IMAGinE awards nominees part 2

Nominations closed three weeks ago 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 2: EDUCATION AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL B: 1-4 PAID STAFF

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
A Convergence of Birds, a curatorial investigation of Ben Quilty’s work by Andrew Frost

As part of A Convergence of Birds, a curatorial investigation of Ben Quilty’s work by Andrew Frost GRAG provided public programs for all audiences and various opportunities to meet the artist including an artist and curator floor talk, masterclasses and studio visit - taking the audience outside the gallery and into the artist's space. 

GRAG provided a student workshop exclusively for Year 11 students in the region to assist with HSC preparation. The program boosted confidence and helped students with devising their major work. GRAG has had requests by teachers to run a similar program on a yearly basis.

Age of Fishes Museum
Acoustiguides

The acoustiguides present a hand held professional audio tour of the Age of Fishes Museum’s collection. They tell the story of the discovery and excavation of the 360 million year old Canowindra fish fossils and assist in describing palaeo-environments and geological processes which have created fossils found in the region today. The tour make the facility an interesting and educational regional attraction, aimed at all ages and education levels.

The aim was to increase visitation to the Museum, visitor satisfaction and contribute to the long term viability of the attraction. The project enabled the Museum to offer customers a consistent and reliable tour. The information is concise, accurate, timely and caters for school subjects such as Earth and its Environment.

Peacock Gallery and Auburn Arts Studio
Warrami Art exhibition and public program

The Warrami Art project sought to provide opportunities for the local Aboriginal Community to present the history of the Duck River and its' significance to the Darug People and provide local communities, schools and new settlers to the area, an opportunity to engage with local Aboriginal culture. It also aimed to increase the connection the community had to the Duck River and improve long term sustainability of the area. 

The project included eight Aboriginal artists from Western Sydney (including four artists of Darug heritage). Each artist responded to the themes and the opportunity to share heritage and history of the area. The project involved well known artists including, Adam Hill, Cindy Laws, Jason Wing, Keith Brown, Leanne Tobin and Robyn Caughlan.

Grafton Regional Gallery
Towards the Stratosphere

Towards the Stratosphere was a creative drawing project developed with the six schools in the Grafton Community of Schools. The resulting exhibition consisted of one 25 square metre drawing and dozens of smaller sculptural drawings created by over a hundred local students. 

The drawing depicted the layers of our known and unknown environment from deep within the earth progressing up through the ground to the surface upwards into the sky and into outer space. The project provided students with a meaningful exploration of our real and imagined world as well opportunity to produce art work with art professionals and contribute to an exhibition at a regional gallery level.

Museum of Human Disease, UNSW
Brain Awareness Week interactive experiments

For Brain Awareness Week the Museum created an interactive laboratory so people could experiment on their brains. Experiments included balance and reflex testing, virtual microscopey of neurons and brain specimens. 

The Museum had two audiences, secondary students and the public. The aim was to encourage the audience to understand the importance of medical research carried out to explore both functioning and damaged brains. The programs needed to be engaging as possible so the interactivity of the experiment stations was important.

This program provided an innovative way for people to engage with very complex medical science, by engaging people with self experimentation and then interpreting their experience with access to leading researchers and teachers in the field.

CATEGORY 2: EDUCATION AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL C: 4-20 PAID STAFF

Albury LibraryMuseum
The Cabinet of Stories

The Cabinet of Stores is located in the Kidzone of the LibraryMuseum and supports Crossing Place: a story of Albury, a permanent exhibition promoting cultural diversity and tolerance. The interactive cabinet houses a selection of newly arrived migrants belongings, including a children’s book from Sri Lanka, Turkish baby clothes, photographs of Iran, knitted table covers from Sudan. The Cabinet of Stories gives audiences the opportunity to discover through the stories linked to the objects how new immigrants contribute and enrich the culture of Albury.

The Cabinet of Stories is an ongoing project – the objects and stories will change depending on new migration patterns and it is intended to have a thematic approach at times, linking to school curriculum themes of identity and belonging.

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
Nui Warrior

Niu Warrior was part of Casula Powerhouse's Pacific exhibition program. It had a comprehensive education and engagement program that encouraged schools, community groups and families to visit and engage with contemporary art and Pacific culture. It included food festivals, traditional performances, a generationext co-program with the MCA, an NRL school's event, an artist residency for PSP and behavioral schools, a youtube engagement project, and AFP for co-presented school programs.

