Curate Your Own Adventure

University of Sydney: Almost There!

October 22, 2015

Only three more major essays to go and my first semester is over! Reflecting back on it all, it’s actually been quite a fun semester. Between this blog post and the last I genuinely cannot remember if I’ve been to any exhibitions. Assignment-writing zombie brain.

What I have done, however, is help behind the scenes for an exhibition titled “Disobedient Objects”, coming soon to the Powerhouse. Originally the exhibition was on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

It looks so amazing I cannot wait for it to open! We’ll have a curator-led walk through sometime next week so I’ll make sure to write a quick blog note about it.

Other than that, I plan to see “The Greats” early next week. Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland are coming to the Art Gallery of New South Wales until February next year. It looks a lovely exhibition so I’ll write something up about that as well. Speaking of the Art Gallery, next year they will be hosting a Frida Kahlo exhibition. My level of excitement is too high. I’m also hoping to have some spare time in January to see the Medieval exhibition at the Queensland Museum curated by the British Museum. It’s exclusive to Brisbane so yay – good decision guys. There’s just too much happening in the world of blockbuster exhibitions.

Frida’s House, Mexico City.

Anyway, I will finish this blog post with a little “my studies” recap. My essays are almost finished and now I’m trying to work out what to do next year. In Semester One I will have to take the internship elective as I’m completing the placement over summer. I really want to take all my compulsory subjects as well. I hope for a good spread of content. This semester has been, on the whole, really great with the subjects I’ve selected. Exhibition Development especially was just so practical and I learned heaps about how to stop people leaning on object plinths. The proposal almost wrecked me but I’m so glad I persevered and actually produced work outside of my comfort zone.

Final thoughts: go to a museum and share the history/heritage love!
Sydney Observatory: Blog Update

October 7, 2015

Firstly, happy Wednesday everyone!

I have finally found the time to write a quick update post about everything. Everything will cover a whole lot so I will try and be succinct!

I might as well start with what I’ve been up to outside of study that is museum-related. I had the wonderful opportunity on Monday to visit the Sydney Observatory – part of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences bunch. It is a great little museum with lots of information on how star-gazing works, why the observatory was built etc. You also have the opportunity to look directly into the sun. Most of the intricate information went right over my head but it was interesting to see how time was once determined.

Observatory Photo with the Harbour Bridge

Besides from the Observatory I have been passing my time at the Powerhouse Museum. The Collette Dinnigan exhibition is really great from a fashion and design point of view. There is one particular room with lit-up mannequins that show the intricacy of some of the lace pieces. It is a visually stunning showroom. The entire exhibition is medium-sized and would probably take an hour to methodically walk through. The middle room displaying the most outfits is great to spend some extra time in.

Other than that, there has been a lot of studying going on. After this Friday I will only have three essays left which is both exciting and terrifying. I plan on getting to know the Burra Charter a little better and fully grasp the concept of a National Museum. Other than that I am also creating an audio guide tour for a drive from Sydney to Canberra which I am actually quite excited about.

My Inauguration book of the University of Queensland object report is due Friday. After researching it to the hills and back it has turned out to be quite a fascinating object. It once belonged to J. G. Appel who was in Queensland Parliament for a while during the course of the First World War. So the University was inaugurated in 1909 and there was a massive party. If you were a distinguished guest you received a blue card-covered book. Everyone else had to make do with a brown cardboard version. There are only eight of these books surviving in Australia and it turns out I have one of the only blue-covered books out there.

I purchased it in 2011 from an antique centre in Brisbane. It’s amazing to think you can buy an object with this much history! The moral of the story is always buy something in an antique centre if it catches your eye.

If you’re interested, I have just published a blog post for History is Now Magazine. Check it out:

http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2015/10/4/have-you-seen-them-the-curious-case-of-medical-marvels#.VhGfJOc8aJI=
State Library of Queensland: Brisbane Writers Festival

September 6, 2015

Before delving too far into this topic just a quick update on my studies. I have almost submitted all the assignments before mid-Semester break which is incredibly exciting. For my last essay, I am focusing on museums and ethics – specifically displaying human remains. I started researching with a clear idea that mummies in museums are fine. But I am not so sure anymore. Issues of time and place mean they are not as contested as say indigenous remains, but they are remains nonetheless. I’d be interested to hear some opinions in the comments.

