Audio on demand

Philip Jones delivers ‘From curation to management: reflections on museum objects’, a consideration of how the traditional curatorial role has changed.

Margy Burn from the National Library of Australia, Michael Crayford from the National Maritime Museum and John Greenwood from the University of Canberra review the themes discussed during the day with Louise Douglas from the National Museum of Australia.

Eric Archer reflects on the achievements in the conservation professions and the incorporation of conservators into mainstream collections management structures. He also raises the issue of how to open up objects in non-displayed collections.

Christopher Snelling provides a case study on how the Powerhouse Discovery Centre and collection stores at Castle Hill have been developed and opened to the public.

Mathew Trinca proposes that at the heart of museums lies a deep commitment to the idea that our material lives are worth recording and that our heritage objects provide insights into the circumstances and meaning of human life.

Roslyn Russell examines the development of the Significance publication and suggests that the preservation of an object’s function in the conservation process is important where the function is an integral part of the object’s significance.

Conservator Nicola Smith examines the management of exhibition light levels at the National Museum of Australia. She addresses display periods, object replacement and new non-destructive methods of assessing object degradation from light.

The AE Smith string quartet held by the National Museum is outlined by conservator Robin Tait. She also discusses the conservation strategy of display and occasional use for functional museum objects.

Conservator David Hallam outlines the metal and corrosion analysis which helped to authenticate the Leichhardt nameplate. The plate is the only known artefact from Ludwig Leichhardt’s lost 1848 Australian expedition with a corroborated provenance.

The history of the Springfield collection, more than 2000 objects from a major rural property near Sydney, is outlined by registrar Carol Cooper. She explores the remarkable family who cared for it and the Museum’s work to make this collection available.