Focus was placed on young people and young families. Programs reconnected young Pacific peoples with their culture and broadened cross-cultural understanding within non-pacific audiences. The programs instilled a sense of cultural pride for Pacific peoples and developed awareness of socio-cultural issues such as crime, low literacy and school absenteeism, targeting at-risk Pacific students.

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
No Added Sugar

No Added Sugar is Australia's first national cultural initiative and major visual arts exhibition of Muslim Women Artists. The exhibition was accompanied by a range of public programs and educational opportunities for the community. At the heart of the public programs was the hands-on involvement of the exhibition artists and well-known Muslim women and groups.. Furthermore, many Sydney schools took advantage of the educational components of the exhibition and its comprehensive excursion packages which offered tours with curator Rusaila Bazlamit and workshops with artists Zeina Iaali and Crooked Rib Art.

The No Added Sugar provision of workshops and education programs, specifically for women, offered Muslim groups and schools who would not normally participate in Education and Public Programs, a positive, unique and inspiring first-time experience of an art exhibition.

Hawkesbury Regional Gallery
Performance in the Gallery

Performance in the Gallery is a series of workshops for people with mild to moderate physical and intellectual disabilities. The range of performance skills covered includes: sound making, gesture, movement, and performance making with text. Two workshops are held in the main gallery exhibition space every Tuesday during school terms and participants commit to ten weeks. 

The program engages participants and provides a targeted multi-arts program. They wanted to do more than put out a ‘welcome mat’ but achieve something ongoing and in-depth. The program gives people with disabilities exclusive use of the gallery during our ‘closed to the public’ day, thereby encouraging a sense of ownership of the space, and enabling them to enjoy art as a stimulus to creative expression on a regular basis.

Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
Stencils Past, Stencil Last

During Stencils Past, Stencil Last: artist residency project with Mini Graff, Graff not only made a body of work for exhibition, but facilitated workshops with the Aboriginal Reference Group and fellow artist Jason Wing. During the workshops, they shared their extensive knowledge of street art practice with each other and a group of Aboriginal artists of all ages (10-50 years). 

The program supported the philosophy of the Aboriginal Reference Group of pushing local Aboriginal artistic practice 'beyond the dot'. This was done through a multi-generational approach, each generation informing the outcome whether through cultural knowledge, in the case of the older members, or an understanding of contemporary youth culture from the children. As artist Jason Wing said, "I was very pleased with the younger generation teaching the elders stencil techniques".

Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council
Cultural and heritage site inspections

Mindaribba LALC undertakes cultural and heritage site inspections within local boundaries which normally occur when a large development project is planned such as a building and major excavation. Through this program, they have saved hundreds of Aboriginal artefacts, many now part of the Henry Bolt Museum.

The Museum is widely known in the surrounding communities and attracts lots of contributors of artefacts, paintings and other items. The Mindaribba LALC members see the Museum as a safe keeping place for all cultural items and artefacts. It's also a learning place that is owned by the Mindaribba LALC members.

They believe it is unique because it is owned and run by Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council for the benefit of everyone and in particular the younger generation of Aboriginal people.

National Parks & Wildlife Services
Ghost Tours

Ghost Tours introduce the public to the ghostly tales associated with heritage listed Craigmoor House and the original Hill End Hospital and Morgue. The Ghost Tours have been extremely popular during holiday periods with many repeat bookings. The tours allow access to heritage listed properties, offering a rare glimpse of the building and garden in the evening, an experience of the setting and ambiance not offered before. 

Combining the heritage listed original Hospital and Morgue and Craigmoor House gives participants a level of comparison of buildings in their design, construction and use. Thus delivering educational history and conservation messages in a fun way.

CATEGORY 2: EDUCATION AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL D: 21+ PAID STAFF

Art Gallery of New South Wales
Open Weekend

Over a weekend in May, AGNSW held it’s fourth major Open Weekend. 66 events were held, including talks on the AGNSW collection, Australian cultural history, musical performances, children’s programs, interactive workshops, films and tours. Each event was specifically designed to highlight the Australian collection, furthering the audience’s engagement and enjoyment of the Gallery in a festival-like environment. 