This weekend has been exceptionally rewarding. Today I attended two sessions of the Brisbane Writers Festival. To start was a three hour workshop conducted by the very knowledgeable Felicity Plunkett. It was such a fantastic opportunity to learn about the art of reviewing and hear the opinions of others. There was even an opportunity to write a feminist review of Little Red Riding Hood. No doubt this information will be extremely handy for my future exhibition reviews!

Next was a talk on history and fiction. After having discussed this exact topic in a tutorial last week I was very interested to hear the panel. Whilst there were a few things said I very much disagreed with I thought some excellent points were raised.

In between these two sessions I couldn’t resist visiting GOMA. I was looking forward to seeing the Queensland Art show currently on display. It was a great mix of sculpture and painting from Queensland artists. GOMA just has this incredible display space that compliments the majority of shows I have attended. The neutral coloured walls of this exhibition allowed the artwork to stand out and demand attention. Great to see local art celebrated.

Monica Rohan

That’s all for this week. Don’t be shy, leave a comment 😊✈️
Sydney Update: Week 5

August 24, 2015

Today is not only my birthday, but the beginning of Week 5. I cannot believe I am almost halfway through my first semester! It has been such a wonderful course so far and I cannot wait to embark on my final weeks of learning.

Out of all the courses I have really enjoyed my collections management subject. I mentioned in a previous post I was writing an assignment for this subject on an object in my possession. I have selected an “Inauguration of the University of Queensland” booklet released in 1909. I am arguing that it should be donated to the Queensland Museum – logically a great place. Fingers crossed the piece goes well.

Other than that I am so happy to formally announce I will be participating in an internship over the summer break! Without giving too much away it will be in Melbourne, near the city centre, for one month. I will let you know more details when it’s closer to the time.

For our exhibition development subject we visited the Powerhouse Museum. I am very excited to see the Collette Dinnigan exhibition when it opens on the 5th of September. The centre for fashion at the Powerhouse will be involved in some pretty amazing things so keep an eye on their website for upcoming exhibitions.

We were very lucky to have a curator-led tour of their new Re-collect exhibition on health and medicine. It was truly a fascinating display. The design concept is basically put a whole bunch of objects into a display cabinet, grouped by theme, with little explanatory text. You could appreciate the aesthetics of the objects and speculate as to their original uses. This created a nice dialogue with the objects and took them from the past into the present. As I am pretty much fascinated by any medical history, this exhibition definitely catered to my interests.

Health and Medicine Courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum

To summarise, it’s been a very exciting start to the semester and I cannot wait to delve into more as the semester progresses.
National Gallery of Victoria: Hermitage

August 9, 2015
I had extremely high expectations for this exhibition and, in short, I was not disappointed. The Hermitage exhibition displays a large and varied range of paintings and objects that were collected by Catherine the Great and stored in St Petersburg, Russia. This is the first time an exhibition from the Hermitage has been held in Australia.

The sheer size of this exhibition meant it was well worth the entrance price. The way it was presented as well was nothing less than stunning. Each room was painted such a vibrant colour to reflect the artwork held inside. The space also replicates how the actual Hermitage looks inside. A very aesthetically beautiful exhibition.

NGV

In fact, if you really liked the wall colours, you can always head to wherever your local Dulux paint suppliers are and purchase the colour for yourself.

NGV

I visited with the preconception that it would just be a collection of nice art. I was really excited to see that each space told the history of the collection. For example, one room was filled with Dutch paintings. There was explanatory text on the wall as to how they were acquired etc, establishing some important context. You were then free to roam around and read as much or as little as you wished. Expect to see some Rubens, Rembrandt and Dürer.

