National Museum of Australia

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National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia logo.svg
NatMusAus Main Entrance Strip.jpg
National Museum of Australia
Established1980
Location Acton, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia (Map)
DirectorKatherine McMahon
Employees256 [1]
Website www.nma.gov.au

The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. [2] It was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. [3]

Contents

The museum did not have a permanent home until 11 March 2001, when a purpose-built museum building was officially opened.

The museum profiles 50,000 years of Indigenous heritage, settlement since 1788 and key events including Federation and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The museum holds the world's largest collection of Aboriginal bark paintings and stone tools, the heart of champion racehorse Phar Lap and the Holden prototype No. 1 car. [4]

The museum also develops and travels exhibitions on subjects ranging from bushrangers to surf lifesaving. [5] The National Museum of Australia Press publishes a wide range of books, catalogues and journals. The museum's Research Centre takes a cross-disciplinary approach to history, ensuring the museum is a lively forum for ideas and debate about Australia's past, present and future. [6]

The museum's innovative use of new technologies has been central to its growing international reputation in outreach programming, particularly with regional communities. From 2003 to 2008, the museum hosted Talkback Classroom , a student political forum. [7]

The museum is located on Acton Peninsula in the suburb of Acton, next to the Australian National University. The peninsula on Lake Burley Griffin was previously the home of the Royal Canberra Hospital, which was demolished in tragic circumstances on 13 July 1997.

Architecture

Aerial view of the museum on Acton Peninsula National Museum of Australia (437595660).jpg
Aerial view of the museum on Acton Peninsula
Interior of the National Museum of Australia Interior of the National Museum of Australia.jpg
Interior of the National Museum of Australia
Entrance to National Museum of Australia National museum of australia entrance.jpg
Entrance to National Museum of Australia
Central "garden" of the National Museum of Australia (Garden of Australian Dreams). Garden of Australian Dreams, National Museum of Australia, Canberra.jpg
Central "garden" of the National Museum of Australia (Garden of Australian Dreams).

As designed by architect Howard Raggatt (design architect and design director for the project), the museum building is based on a theme of knotted ropes, symbolically bringing together the stories of Australians. The architects stated: "We liked to think that the story of Australia was not one, but many tangled together. Not an authorized version but a puzzling confluence; not merely the resolution of difference but its wholehearted embrace." [8] The building is meant to be the centre of a knot, with trailing ropes or strips extending from the building. The most obvious of these extensions forms a large loop before becoming a walkway which extends past the neighbouring AIATSIS building ending in a large curl, as if a huge ribbon has haphazardly unrolled itself along the ground. Known as the "Uluru Axis" because it aligns with the central Australian natural landmark, the ribbon symbolically integrates the site with the Canberra city plan by Walter Burley Griffin and the spiritual heart of indigenous Australia.

The shape of the main entrance hall continues this theme: it is as though the otherwise rectangular building has been built encasing a complex knot which does not quite fit inside the building, and then the knot taken away. The entirely non-symmetrical complex is designed to not look like a museum, with startling colours and angles, unusual spaces and unpredictable projections and textures.

Though hard to precisely categorise, the building can be seen as an example of Charles Jencks' "new paradigm". [9] Some characteristics of Deconstructivism can also be identified.

The organising concept of the scheme using the idea of a "tangled vision" incorporates a variety of references including:

The building's architecture is thus meant to imply that the story of Australia is not one story, but many stories tangled together. The building also refers to or quotes other buildings: [10]

"mate" in braille NationalMuseumOfAustraliaBrailleOnExteriorPanelsMate.jpg
"mate" in braille

The plan of the National Museum of Australia incorporates an exact copy of the lightning-flash zigzag that Libeskind created for the Berlin Museum by breaking a star of David. The Bulletin magazine first publicly raised allegations of plagiarism in June 2000. Libeskind was reported to be angry with the copying. Raggatt's defence against plagiarism was that the design was a quotation rather than a copy. [11] The director of the museum, Dawn Casey, stated that she and her council were not aware of this symbolism when they approved the plan. [12]

The exterior of the building is covered in anodised aluminium panels. Many of the panels include words written in braille and other decorative devices. Among the messages are "mate" and "she'll be right". Also included were such controversial words and phrases as "sorry" and "forgive us our genocide". These more controversial messages have been obscured with silver discs being attached to the surface making the braille illegible. [13]

