Report on performance
Develop and manage the agency’s collections
Photo: Museum of Australian Democracy collection.
Photo: Museum of Australian Democracy collection.
Increase public awareness of and access to the collection
The museum manages a collection of more than 40,000 objects, of which the building itself is the largest. These objects form the basis for much of our activities, including permanent, temporary and digital exhibitions. In 2013–14, we developed and began implementing a new long-term plan for content development and audience engagement. With a key focus on partnerships and events, we aligned our programming with seasonal campaigns (such as the Election Festival, Enlighten and Floriade), resulting in an increased number of exhibitions and activities across the year, and a 20 per cent increase in onsite visitor numbers.
A rigorous assessment process was applied to new activities to ensure increased access, deepened engagement, expanded capacity, and excellence—everywhere and always. This led to an increase in both new and repeat visitors over the past 12 months.
Ensure that the museum has appropriate collections of exhibition, interpretation and research materials that meet agency, public and scholarly needs
In 2013–14 we undertook a major project to review our collection to ensure it will make a lasting contribution to understanding and interpreting the ideas, movements, individuals and events of Australian democracy.
The review led to a new Collection Development Plan, with a strong vision for the collection to be ‘connected to and located within the historical heart of Australian government, [capturing] the ideas, movements, individuals and events of Australian democracy’.
Five collecting areas have been articulated, connecting the collection with the core interests of the museum: democracy, prime ministers, political influencers and movements, Old Parliament House as a functioning parliament house, and the history of the place.
Notable additions to the collection during the year included:
- face boards from the National Tally Board, used in the National Tally Room at Exhibition Park in Canberra until 2010 (donated by the Australian Electoral Commission)
- the suit worn by Governor-General Quentin Bryce to swear in our first female prime minister (donated by Dame Quentin Bryce)
- nine bibles used by Sir Richard Casey when he was sworn in to his various positions as a federal government minister; the bibles are dated between 1907 and 1951 (purchased).
ELECTION FESTIVAL
One of the major successes for the year was the Election Festival in August and September 2013. It was an
opportunity for the museum to live the new strategic plan.
The festival combined provocative theatre (the Hansard Monologues performed in the House of Representatives Chamber), politics (the Senate Ball Drop for nominations for the ACT), history (a pop-up exhibition of the election papers from Australia’s first election in 1901), media (In Canberra Tonight election special), public programs and debate. The finale to this month-long festival was a partnership with the Australian Electoral Commission to open a super voting booth in King’s Hall for the 2013 federal election. The booth provided an excellent opportunity to connect with our audiences in this historic and iconic building while experiencing democracy in action.
This was the first time the building had operated a super booth and initial expectations of numbers were around 600 people. The day dawned fine and from early on it was clear that Canberra had taken the idea of voting in King’s Hall to heart. Crowds of people arrived to vote and it was soon evident that numbers would exceed 600. A quick call went out to staff and everyone pitched in to help. We worked together to manage the crowds, handed out water to the waiting groups, gave impromptu mini tours while people were standing in line, and made badges and distributed them with special election pencils and fridge magnets.
In the end, the super booth attracted more than 6,000 people, many of whom waited over an hour to cast their vote. The people of Canberra (and the museum’s and Australian Electoral Commission’s staff) kept their sense of humour during the sometimes long wait, and the positive comments and friendly attitude of the voters created a buzz in the building that was amazing. We were a tired but very happy team at the end of the day.
The 2013 federal election and the Election Festival more generally demonstrate how the museum can enliven its space and create a meaningful experience of democracy in a historic and contemporary context. By using its content, resources, creativity and expertise, and working in partnership with key stakeholders, the museum is able to take strategic programming risks. The results speak for themselves: increased engagement, more visitors and higher awareness of our activities—truly the Museum of Australian Democracy brought to life.
OCCUPY SMALL STREET
During Occupy Small Street, second-hand toys, specially fitted with placards, gave a new community of museum-goers an opportunity to have a voice—sometimes with humour, and always with heart.
People of all ages came in their thousands to choose a toy (or avatar) to convey a message of personal significance. The messages were as diverse and unique as the people who made them—some were voices raised in protest, some in praise. Miniature dinosaurs complained about climate change and chickens suggested we eat more beef. There were also very specific requests, such as more Star Wars books in the Gunghalin Library.
The museum’s collaboration with Arts x Activism demonstrated the power of a simple but compelling idea that was well executed and promoted. The group took part in the annual Enlighten Festival in Canberra and gave families and people of all ages a chance to have hands-on experience of protest and freedom of speech.
Occupy Small Street was a major drawcard during the Enlighten Festival, which brought 8,500 people to the museum over two weekends (at the end of February and beginning of March 2014). Visitors reported a 100 per cent satisfaction rating with the event, an outstanding success.
Increase alignment of collection activities with target audiences and programs
Story and experience are at the heart of what we do. The museum provides a space not just to celebrate our democratic traditions, but also to truly collaborate with our audiences and stakeholders.
Our approach extends from digital dialogue at the one end to exhibitions at the other. We have created content that has many uses: creating once and using in many applications and interpretations.
In 2013–14 we continued to hold ‘pop-up’ exhibitions, mountable in days and weeks, and mini-exhibits that could also be up and running quickly. These sit alongside our more considered temporary and permanent offerings, and allow us to meet the challenge to be relevant to audiences and responsive to current events.
As a national collecting institution, the museum is responsible for managing and developing a collection of material culture that reveals the democratic heritage of our nation, with three distinct sub-collections:
- The Heritage Collection is all the objects that have a direct association with Old Parliament House.
- The Political and Parliamentary Collection is the collection of material culture that aligns with the purpose of the museum as a place to explore and communicate the ideas and issues around democracy and government in Australia.
- The Interpretation and Learning Collection is the group of reproduction and facsimile pieces, and learning and display props used to interpret the museum’s values through public and learning programs.