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WINNER – PEACOCK ART GALLERY AND AUBURN ART STUDIO: LACEBOOK

Exploring the intersection between traditional craft practices and modern technology, Peacock Art Gallery and Auburn Art Studio developed a series of artist workshops and talks that culminated in the exhibition, Lacebook. The project, curated by Nicole Barakat, broadened engagement with local artists and highlighted Auburn’s diverse craft practices.

The aim was to engage with artists in the long term, both as artistans and as a future audience for the gallery. The exhibition featured 17 artists, nine of whom had not previously exhibited in a gallery.

Lacebook was comprised of two elements. Artist workshops and the resultant exhibition investigated traditional crafts as well as contemporary hobbies associated with modern technology. The public program presented activities to prompt intergenerational discussion around the themes of the exhibition and role of tradional craft in contemporary communities.

The project led to the development of the popular Makers Circle groups, which continue to meet once a month, meeting the demand for artists and participants to join together to share ideas and the progress of their work. 

Lacebook was successful at creating a dialogue between artists, craftspeople and artisans by engaging members of the local community.

AUSTRALIAN SCOUT MUSEUM: ESCAPE THE MUSEUM 

Escape the Museum is a program for kids and families. Developed by volunteer museum manager Mark Boyle, the program engages children by getting them out of the museum and into fun, adventurous and challenging activities: marshmallow skirmish, parachute games, water drumming, firing water rockets and the water balloon catapult! The structured program is designed to resonate with the history of the museum’s Newington Armory site, recruit new members, and is underpinned by the key philosophies and life skills at the heart of the scouting movement; team work, leadership, developing new skills, and creative play.

The audience for Escape the Museum is broad; visiting Joeys, Cubs and Scouts, and their parents; as well as families visiting Newington Armory and Sydney Olympic Park. The activities are designed for parents and kids alike and encourage them to unleash their creative energy and play together.

By cleverly uniting the ideas in the museum’s displays and using the museum’s setting to advantage, Escape the Museum brings a new dimension to a standard museum visit while encapsulating the fundamental principals of the scouting movement.