31 May 2006
The lives of primary school children living in four remote Top End communities are the focus of a new photographic exhibition that opens at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) this Friday, 2 June.
The result of collaboration between the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, the Snapshots of Remote Communities project has involved the children documenting their own communities and sharing their stories using photographs, written work, oral histories and visual arts.
Snapshots photographs, which also appear on the National Museum's website and in exhibitions at each school, show friendships, animals, farming, fishing, local landmarks, transport and isolation, and the children enjoying community life.
They have been captured by Northern Territory public school students from Adelaide River School, Douglas Daly School, Dundee Beach School and Middle Point School.
'The Snapshots program involves giving disposable cameras to children in remote areas so they can explore what makes their communities so special to them,' National Museum senior education officer Colleen Fitzgerald said. 'We're also showing kids what museums do, and how they tell a community's stories - as well as adding a rich body of work to our collection.'
The exhibition at MAGNT in Darwin opens in the Discovery Centre this Friday. 'This is a busy time so this exhibition gives the students the opportunity to showcase their school, friends, family members, environment and peculiarities of life in a remote part of Australia to a wide audience,' Discovery Centre education manager Kate Smith said.
'All but one school will be at the official opening, so this provides students with some kudos for all they have done in exploring what it is that makes their community special.'
Student photographs can been seen on the National Museum's website at: http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/community/snapshots_of_remote_communities/
For interviews, images or more information please contact Leanda Kitchen at the National Museum on 02 6208 5338, 0438 620 710 or Ellen Peterson on 02 6208 5351, or media@nma.gov.auor Kate Smith, MAGNT,
on 08 8999 8274 or Natalie Jenkins on 08 8999 8263.