum and gallery received Recognition and this status is highlighted on the museum and gallery's website.

Chat with Jane Robinson, Head of Museum Development

During my time at MGS I have been privileged to have one on one discussions with many of the staff members. Today I had a great chat with Jane Robinson, Head of Museum Development who outlined many of the projects and some of the future plans that MGS have for Museum Development.

Many of the MGS staff have been focused for the last week on the planning of an upcoming project Skills for the Future. This is an internship program that will see people with tertiary level education from a range of backgrounds undertaking internships with museums and galleries across Scotland. The program includes both workplace training and a series of one day workshops and it is hoped will be the beginning of a new generation of museum workers.

Like Australia, Scotland has recently developed a new curriculum. Interestingly, where Australia is working towards a national curriculum, Scotland is working on a curriculum somewhat different to that delivered in other areas of the UK. The curriculum is developed through Learning and Teaching Scotland and apparently puts the learner at the centre of the curriculum and has four key outcomes- confident individuals, responsible citizens, successful learners and effective contributors. MGS are using these concepts as a focus for museums where learning is seen as lifelong. LTS Scotland has developed an intranet for teachers and other educators called GLOW and museums are being encouraged to collaborate on material for this website.

MGS is working through a digital content strategy which focuses on four key areas- sharing, creating, delivering and preserving. This year they have focused on effective collection management systems for large industrial museums and website based issues for museums and galleries operating within local government. As is often the case in Australia, Scottish museums and galleries based within local government are confronted with a range of issues when developing websites or engaging with social networking. To work through some of these issues, MGS will be hosting a meeting with key local government museum and gallery representatives and local government IT staff. It will be interesting to hear of the outcomes of this meeting.

Earlier this year, Adrian Babbidge was the guest speaker at MGS's AGM. Adrian is a museum consultant who has done a lot of work with the Association of Independent Museums including a research study on Volunteering in Independent Museums. Adrian's study and the speech he gave at the AGM, Changing Times, Changing People outlined the changing face of volunteering, encouraging museums not to keep looking for volunteers like themselves but thinking outside the square. His research found that there are approximately 4 "groups" or generations over an 80 year period and provided an outline of the attitudes, character and values of these different generations and how they might approach volunteering. There is much food for thought with Adrian's work.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

Over the weekend I visited the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens. The gardens were filled with the rich reds and yellows of nature's autumnal palette. It was delightful to sit at the top of a hill within the gardens and look across at the Old Town of Edinburgh.

The recently completed John Hope Gateway building is located at the western entrance to the Botanic Gardens. The building is designed to promote sustainbility through the use of sustainable materials, energy saving measures and the production of renewable energy. It houses a wonderful array of exhibitions, restaurant, shop and education centre. A newly planted Scottish biodiversity garden surrounds the centre which has the feel of a highland meadow.

The exhibitions are beautifully presented and focus on biodiversity both in Scotland and across the world. There are a range of activities for children, some within an activities room and others within the exhibition area. A small tent type structure has been completely covered with children's drawings inspired by the exhibitions.

The main exhibition was on the surprising topic of fungi! Exploring everything from mushrooms to athlete's foot the exhibition looks at the role of fungi in mythology, medicine, brewing and as a hallucinogen. A very neat hand held audio guide is provided for free. The audio is activated using infra red light at various points through the exhibition.

The Gardens have worked closely with artists on a range of projects. A project with a local design school was on display- the students designed screen prints for tights, inspired by plants preserved in the Herbarium. In conjunction with the Fungi exhibition is "The Secret Sounds of Spores" a project supported by New Media Scotland . The project uses a video camera attached to a microscope to record the release of spores from a series of mushrooms. The recording is displayed on a screen adjacent to the Fungi exhibition. Alongside the screen are a series of microsopes where visitors can examine a range of fungi.