I highly recommend this exhibition to everyone! The artwork was fantastic but it was the setting that was really impressive. So even if you’ve seen paintings like these in overseas art galleries it is still an experience to visit this exhibition.

NGV Water Feature
- Melbourne, Australia
- 180 St Kilda Rd, Southbank, VIC, Australia
Melbourne Museum: World War I Centenary Exhibition

August 8, 2015
I have been yearning to see this exhibition since it opened in April. We had such a wonderful experience at the Imperial War Museum in London earlier this year so I had very high expectations. Despite some issues with my audio guide, I thought the exhibition was very powerful and emotive.

On first entering the exhibition space, you are literally confronted by a ceiling-to-floor projection screen showing a film of pre-war Britain. If you have the audio guide with you it really adds to the emotion. You are told these men on the screen lived normal lives, did normal things, before the outbreak of the war. From this room onwards, you follow their stories and delve right into life during the war.

Melbourne Museum

The absolute best part of this exhibition is the end. Not because I was glad to leave, but because it held some really powerful objects. Its theme is how was the War remembered – by both the soldiers and public. For example, there is a statue of a soldier being aided by a nurse. This was sculptured by a soldier who was left disabled by the War. I really enjoy seeing how memorialization has taken place and what significance this has meant to an individual or community.

The gift shop was pretty excellent. The exhibition catalogue was well worth purchasing and I am left wondering how will I get it safely back to Sydney in my carry on luggage? That is a problem for future me.

If you are visiting this exhibition do not miss its partner exhibition held in the Body and Minds exhibition space. The layout is so beautiful tracing different narratives of war. One thing I must mention is the multimedia component. There is one section displaying a desolate landscape and when you move in front of it your body changes the image on the screen.

The objects and stories worked together to unveil the individuals behind the photographs you first encounter entering the space.

Melbourne Museum

This was such a great exhibition and truly a moving way to commemorate the First World War.
- Melbourne, Australia
- 11 Nicholson St, Carlton, VIC, Australia
State Library of Queensland: Distant Lines

August 6, 2015

Turns out I didn’t have much time last week to write a blog post so I’m seizing the opportunity now to write a little something. So far the courses have been actually really fun. A lot of cataloguing and information sorting which is exactly what I love doing. I have this one essay where you get to write about an object you own and why you think a particular museum should acquire it. I’ll post about it later 🙂

Anyway, last weekend, on a bit of an impulse, I went back to Brisbane to see my family. While I was up, I decided to check out the exhibitions currently running at the Queensland Art Gallery and State Library of Queensland.

The Art Gallery has a fantastic exhibition on Photographs and Australia. I loved the way there was this conscious decision to not group the photographs chronologically but by theme. I was a little hesitant to visit because I thought it would be this grand Australian narrative. Grouping the images by theme, however, meant it was much more fascinating. I also appreciated the layout and colour-scheme. The walls were painted neutral so not to distract from the photographs. It also made the exhibition seem much more relaxing and less overwhelming. If I had to say something negative… maybe it tried to cover too many themes. Then again this did allow for a broad representation of Australia through photography. Definitely see it if you are in the area!

The second exhibition is being held by the State Library of Queensland called Distant Lines. The entrance to the exhibition space was very powerful – images of Queensland soldiers who fought overseas. We even found my great-great-uncle amongst the many faces.

Distant Lines – State Library of Queensland

I do not want to sound too critical but the exhibition was a tad confusing. Huge images covered the walls cluttering the already small exhibition space. Pictures hanging on walls were hard to isolate and identify and it honestly was a bit too much. If you can shield your eyes from that the exhibition was quite fascinating. There are around twenty-three stories of soldiers from Queensland who fought in World War I. Accompanying their bio is a case/cabinet filled with their personal objects. This was a really nice way to frame the exhibition and fostered an emotional connection.

State Library of Queensland

I was also not a fan of the middle section that tells the story of school students travelling to the battlefields. It just did not seem to fit into the larger exhibition and really disrupted the flow of the other narratives.

I am beyond excited for this weekend! I will be visiting the wonderful, world-class exhibitions that are down in Melbourne. I have very high expectations so fingers crossed!