Among the phrases in braille are the words "Resurrection city". The phrase may refer to the clearing of the former Canberra Hospital to make way for the museum or it could be a reference to reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and European settlers. The phrase is used as a label in tiles on another of Raggett's buildings, the Storey Hall in Melbourne. Raggett says of that message: "I guess that tries to be some big sort of theme for this building as well and its sort of set of memories." [14]

It was built by Bovis Lend Lease and completed in 2001. [15]

Hail storm damage

Central hall CENTRAL HALL IN THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM IN CANBERRA.jpg
Central hall

A severe thunderstorm hit Canberra on the afternoon of 29 December 2006 and caused roof damage to the administration section of the museum. The ceiling collapsed under the weight of hail. The damage exposed power cables and left two centimetres of water on the floor. [16] The water also damaged several paintings by a Sydney artist which were associated with an exhibition about Australian lifesavers. [17] [18] However, the main part of the building was unaffected and nothing from the museum's collection was damaged. The building was re-opened to the public a day later. The damage was expected to cost at least A$500,000 to repair.[ citation needed ]

Building works 2012/13

In 2012, building works commenced on a new cafe and administration wing.

The new cafe opened in late 2012. It overlooks Lake Burley Griffin and offers both indoor and outdoor dining. [19] The relocation of the museum's cafe freed up the vast entry Hall for the display of large objects from the museum's collection, including vehicles. [20]

The new administration wing, which links the main building with the existing administration building, was completed in mid-2013. The new building is clad in brightly coloured tiles arranged in a QR code pattern. [21]

Collection

1956 Propert Trailaway Touring Caravan at the National Museum of Australia 1956 Propert 'Trailaway' Touring Caravan.jpg
1956 Propert Trailaway Touring Caravan at the National Museum of Australia

The museum's collection, known as the National Historical Collection, includes over 210,000 objects. [24] The collection focuses on three themes: the culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australian history and culture since European settlement in 1788, and interactions between people and the Australian environment. Notable objects (as identified by the museum on their website) include: [25]

The museum also functions as a temporary repository for the repatriation of ancestral remains. [27] It is involved in projects to return the remains of indigenous Australians, held in the collections of museums across the world, to their communities of origin. These projects have seen the return of over 1,400 remains as of March 2019. [28]

Past exhibitions

As a social history museum, National Museum of Australia exhibitions explore the land, nation and people of Australia.

Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters

On 15 September 2017, the exhibition Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, referencing the creation story of the Seven Sisters that is common to many groups in the Western and Central Deserts, was launched at the NGA. It was instigated by anangu, and was a collaboration with Aboriginal elders who are custodians of the Dreamtimestory. [29] The exhibition included a huge painting called Yarrkalpa — Hunting Ground, which symbolically depicts the area around Parnngurr in Western Australia, showing the seasons, cultural burning practices and Indigenous management of the land and natural resources. In June 2022, the work was projected onto the Sydney Opera House as part of the Vivid Sydney festival. [30]

The exhibition ran until February 2018, [29] and travelled to Berlin, Germany, in 2022 and is due to be shown in Paris, France, in 2023. [30]

Other past exhibitions

Other past exhibitions include: [31]

Tourism awards

In the annual Australian Tourism Awards, the National Museum was named Australia's Major Tourist Attraction in both 2005 and 2006. [38] The museum was named winner of the Canberra and Capital Region's Tourism Award for Major Tourist Attraction five years running from 2003 to 2007. [39]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies</span> Australian research institute for Indigenous studies

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makinti Napanangka</span> Indigenous Australian artist from the Western Desert region (c. 1930 – 2011)

Makinti Napanangka was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She was referred to posthumously as Kumentje. The term Kumentje was used instead of her personal name as it is customary among many indigenous communities not to refer to deceased people by their original given names for some time after their deaths. She lived in the communities of Haasts Bluff, Papunya, and later at Kintore, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of the Lake MacDonald region where she was born, on the border of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

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Linda Yunkata Syddick Napaltjarri is a Pintupi- and Pitjantjatjara- speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Her father was killed when she was young; her mother later married Shorty Lungkarta Tjungarrayi, an artist whose work was a significant influence on Linda Syddick's painting.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Maralngurra</span>

Gabriel Maralngurra is an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Ngalangbali clan in West Arnhem Land. He is well-known and respected within his community for the wide range of responsibilities he takes on. His artwork is displayed in various collections including the Australia Museum, Museum Victoria, and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djon Mundine</span> Australian curator, writer, artist and activist

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Alick Tipoti, whose traditional name is Zugub, is a Torres Strait Islander artist, linguist, and activist of the Kala Lagaw Ya people, from Badu Island, in the Zenadh Kes. His work includes painting, installations, printmaking, sculpture and mask-making, and is focused on preserving the culture and languages of his people.

