Mosman Art Gallery

From the Director…

2011 has been a tremendous year for Mosman Art Gallery (MAG), paving the way for a bright future.

Over the past year MAG became recognised as a multi award winning institution. In November we received a Museums and Galleries National Award (MAGNA) for the exhibition Australian Accent: the designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the 40s and 50s, being one of only two NSW galleries to achieve such an award. Earlier in the year Mosman received two Local Government Cultural Awards with the gallery being recognised for its leadership in Aboriginal Cultural Development. I hope that with the strength of our programming we will be well placed to receive many other awards over coming years.

There have been many other highlights in the course of 2011 including:

• achieving Visions of Australia funding for the development of a national tour for the Bungaree project
• providing a preview of the $1 million donation of works by Neil Balnaves
• establishment of a philanthropy officer position in partnership with the Balnaves Foundation
• development of the Open Air locative media project
• staging the inaugural In Situ sculptural and installation festival
• raising the Mosman Art Prize to $30,000 with 2011 seeing the first Mosman resident to win in fifty years
• staging of the Sunday Sounds music concerts
• successfully developing and staging the Golden Summers musical
• establishment of The Cube exhibition space
• re-establishment of the Festival of Mosman including concerts, exhibitions, talks and walks
• conducting a range of activities for the Friends of the Gallery including excursions to White Rabbit Gallery and Sculpture by the Sea.
• receiving a Community Heritage Grant from the National Library of Australia and also training for Gallery staff in better management and preservation of our collection

In order to maintain and grow our activities major capital works to the Gallery have been scheduled for the first half of 2012. Works will include the upgrade of the existing gallery climate control system; maintenance to existing gallery areas including painting walls, repairing ceiling areas and re-polishing floor areas; creation of new gallery spaces; improved meeting/activity spaces; and the reorganising of the foyer and office areas. In order to accommodate these essential works the existing gallery areas will be closed for the first ten weeks of 2012 – it is envisaged that the galleries will then reopen to the public while other works will be staged to continue on the ground floor of the building until late June.

To keep up with all the latest programs and building developments don’t forget to log into our website and sign up for our e-news.

Thank you for your support in 2011 and the staff and I look forward to working with our Friends, volunteers and project partners to enhance our programs and make Mosman Art Gallery a place our community can be even prouder of.

On behalf of the gallery staff I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Ten minutes with Cultural Services

Front row left to right: Skye, Jane, Julie. Middle row: Janelle, Katrina, Judi, Yolande. Back row: Michael, John

Do you know who works here and what they do? Meet Mosman Council’s Cultural Services team!

We work together to deliver a world class Regional Art Gallery, the major cultural centre on Sydney’s North Shore. The Gallery presents a rich and varied program of high quality exhibitions, educational activities and special events which make a significant contribution to the cultural life of Mosman and the broader general public.

Steering the ship is John Cheeseman, Director of the Mosman Art Gallery and Cultural Services Manager. John is responsible for all of the Gallery’s operations and cultural activities including Friendship cities, public art, tourism and events in Mosman. Katrina Cashman is the Assistant Director/Senior Curator. She is primarily responsible for coordinating the Gallery’s exhibition program, as well as the Mosman art collection and associated gallery activities. Julie Petersen coordinates and curates exhibitions and Gallery events, as well the Gallery’s marketing and publicity. Janelle Patchett is the acting Public Programs Officer, while Suzanne Davey is on extended leave. Janelle coordinates the Gallery’s primary schools education program and manages the training and special events for the Gallery’s Friends and Volunteers.

Judi MacLaren is the Cultural Services Administrator which means she is on the pulse of Gallery operations, administration and she also assists with graphic design. Michael Neal has a dual role working across Gallery operations as a technician and also managing the Art Collection, while also being the Operations Officer for Venue Hire activities. Want to hire a space for a wedding or workshop? Yolande Pierce, Venue Coordinator is the person to see. Did you know the centre has a broad range of venue hire activities? These include corporate events such as conferences, private parties and community groups for meetings and workshops.