Speakers included eminent Australian artists, curators, historians and writers; Andrew Sayers, director, National Museum of Australia, writer Thomas Keneally, opera director Richard Gill, artists Mike Parr, Ian Howard and Pedro Wonaeamirri, and curatorial staff from the Gallery.

The aim was to make Australian art accessible regardless of knowledge and experience and to encourage dialogue, interaction and participation to enhance the viewing experience.

The Australian National Maritime Museum
Nawi – exploring Australia’s Indigenous watercraft

Nawi – exploring Australia’s Indigenous watercraft involved initiatives which forged a vibrant, meaningful, lasting dialogue about Australian watercraft in the past, present and future among Indigenous communities, non-Indigenous stakeholders and cultural institutions that collect and interpret the history of Australia’s first mariners. Initiated with a major national conference and gathering of canoe-makers, Nawi included the exhibition of historic photographs, technical drawings, saltwater bark paintings, canoe rebuilding programs, and displaying the return of Indigenous watercraft to Sydney Harbour after nearly 200 years – providing varied cultural and technological lenses to view watercraft, their people and cultures.

The Nawi program provided innovative education programs that drew young people into the discussion of watercraft and continuing importance to Indigenous communities. Involving school students gave Indigenous youth a voice in programs to stimulate connection to culture. 

Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery
Museum & Gallery Weekend Public Programs

From July 2011 the Museum & Gallery’s opening hours increased from two Saturdays per month to every Saturday and Sunday. Weekend Public Programs were designed to make best use of these opening hours and encourage weekend visitation.

Many have commented to staff that they’re pleased with the local and affordable programs available to them. The programs encourage repeat visitation and have attracted new visitors via advertising in Hurstville City Council's fortnightly newspaper advertisement and social media.

Programs include, Dragonflys Kids Club (art and education classes for 4-7 year olds) guest speaker Highlight tour (of all current exhibitions), Youth Creative Workshops (art and creative classes for 12-18 year olds), Adult Creative Workshops (art and creative classes for adults) and Art Attack (art creative classes for 7-12 years).

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Bella Room

The Bella Room is a new interactive space designed to engage and inspire people with specific needs to explore contemporary art through sensory experience. It represents a significant expansion of the Bella Program, a pioneering program providing access to contemporary art for people with physical, emotional, behavioural and intellectual disabilities.

An artwork will be commissioned annually. The inaugural commission, Emily Floyd’s ‘The Garden’, is a tactile installation developed with consideration for people with vision impairment. Featuring objects made from natural materials, it engages the senses and encourages creative play.      

The commissions will see the creation of a dedicated collection of contemporary artworks for specific need audiences. This collection will reach audiences beyond the Bella Room, with opportunities for works to tour to regional partners.

Images of the various education programs, exhibitions and other activities of museums and galleries in NSW are courtesy of the 2012 IMAGinE nominees.

M&G NSW talks Audience Research at MA National Conference

Lunching on the lawn at the 2012 MA Conference

I recently attended the Museums Australia national conference In Adelaide and spoke about the State-wide NSW public galleries audience evaluation study Guess Who’s Going to the Gallery. Though I have been talking about this project since 2008, every time I return to it I am reminded of how important it is as both a data set and a bench mark for gallery audiences in Australia. 

There were, of course, several other presentations in this session. Reagan Forrest & Jenny Parsons talked about a project using skills of corporate volunteers to track the pathways of audiences in the Aboriginal galleries of the South Australian Museum and how that data was interpreted and its results implemented. Gillian Savage from Environmetrics Pty Ltd spoke about a simple template for a short questionnaire on evaluating a program or event. Carolyn Meehan from Museums Victoria spoke about the need to share data on our audiences... and led by example. The final presentation from Jan Packer (University of Queensland) looked at evaluating audience experiences along 15 qualities.

The Guess Who’s Going to the Gallery: The NSW State Report can be found here.

Gillian and Reagan & Jenny’s presentation can be found here.

Following the session, I ran a workshop Getting to Know You on learning more about your audiences. Originally aimed at volunteer managed and run museums, it was clear from a little bit of audience research, that the people in this workshop were far from beginners. In many ways the workshop proved the point that knowing who you are talking to should absolutely frame the type of research you do and the way you go about it.

