Summary of CONNECT: Public Galleries and Communities: 15.06.2011
The annual PGAV conference was held at Swan Hill Regional Gallery on 16 & 17 May 2011. CONNECT: Public Galleries and Communities and explored new approaches to engaging with communities, with a special focus on regional communities.
The conference commenced with Welcome to Country by Aunty Stephanie Charles, followed by a welcome from Mayor Greg Cruickshank. PGAV President Dr Jacqueline Healy officially opened the conference and took the opportunity to outline the PGAV’s new focus on research and marketing – which will enable the organisation to become a more effective advocate for public galleries across Victoria.
PGAV President Dr Jacqueline Healy opens proceedings
Jacqueline introduced the first presenter Dr Jody Evans, Senior Lecturer – Marketing at Melbourne Business School. Jody spoke about the importance of branding within the museum and gallery sector and detailed the research she was about to undertake in partnership with the PGAV. This was followed by a workshop in which delegates considered the public gallery sector as a brand.
Dr Jody Evans & Simon Klose
Ian Tully, Director of Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery and PGAV Board Member, chaired the session on Art & Agriculture. Fiona Woods, a visual artist, writer and curator from County Clare, Ireland, gave the Key Note address, followed by a presentation by artist and farmer Neil Berecry-Brown from New South Wales. Both Fiona and Neil have kindly made their presentations available to PGAV members to download.
The day finished with an update on funding by Ian Rogers from Arts Victoria followed by dinner at Spoons Riverside and a performance by comedian Kevin Kropenyeri – which poked respectful fun at political correctness and had everyone laughing.
Burrinja’s JD Mittmann & comedian Kevin Kropenyeri at dinner
Day two began with a warm welcome by PGAV President Jacqueline Healy and an address from The Honourable Heidi Victoria MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Assisting the Premier with the Arts. Heidi detailed the Coalition Government’s recently announced increase for the arts – $73.5 million over four years – and encouraged delegates to keep her informed of their activities.
Ian Tully, The Hon. Heidi Victoria MP & Dr Jacqueline Healy
Julie Adams, Arts Director, Latrobe Regional Gallery and PGAV Board member chaired Connecting with Communities and introduced Adam Harding, Director of Horsham Regional Art Gallery. Adam provided an entertaining overview of his gallery’s long engagement with the community and gradual shift to supporting cutting-edge contemporary art. This was followed by a presentation by Julian Bowron, Director of Mildura Arts Centre and Jill Antonie, LEAP Coordinator, who together outlined Mildura Arts Centre’s involvement in the LEAP initiative. Julie Adams closed the session by highlighting the importance of community engagement to the work undertaken by public galleries in Victoria.
Dr Vincent Alessi, Artistic Director, La Trobe University Museum of Art and PGAV Board member chaired Stories and Place, the final session of the conference. Visual artist Glenn Romanis provided an engaging overview of his work on public art across Victoria and made a strong argument for public galleries to get involved. Neil Fettling presented a range of work by artists involved in the Murray Darling Palimpsest alongside his own research into the ephemeral nature of objects and of life in regional communities. This was followed by a presentation entitled by Eddie Butler-Bowdon from City Gallery at Melbourne Town Hall which explored the slippery terrain between the democratic and the high-brow and how the community is critical to the work of public galleries.
In closing, PGAV President Jacqueline Healy recapped on the key themes of the conference and reiterated the important role public galleries play in engaging the community through the high quality exhibitions and exciting public programs they present to audiences across Victoria.