Jane Hurley is the Venue and Markets Officer, working with Yolande on Venue Hire activities and coordinating the monthly Mosman Arts & Craft market, which attracts over 150 stall holders. Lastly, Skye Paton is Council’s Events and Marketing coordinator, responsible for all of Council’s major special events such as Balmoral Burn and the Festival of Mosman.

In 2012 we will welcome a new staff member to the team in the position of Philanthropy Officer – we’ll keep you posted on this.

The Gallery will be closed to the public from January – mid March 2012 for essential maintenance work which will be followed by capitol works on the Ground floor in April – June 2012, creating new reception, foyer and offices. We look forward to seeing you at the Gallery in the New Year.

Cultural Services snap shot

• Did you know that over 6,000 school children visit the Gallery for educational programs each year?
• Each year the Gallery’s exhibition program and venue hire activities attract over 75,000 visitors?
• Over 50,000 visitors attended the Festival of Mosman
• Bouquets: The Gallery has been recently awarded over $250,000 worth of grants for projects and capitol works
• The Gallery and Mosman Library received a joint MAGNA Industry award for the best exhibition Australian Accent: the Designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the 40s and 50s.
• The Gallery will be closed in January-mid March 2012 for essential maintenance works which will be followed a refurbishment of the ground floor reception, foyer and offices.

Mosman wins major National Art Award

Museums Australia last night awarded Mosman Art Gallery a MAGNA (Museums and Galleries National Award) for the exhibition Australian Accent: the Designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the 40s and 50s. The exhibition was jointly curated by Julie Petersen of Mosman Art Gallery and Donna Braye, the local studies librarian at Mosman Library.

Mosman Art Gallery was in rare company with the Art Gallery of NSW being the only other NSW recipient of an award for exhibitions.

Australian Accent was a Mosman based exhibition of national significance, and presented a cohesive and comprehensive story about an aspect of Australia’s design history. The exhibition reignited interest from the design sector, redefining objects and materials usually associated with the craft and souvenir genres in the context of a public art gallery.

The Judges commented that “this exhibition was elegantly presented with a wonderful retro sensibility underpinned by thoughtful and accessible research.”

The award evening was held in Perth as part of the Museums Australian Annual Conference and was accepted on behalf of Mosman Council by Sarah-Jane Rennie of Museums and Galleries NSW. Sarah-Jane’s report of the presentation can be found here.

Details of the awards are on the Museums Australia site.

Grant to help conserve Mosman Art Collection

Mosman Art Gallery was awarded a Community Heritage Grant at the National Library of Australia on Tuesday.

I was fortunate to attend the Awards to accept the Mosman Art Gallery’s award from Andrew Sayers, the Director of the National Museum of Australia. Grants worth $408,000 were presented to 44 other delegates representing a very broad range of community organisations from all across Australia, including writers guilds, historical societies and many small museums.

The grant money of $4,400 the Gallery has received will be used for a comprehensive Preservation Needs Assessment of the entire Mosman Art Collection. I expect the report will make recommendations about priorities for artworks which may need future conservation treatments and digitisation programs.

It is fantastic that the Gallery is a recipient of the Community Heritage Grant, as the funding process will help us ensure that our valuable Mosman Art Collection is suitably conserved and maintained for the enjoyment of future generations.

Behind the scenes at the National Gallery of Victoria

Julie Petersen (left) with Senior Curator: National Gallery of Australia Deborah Hart and NGV exhibition designers discussing the Fred Williams: Infinite Horizons design.

A great opportunity to learn from NGV – the biggest cultural institution in Australia.

In September, I received a two week mentorship from Museums and Galleries NSW to work with the Australian Art Department at the National Gallery of Victoria. This was an incredibly enriching and inspiring experience which I will never forget.

During this time, I was able to observe the massive undertaking that is involved in planning the move of the exhibition Fred Williams: Infinite Horizons from the National Gallery of Canberra to the NGV next year and to learn about the curatorial and conservation practices involved in researching and maintaining the 68,000 items in their collection.

Conservator Michael Varcoe-Cox with his restoration comparison of a John Glover painting.

I was also able to work with the NGV curators on an exhibition proposal for the Mosman Art Gallery in 2014 and to establish important relationships to help facilitate loans in the future.