With this group, I spoke though some of the basic ideas behind why audience evaluation is of use as well as some resources available – with a more comprehensive list included in this post.

You can download the basics of the workshop Getting to Know You here

Finally you can always contact me at M&G NSW with any questions.

Michael Huxley

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.

Virtual Excursions into the Past

Videoconferencing is becoming an intrinsic part of educational programing for many museums and galleries in NSW. The Australian Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and, in the regions, the Western Plains Cultural Centre and Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum are embarking on virtual excursions extending the reach of their syllabus-linked learning initiatives. These programs provide content as part of Connected Classrooms, a State government project equipping every NSW public school with video conferencing facilities to enhance collaboration between students, teachers and institutions. 



Key to the success of Connected Classrooms is DART (Distance and Rural Technologies), a team built by the NSW Department of Education and Training to provide direct and immediate connections and support for the schools and institutions delivering educational content. DART connects approximately 2,500 schools, TAFE campuses and administrative offices around NSW with broadband and 52 remote schools and 235 isolated home sites with 2-way satellite services.

Around twenty months ago, the Historic Houses Trust, with a generous grant from the HHT Foundation, decided to invest in VC technology, and since that decision they have produced three programs of lively presentations associated with their properties. Sian Morgan Hall, from the HHT, spoke with M&G NSW about the process.

What was the original reason for HHT choosing videoconferencing?

HHT’s market is NSW and while there are many students passing through the Hyde Park Barracks and other properties, there are also many for who, because of distance and costs of travel, the properties are inaccessible. Many schools can’t afford the cost, and they can’t afford the time so videoconferencing offers them the opportunity to connect with us and our programs.

Can you tell me how you chose your first VC program?

Going into the VC market, HHT wanted a flagship product that really established them in terms of research and education. One of HHT’s most popular programs is based on the convict story of Hyde Park Barracks (the onsite visitation is about 20,000 per year – mainly school students). All agreed that we should base our first VC on this tried and tested program with its strong links to the school curriculum.

What went into the development of A Convict Story?

The program itself took about twelve months to develop, coordinating all the departments involved: Marketing, IT, Education, and the different properties under the HHT banner that are the custodians of the stories.

While Mason Dean conducted technical research into the videoconferencing equipment, I wrote the script and then reviewed it with John Lamzies, an Education Officer with a keen interest in theatre, and we quickly discovered things that didn’t work or needed to be tweaked for the videoconferencing format. In the physical visit, the kids are taken around by a convict overseer, they make a brick, and they sleep in the hammocks. To translate this experience for videoconferencing, we opted for a theatrical delivery whereby the students get a chance to meet a convict as though they were talking to a real person. The children start with a guide, with whom they go back in time via a theatrical device, the “Mind’s Eye diary” and the guide transforms into a convict.

With distance classrooms, interactivity is key. So instead of simply sitting on the floor, the presenter gets the children to put on an imaginary convict outfit, or sing along with a ballad, and there’s always plenty of Q and A. We are careful that A Convict Story doesn’t leave the children imagining they are still back in the past because kids are quite capable of remaining there unless you return them to the present.

After we work shopped the script, we began a three month testing process offering the program to schools for free in return for feedback. Along with the valuable feedback from schools, HHT curators and guide educators watched the presentation, debated facts and fine-tuned the experience.

During this process was there a network of support? Other organisations going through the same thing you were?

There was, and is, a fantastic network. Vanessa Barrett, who was working out of the Australian Museum, and more recently Karen Player coordinated the NSW VC Working Group: a network that includes several large Cultural Institutions such as the MCA, the Australian Museum, Sydney Opera House, and the State Library of NSW. The Working Group is collaborative and very open; everybody is learning and everybody shares their information,

As well as the VC Working Group, DART’s support is crucial. DART does the marketing, the bookings, and lends technical support for HHT. But the DART remit is currently only for public schools in NSW and this means independent schools are disadvantaged. I cannot stress enough how valuable it would be to have an organisation like DART operating nationally on behalf of all schools both public and independent. This would mean that the HHT would then be able to deliver A Convict Story and other videoconference programs nationally to all schools.

