#MGAConf2018 – Day 3 Recap

The last day of the 2018 Museums Galleries Australia conference.  There were some great ideas and discussions and museum education had some shining moments…

 

Opening Plenary – The arts of disruption and diplomacy

Angelita Teo – Director, National Museum of Singapore

Angelita began the day sharing stories from projects at the National Museum of Singapore.  She talked about the museum’s capacity to shape collective memory and the challenges of presenting war history, particularly when it is still raw and complex.  For war history exhibitions they presented stories from living veterans who were heavily involved in the process.

#MGAconf2018 – Day 2 Recap

After a few days reflection I have returned to my notes to review what I learnt during the Museums Galleries Australia Conference.  Here is the summary of presentations I attended during Day 2.  More reflections to follow in later posts…

Plenary – Simon Chaplin and Brian Lobel, Shake the Foundations

Day 2 opened with a joint presentation by Simon and Brian sharing stories from a collaborative project The Sick of the Fringe commissioned by the Wellcome Trust (UK).  The Wellcome Trust supports scientific research and medical advancements.  Simon is the Director of Culture and Society and Brian Lobel worked as a Wellcome Trust engagement fellow.

Twitter at Conferences

Twitter Dynamics at Conferences

Last week I attended the Museums Australia conference in Adelaide.  It was my second time tweeting at a MA conference, and as Regan Forrest suggests, there was a more robust Twitter conversation going on this time.  I also felt more connected to Twitter in this conference than I did last year, and it got me thinking about how the Twitter dynamics of a conference has affected my experience.

Education in Museums

Education in Museums – Reflections from Museums Australia Conference

Last week at the Museums Australia conference in Adelaide there were a number of presenters that spoke about Museum Education (broadly referring to museums, galleries, libraries, zoos, historic sites etc.) – about engaging school audiences.  Despite being an Museum Educator myself, I intentionally did not go to all education-related presentations, with the aim of looking more a the big picture of what is happening in Museums.  However I did go to a number of Education streams, particularly on the first day of the conference.  From these presentations I came to some general thoughts and conclusions about what is happening in our sector…

Museums Australia Conference Presentation

Learners, Digital Resources and Museums

Museums Australia Conference Presentation by Stephanie Rosestone

On Thursday 27th September I delivered a presentation called Learners, Digital Resources and Museums.  The presentation was a culmination of both research and practical experience over the past year as part of my work at Sovereign Hill.  My presentation discussed why cultural organisations should engage with teachers and students using digital resources, explored some digital resources developed by museums, and presented some practical ideas for getting started.

Museums Australia Conference Day 3

Thursday at the Museums Australia Conference – a summary

The day opened with two Keynote presentations that showcased the innovative use of technology to preserve and protect at-risk cultural heritage. The speakers were a very inspiring way to begin the day.

Museums Australia Conference Day 2

Wednesday at the Museums Australia Conference – a summary

The second day at MA had a more vibrant feel to it. I may be biased, but I think it had a lot to do with the presence of a Museum Theatre stream. As an IMTALAP member, I was really proud to see the group so well represented to the broader museum sector.

Museums Australia Conference Day 1

Tuesday at the Museums Australia Conference – a summary

The Museums Australia conference is being held this year at the University of Adelaide. The University sits alongside the South Australian Museum, Gallery and Library, so we are well-placed in the cultural hub of Adelaide.

The day began with a very warm Welcome to Country by Aunty Josie and an official opening by the Minister for Arts, John Hill. There was also a welcome from Andrew Sayers of the National Museum, who is also the President of Museums Australia.

Museums Australia Victoria Conference – 29 March

Museums Australia Victoria Conference at the University of Ballarat

Last week Ballarat hosted the inaugural state conference for the Victorian branch of Museums Australia.  It was great to have the event in our regional town and a good initiative to support those from smaller regional organisations to attend this kind of professional development opportunity.

I attended the first day of the two-day conference, which included six keynote presentations, a parallel session and a workshop.  I was also one of a small, but dedicated, group of tweeters.  Big twitterers included: @Maggiwithoutane @LMBourke and @MeganSheehy who helped to keep the conversation robust.

Museums Australia Conference – Reflections from Day 4

The last day at the MA and IA conference began with another contrasting mix of keynote speakers.  First was Professor Ross Gibson who talked about the power of art to transform a person and the importance of considering emotions and aesthetics when planning exhibition to encourage this transformation.  I understood the ideas he expressed and I have seen the power an aesthetically thoughtful space can provide, but I thought the ideas were possibly over-analytical for a good portion of the audience and that some practical suggestions could have made the information more useful.