DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Democracy around the world is under threat. According to Freedom House's 2015 annual report on political rights and civil liberties, 'acceptance of democracy as the world's dominant form of government—and as an international system built on democratic ideals—is under greater threat now than at any point in the last 25 years'.1
Democracy requires you to get involved
Australia is not immune from these global trends. In 2013, the Australian Electoral Commission revealed that one in four young Australians did not enrol to vote and 20 per cent of voters chose not to participate in the last election. Our research with the University of Canberra's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis found that 'citizens are overwhelmingly observers rather than participants in formal politics, and that 9 in 10 regard themselves as without influence over the federal level of government'.2 This is alarmingly at odds with our status as a pioneering and world-leading democracy, one of only handful with peaceful transitions between elected governments throughout its history.
Democracy requires an informed and engaged citizenship. In 2015 the vision of the Museum of Australian Democracy—celebrating the spirit of Australian democracy and the power of your voice within it—takes on increased urgency.
Highest visitation
Over the past 12 months we have made great strides in realising our objectives of engaging with audiences, connecting through relevant exhibitions and experiences, and creating a unique and dynamic public space to explore. The result is the highest levels of visitation since Old Parliament House reopened to the public in 1992.
This year we gave our audiences opportunities to engage in the story of Australian democracy from many points of view. We provided a spectrum of entry points: through interpretations of the building, in-house and touring exhibitions, onsite and online projects, education and public programs, children's activities, and opportunities to experience the spirit of Old Parliament House through festivals and events.
Many perspectives
Our exhibitions were varied and combined an extended range of perspectives and voices: from the unique reflections of former prime minister John Howard curating an exhibition on Robert Menzies' first term in office in Menzies: By John Howard to Play Up, engaging children and families around the rights of the child; from the participatory experience of Power of 1: Does your voice count? to the creative interpretations of artists in Bespoke: Design for the People.
In honouring the passing of two major figures in Australia's political history, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, visitors were encouraged to reflect and comment on the former prime ministers' contributions to the nation in visitors' books. The visitors' books and tributes will become part of the museum's broader collection.
Something for everyone
A key success of 2014–15 has been the use of unexpected and surprising ways to reach a broad cross-section of the community.
- The Enlighten festival illuminated Old Parliament House with a special exhibition projected onto the outside of the building: The Power of Words: From Magna Carta to #activism.
- The Great Kaleidoscope Cubby community project engaged 20,000 people, who answered the question 'What does democracy mean to you?' by sticking thousands of messages on the cubby's walls—from 'Je suis Charlie' to 'The right to vote' to peace symbols and more.
- The Great Easter Egg Democracy Trail required families to explore the building, answering a series of questions about democracy in order to claim their prize.
- Over the Queen's Birthday public holiday, more than 10,000 people participated in the Medieval Fest, part of the museum's Magna Carta activities.
This approach embodies our broader philosophy of offering a suite of experiences centred on a core idea (say, the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta) and letting visitors choose their entry point, whether it is a festival, a formal exhibition (with the British Library) in Magna Carta: An Australian Story, or the lecture on Magna Carta and human rights by Professor Gillian Triggs.
Enriching education
In 2014–15, 81,441 students and teachers participated in the museum's facilitated onsite learning programs. The satisfaction ratings from teachers and students were 99 per cent and 100 per cent respectively. Our approach is to provide transformative learning experiences through formal, curriculum-based and age-appropriate programs for schools, and unique, informal ones through exhibitions, youth parliaments, self-directed learning and online engagement as we explore what it means to be an informed and engaged citizen.
Our internationally award-winning RFID (radio frequency identification) technology underpins many of the onsite experiences, providing a personalised, collaborative experience. We are very proud that the Learning Trail won a silver award at the American Alliance of Museums' MUSE Awards, which recognise outstanding digital media achievement in the galleries, libraries and museums sector around the world.
This year we trialled three new self-guided packages with the aim of stimulating learning through self-directed participation. We also developed a rich and engaging onsite program called 'We can make a difference' using the School-in-a-Box initiative by UNICEF Australia and connecting with the Play Up exhibition.
Partnerships and reach
The museum worked with leaders in education, academia and media to create opportunities that extend our reach and impact. Power of 1: Does your voice count? is a research, exhibition and digital program in partnership with the University of Canberra's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, SBS Digital, Ipsos and Mod Productions that examines changing attitudes to participation in democracy across four generations. In addition to academic papers and an interactive website, the participatory exhibition asks the visitor to consider and respond to questions such as what they like or dislike about Australian democracy. There have been thousands of considered responses that get visitors thinking about what democracy means to them. We developed a full learning program around this theme, as well as digital and social media activities.
