The Woodford Academy, in the Blue Mountains has in recent years been ‘reactivated’ by site specific exhibitions, instalations and performances. This new approach of community ownership has seen a 600% increse in visitation to the National Trust property that was stuggling to to attact an audience.

We recently sat down with Elizabeth Burgess and Jacqueline Spedding to get some background and to find out how they are helping the museum to remain relevant and engaging a broader audience. 

The innovative approach being undertaken at the Woodford Academy can be seen in their latest exhibition DUST: An exhibition about insects, collections and care, which brings together artists and museum professionals to explore the processes of collection care underway at their buildings.  In an Australian first, the Academy buildings will be progressively wrapped and left to ‘cook’ over the coming summer, eradicating the infestation of insects that have taken up residence in the building and its collections.