Tell me about the other programs such as The Home front: wartime Sydney 1939-1945

Because The Home front VC is targeting the secondary school audience it is a very different, simpler but still effective model of connecting students with visiting experts in the field of WWII Home front history. History students in years 9 and 10 are self-selecting and don’t need the theatricality of the A Convict Story presentation to keep them engaged – the excitement for them is being able to interact with experts.

Along with historians, we are inviting the designer, curator, loans registrar and project manager of The Home front Exhibition to come in and talk about the A-Z of Exhibition planning and implementation.

What are the limitations and advantages of video conferencing?

The opportunity to connect students with experts at a secondary level is important. It’s not just what the expert is saying; the students are learning to interact and interview using deeper communication and research skills. The program prompts reflection on the sort of questions that should be asked of an expert, not simply a substitute for interaction with a book or Googling. We discourage students from asking any questions they could answer through online research. Instead, they ask the speaker about his or her opinions, engaging issues of historiography and perspective.

Many detractors would argue that videoconferencing is a poor substitute for a physical visit. I would argue that sometimes you see school groups in museums and there are four children clustered around a glass case who can see clearly, but there are fifty behind them who cannot see at all. During our VC presentations we are still using images and artifacts, and they’re appearing magnified on a large screen. The feedback we have received indicates that the students really do feel engaged during a VC.

So you don’t get the “oh wow” factor of walking through the barracks but when HHT talks with teachers about the VC, the students say they met a convict, they didn’t meet someone pretending to be a convict and this is achieved through the theatricality of the video conferencing program. During one videoconference a kid asked; “Did you know my great, great, great Grandfather?” So the children really engage in the world, and willingly suspend disbelief.

Defying Distance at the MCA National Centre for Creative Learning

Defying Distance on July 20 was an overview of the MCA’s recent redevelopment with a focus on their use of the latest technology connecting audiences across Australia and the world to engage with art through seamless accessibility. 

Heather Whitely Robertson, Head of Creative Learning, MCA provides an overview of the new National Centre for Creative Learning and the programs offered by the MCA. 

Melinda Garcia, Digital Learning Coordinator, MCA on Engaging in the Digital Space.

Defying Distance was a partnership with Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Regional Public Galleries of NSW (RPGNSW).

Mukurtu 1.0 launches in Sydney at Museums & Galleries NSW workshops

Some of the greatest revolutions begin with a whisper and on the International Day of Indigenous Peoples last week that whisper was Mukurtu.

Mukurtu 1.0, a free and open source platform that will create safe digital keeping places for Indigenous communities around the world was officially launched in Sydney at a Museums & Galleries NSW workshop at the State Library on 8 August.

The launch of Mukurtu 1.0 in Sydney was also significant as this adaptable content management system that responds to Indigenous protocols had its beginnings in Australia.

For Mukurtu Project Director Kim Christen from the Washington State University, the journey to Mukurtu 1.0 began in Tennant Creek, NT, in 1995. As an anthropology intern working with the Warumungu community, she thought there would be content management software (CMS) available to meet the community’s desire to organise, manage and share its digital cultural materials in line with their cultural protocols.

Instead, the few CMS systems available that attempted to respond to Indigenous protocols were limited in options, prohibitively expensive and required extensive training and proficiency. Since that time, government developed, Indigenous focused CMS programs have also stalled, particularly where communities have been reluctant to hand over precious information to state control.

Kim’s inspiration was mukurtu, the Warumungu world for dilly bag, used for collecting and gathering bush foods and in a particular Warumungu instance, holding their sacred objects and knowledge.

From her position at Washington State University, Kim was able to attract funding from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the US based National Endowment for the Humanities towards her social justice vision of empowering Indigenous peoples everywhere through digital management of their own cultural resources and knowledge.

The funding has grown as the project has gained momentum and feedback in test communities in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, North and South America. It also attracted some of the best technical input and advice available, including Michael Ashley, from University of California Berkley as Development Director.

Kim and Michael made a three-day stopover in Sydney en route to New Zealand where the interest in Mukurtu is even greater than here. Museums & Galleries NSW organised the 3 one day introductory workshops with support from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA) at University of Technology (UTS) Sydney, the State Library through new Director Alex Byrne and Charles Sturt University Wagga Campus.