Gail Mabo is an Australian visual artist who has had her work exhibited across Australia. She is the daughter of land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo and educator and activist Bonita Mabo. She was formerly a dancer and choreographer.

References

  1. APS Statistical Bulletin 2015-2016 (Report). Australian Public Service Commission. September 2016.
  2. National Museum of Australia
  3. National Museum of Australia Act1980
  4. National Museum of Australia Collections
  5. National Museum of Australia: What's on
  6. National Museum of Australia: Research Centre
  7. 'Aussie and US teenagers take on the PM', National Museum of Australia media release on Talkback Classroom with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, 2 June 2003
  8. Ashton Raggatt McDougall. Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan. Architects. (2002). "National Museum of Australia – in the architects' words". Project entry. architecture.com.au. Retrieved 1 December 2006.
  9. Charles Jencks in conversation with Michael Cathcart, Arts Today, ABC Radio National February 2001
  10. 1 2 Anne Susskind quoted in Rimmer, Matthew (2002). "Crystal Palaces: Copyright Law and Public Architecture" (PDF). Bond Law review, December 2002, volume 14, no. 2. Bond University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
  11. Sudjic, Deyan (4 March 2001). "Australia looks back in allegory at its inglorious past". Architecture. London: The Guardian . Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  12. Windschuttle, Keith (2001). "How not to run a museum". thesydney line republishing article that first appeared in Quadrant. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  13. Devine, Miranda (2 April 2006). "Disclosed at last, the embedded messages that adorn museum". Opinion. Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  14. "Episode 1: Keeping the faith (Program transcript)". In the mind of the architect. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2000. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
  15. Onesteel Solutions, 'The National Museum of Australia: Innovative Design and Construction'
  16. 'National Museum damaged by hailstorm', The Sydney Morning Herald 29 December 2006
  17. 'Storm hits museum paintings', The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 December 2006
  18. Conservation at the National Museum: Salt Water Heroes - conservation treatment
  19. Food and shopping: National Museum of Australia
  20. Big objects on show: National Museum of Australia
  21. Museum development: Frequently asked questions
  22. Touring Caravan at the National Museum of Australia. Propert Trailaway
  23. the-amazing Properts
  24. "Collection | National Museum of Australia" . Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  25. "Collection highlights | National Museum of Australia" . Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  26. "Infamous Chamberlain Torana part of our 'lived history' at national museum". 8 August 2020.
  27. "Repatriation | National Museum of Australia" . Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  28. "UK's Natural History Museum returns remains of Indigenous Australians to elders". SBS News. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  29. 1 2 Brennan, Bridget (14 September 2017). "Tracking the Seven Sisters: An epic songlines narrative brought to life at the National Museum". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  30. 1 2 Goerling, Samantha (18 June 2022). "Acclaimed Martumili artists' work lights up the Opera House for Vivid festival". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  31. National Museum of Australia: Past exhibitions
  32. "Australian Web Archive". Archived from the original on 2 February 2012.
  33. Reid, Richard (2011), Not just Ned: a true history of the Irish in Australia (1st ed.), National Museum of Australia Press, ISBN   978-1-876944-82-7
  34. Higgins, Matthew; Bach, Joanne; McNaught, Pip; National Museum of Australia (2006), Between the flags: 100 years of surf lifesaving: a traveling exhibition presented by the National Museum of Australia, National Museum of Australia Press, ISBN   978-1-876944-49-0
  35. Jaggard, Edwin, ed. (2006), Between the flags: one hundred summers of Australian surf lifesaving, UNSW Press, ISBN   978-0-86840-897-2
  36. National Museum of Australia (2005), Captivating & curious: celebrating the collection of the National Museum of Australia, National Museum of Australia Press, ISBN   978-1-876944-37-7
  37. National Museum of Australia (2004), A royal romance: Queen Elizabeth II's 1954 tour of Australia, National Museum of Australia, ISBN   978-1-876944-27-8
  38. Australian Tourism Awards: Archive of winners
  39. Canberra and Capital Region Tourism Awards: Past winners

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