The new exhibit Prime Ministers on Prime Ministers was the outcome of a collaboration with journalist George Megalogenis and ABC Television, built around a series of revealing interviews featuring former prime ministers. The exhibit focuses on what Fraser, Hawke, Keating, Howard, Rudd and Gillard think are the positive legacies of their fellow former prime ministers.
The UN Refugee Agency provided rich resources and input for our Play Up exhibition, commemorating the 25th anniversary on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a relationship that continues to develop.
We collaborated with Craft ACT, inviting leading Australian craft and design practitioners to create new works in response to the iconic original furniture designs at Old Parliament House.
In the digital space, we are particularly proud of #Anzac100 with ABC News, the Australian War Memorial and the National Library, which reimagined the landing at Gallipoli in real time on social media, with perspectives from those on the parliament floor as well as on the battlefield.
A lasting legacy
We completed major upgrades to the building, including the five-year rendering project. Soon the front of the building will be free of scaffolding, as we complete the conservation of the original brass windows. The iconic Australian and British coat of arms on the front façade gleam in the sunlight following its conservation, repainting and re-gilding, and the original and rare 1930s rubber tile floor has been stabilised to withstand foot traffic and cleaning.
We continued to strategically build our collection, with items like the bible used by Joseph Lyons when he was sworn in as prime minister in 1938, a bicycle and blue tie donated by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and the Governor-General's proclamation of the inaugural sitting of the Australian Parliament in 1901.
Challenges and opportunities
The museum continues to be challenged to deliver its strategic objectives, including its obligations as manager of a significant national heritage asset. Budgets remain static and efficiency dividends push our capacity. This year I am again pleased to report that within these constraints, we delivered a break-even financial result.
We reviewed our management structure, reducing the number of senior managers and increasing the span of control across the agency. We extended the matrix model across the organisation to encourage productivity, improve our market differentiation and help give us a competitive advantage. The new structure promotes innovation, cross-agency collaboration and creative content development.
Digital is a key priority for 2015–16, as we continue to embed enriched experiences at the heart of our programs and activities—from exhibitions and education programs to events. Digital will be a dimension in everything, including all our content production and delivery, promoting deeper engagement with our programs. We will continue to focus on developing the capacity and skills of our staff, through organisational development, training and improved systems.
As part of the broader strategy for growth and sustainability, key strategic priorities have been identified for the next three years with the aim of placing the museum on a more secure footing. These include targeting commercial opportunities and partnerships, extending our civics education offering, expanding rental opportunities and creating a unified and sustainable vision for the building.
Philanthropy, donations and sponsorship
We are seeking to build on the already substantial donations in-kind to our collection with an active program of sponsorship and philanthropic support for our exhibitions, through leadership programs, enhanced gallery spaces and learning aids. We have a committed and talented volunteer base as well as a loyal regular audience which gives us significant potential for further cash donations and a growing bequest program to support our vision.
Acknowledgements
I am immensely proud of our achievements this year, and want to acknowledge the contributions and support of all the following:
- Our valued and strategic partners, who work with us to increase the reach and impact of the museum, including the Australian Electoral Commission and YMCA for the National Indigenous Youth Parliament; Craft ACT on Bespoke and the Fusion events; the University of Canberra and SBS Digital, Ipsos and Mod Productions on Power of 1; UNICEF Australia on Play Up; the British Library on Magna Carta; the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; Griffith University and the Australian National University on the Australian Prime Ministers Centre annual seminar; the Council of Museum Directors; Museums Australia; the ACT Government on Enlighten; the Google Cultural Institute; and our colleagues in the national Network of Prime Ministerial Research and Collecting Agencies: the National Archives of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive, the Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library, the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library, the Chifley Home, the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, the Curtin Family Home, Home Hill (Lyons Home), the University of Melbourne Archives (Malcolm Fraser Collection) and the Whitlam Institute.
- The leadership team and incredible staff who bring their knowledge, skills and commitment to their work in delivering a great experience for our audiences, and supporting the strategic change of direction.
- The Old Parliament House Advisory Council (and especially the chair, the Hon Dr David Kemp) who support our work by providing counsel and connections. This year we welcomed our new deputy chair, Mr Bernard Wright, and three other new members, the Hon Simon Crean, Dr John Hirst and Mrs Kerry Jones. We also farewelled four outgoing members, the Hon Graham Edwards AM, the Hon Susan Ryan AO, the Hon Paul Calvert AO and Dr Janette Griffin, and thank them for their contribution.
- Our minister throughout the reporting period, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General and Minister for the Arts, and the executives and officers of the Ministry for the Arts.
Daryl Karp
Director
Jennifer Robertson, Stripped Tessalation, 2014, re-used telecommunication wire, carafe and glasses, from the Bespoke: Design for the People exhibition. Image: Stefan Postles
Footnotes
1 www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2015.
2 www.governanceinstitute.edu.au/our-director/research-case-studies.