What makes Mukurtu special, apart from being free, powerful, secure and easy to use, is its adaptability to any form of Indigenous protocol in isolation or combination. It does this through an “And/Or” system of community and protocol relationship options.

As Kim and Michael say, the basis of the system is about people and relationships and the software just enables these to work together in an easy and instantaneous process.

The Drupal CMS platform Mukurtu uses is also open source and very secure, used by the White House and the World Bank.

Mukurtu will work with most scanned or stored digital material including text based archives and spreadsheets, photos and video, podcasts, multimedia and visual/graphic art. It can be geo located instantaneously, even sourcing longitude and latitude if you do not know these, just type in the name of your location.

Multi-component elements of the same object (text, video, photos) can be related and stored. Objects can be related to each other and collections built and shared as online exhibitions. Communities can be assured only the information and visuals they want to share will be seen by the relevant audience. For instance, other members of the same clan or community may see more or different material to what members of the general public may see, based on the associated protocols. 

Mukurtu also allows users to apply creative commons or standard copyright licenses, which automatically generate deeds of useage for licensees of material. Kim and the team is also working on a Traditional Knowledge label system, which WIPO is particularly interested in. While not legally enforceable it will educate and provide understanding to web image end users on the appropriate use and accreditation of Indigenous materials from a Mukurtu CMS. 

The Mukurtu publishable front page can be customised, as can much of the system so that, for instance, a local Aboriginal Land Council can use Mukurtu for its front page, displaying objects and images from its collection alongside the approved traditional knowledge. 

Users can choose either a secure web-based version of the freeware or download a free version to their computer, laptop, tablet or mobile which will make that device in effect their digital keeping place. In either case their data is protected and can only be seen by those to whom they choose to make it available. 

The Mukurtu 1.0 release means that all future upgrades (Mukurtu 1.1 being the first) can be pushed out as automatic and compatible upgrades, meaning no loss of data already entered.

An iphone application will follow in October and, with more funding, an Android version in 2013. As one of our workshop participants identified, this will be invaluable for Aboriginal field workers who can instantly record on tablets or iphones any site variations due to nature or vandalism. Where coverage is available, these can be immediately available in the localized version of Mukurtu for comparison.

The three workshops run by Museums & Galleries NSW at the State Library and the Wagga campus of Sturt University attracted a small, diverse and enthusiastic pool of potential users. These included Aboriginal achivists, academics, multimedia artists, photographers, filmmakers, researchers, historians and local Aboriginal Land Councils and community groups.

Having experienced the ease and power of Mukurtu for themselves, there was a 100% uptake of the online version which offers further training and advice support and video conferencing. In some cases, among those wanting to continue using Mukurtu were users who had only just learnt to use email.

If you would like to know more about Mukurtu, go to www.mukurtu.org and watch the three minute video and read its top ten features (there are many more).

Like all the other participants, I have become a fan of Mukurtu, believing we can create the digital future of our cultural heritage using it. Through spreading the word and further funding, I hope to be able to invite Kim and Michael back next year for a series of longer workshops for what will be by then a community of Mukurtu users and enthusiasts.

To see an interview with Kim Christen from the Washington State University click here.

Steve Miller
Aboriginal Programs Manager

Survivor at Lismore

On Friday 20 July, Lismore Regional Gallery hosted the Survivor performance which involved 24 local participants and the artist, Dadang Christanto. Survivor is a major performance that was initially developed by Christanto in 2008 as a live protest against an environmental disaster in East Java which saw hot volcanic mud wipe out eleven villages and destroy many lives. 

Like the original performance, volunteers from the local community covered themselves in mud and held photographic portraits of faces lost in the disaster, enduring and maintaining a still silence for two hours to memorialise the event and its ongoing impacts.

Following this significant and moving performance is the exhibition of the untouched remaining detritus, photographic documentation and video footage – showing at Lismore Regional Gallery until 25 August 2012.

To follow a ‘day in the life’ journey of one of the Survivor participants, see the video below. ABC Open North Coast producer Catherine Marciniak and contributor Jenny Grinlington follow Rebecca Kinsey as she takes part as a volunteer in a performance artwork. 

To hear more about the performance from the artist and Lismore Regional Gallery Director, Brett Adlington, see video below.


Courtesy of Echonetdaily. Video by Sharon Shostak.

Story by Lillian.