To fill you in on what else I’ve been busily working on if you are in the Sydney area make sure you check out my audio guide on izi.travel. Link is below as well as instructions on how to download:

http://izi.travel/en/a09b-sydney-living-heritage-houses-museums/en

Cover photograph: Kgbo [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)%5D
Sydney Living Museums: Justice & Police Museum

July 26, 2015

This week, to help me settle in a little better, I decided to visit a couple of the museums in Sydney. Mum came down for the weekend so luckily I had a companion. We decided to visit some of the Sydney Living Museums. There are twelve in and around Sydney. What I love about these museums is that all of them hold collections within heritage buildings. I have posted about this numerous times but when heritage and museums combine it is a truly beautiful thing.

Surprise, surprise my favourite we visited was the Justice & Police Museum down near Circular Key.

Inside the Justice & Police Museum.

There is a special exhibition on at the moment of old photographs discovered in the New South Wales police negatives collection. These were about to be disposed of when they were rescued by the Living Museums team. The display is small but I think it’s well worth seeing. I loved all the photographs showing crime scenes from the 1930s and 1940s.

In the second room of the exhibition you get a real sense of how much research has been going on behind the scenes. The people in the photographs have their stories told and their lives exposed.

Besides the temporary exhibit, the rest of the museum was really great to look around. Each of the cells has a little exhibit inside tracing the history of forensic testing etc. I really enjoyed this layout.

If you are really keen (like us) you can purchase a three month access ticket that allows entry into the Living Museums in the centre of Sydney. I have until October to see them all!

Classes start this week so hopefully I will have some time for a quick entry on Saturday 🙂

Cover photograph: Sardaka (talk) 08:17, 27 September 2013 (UTC) [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)%5D
University of Sydney: Greetings from Sydney!

July 23, 2015

What an exciting week it has been! I am so grateful to all the wonderful people here at Women’s College in Sydney for helping my transition from Queensland to New South Wales go smoothly.

On Monday formal classes will begin and I will officially be a postgraduate student in Museum and Heritage Studies. My blogs will now focus on what I am studying/learning here at the University of Sydney. I will try to write as often as possible! This may be difficult depending on the workload but I’m sure I’ll find some time to document my studies.

Otherwise stay tuned for what I’m hoping will be a thought-provoking and interesting semester.
University of Sydney: Nicholson Museum

July 9, 2015

Between morning and afternoon conference sessions today I visited the Nicholson Museum in the Quadrangle of the University of Sydney. This was my second time visiting Australia’s oldest University Museum. The first was in January this year. I was very glad to see there was a special exhibition on Pompeii. It is a marvellous museum in Sydney. Its treatment and display of antiquities is astounding!

The section I really enjoyed is titled “Death Magic”. There are a few reasons why this particular exhibit impressed me the most. Firstly, its use of space is wonderful. It is in a medium-sized incredibly well lit room. In this space, the objects are really at the forefront. The use of light colours on the walls and floor are in stark contrast to the somewhat brightly-coloured ushabti and mummies in the centre of the room. I just think it was a fantastic way to really make the objects shine.

The two mummies in the middle of the room almost demand your attention, but, I really enjoyed seeing the little ushabti in a lit-up box. One other display cabinet that amazed me is a little difficult to describe but I’ll try. Essentially it looks a little like a pyramid. On the top level is an unwrapped mummy. Beneath the mummy are two shelves both of which also hold unwrapped mummies. It is a beautiful and respectful way to display the dead.

Sign at the Entrance to the Nicholson Museum.

The rest of the museum is also wonderfully curated. The exhibit on Pompeii did not disappoint. My favourite objects in this space were the decorated mirrors. The exhibit gave a real sense of daily life in Pompeii. Do not miss the lego reproduction of the city. It is so fun!

Roaming around the museum you come face-to-face with the world of antiquities and you are momentarily transported into the past. This is just one of the museums here at the University of Sydney. I hope to visit them all numerous times throughout my Masters degree!