New Stuff & Renewal Hui Reports Waikato Museum 30 Years New Museum Projects Learning From Experience Museums are F***ing Awesome December 2017 Contents Museums Aotearoa Eds Quarter 3 Te Tari o Ngã Whare Taonga o te Motu Message from the Board 4 Museums Aotearoa, Te Tari o Ngā Whare Taonga o Te Motu, is the independent professional association for New Zealand’s museums and Kaitiaki Hui Report 5 galleries and those who work for them. Kaitiaki Hui Report 6 We support the museums of Aotearoa to be thriving and sustainable. Kia tino toitū, tōnu i ngā whare taonga o Aotearoa. MuseumCamp 7 He Tohu 8 Contact Details Museum Profile – Lyttelton Museum 9 169 Tory Street, Wellington 6011 PO Box 10-928, Wellington 6143 Future Museum 10 Tel: 04 499 1313 Email: [email protected] Te Haerenga 12 Web: www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz Beyond the Accessibility Code 14 Contributions We welcome article suggestions and contributions. For enquiries about Student Experience 15 contributing to MAQ please contact us at [email protected]. NDF Conference Reports 16 Staff Phillipa Tocker, Executive Director Standing Up, Standing Out 18 Talei Langley, Membership Services Manager Museums are F***ing Aweseome 19 Board Cam McCracken (Chair) Like, Share, Tweet 20 Director, Dunedin Public Art Gallery Henriata Nicholas AGMANZ 21 Exhibitions Coordinator, Te Awamutu Museum Andy Lowe Staff Happenings 21 Director, Te Manawa Dale Bailey Individual Profile - Kate Elliott 22 Director Collections, Research and Learning, Te Papa Dion Peita Policy Matters! 23 Head of Collection Care, Auckland War Memorial Museum Courtney Johnston My Favourite Thing 24 Director, The Dowse Art Museum Riah King-Wall Emerging Museum Professionals appointee Marilyn Kolhase Next issue Pacific Advisory member Matariki Williams March 2018 Curator Mātauranga Māori, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Copy due 16 February Advertising Enquiries about advertising in this publication, or mailing flyers, should be addressed to the Museums Aotearoa office Cover Images Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Main. Interior of the document room in the He Editor or of Museums Aotearoa Tohu exhibition, National Library of NZ. ISSN 1177-7362 Lower. Lyttelton Volunteer Fire Brigade heroes Jason Campbell (L) and Alistair Suren (R) came to help rescue the collection at the Lyttelton Museum. 2 MAQ December 2017 EDs Quarter As 2017 draws to a close we have a new government, some new museum Another conference that I went to in Wellington experiences, and a whole new museum. While the new government is still recently was the Australasian Society of in its 'first 100 days' phase and arts, culture and heritage are not immediate Association Executives (AuSAE). This 'association priorities, we are hopeful that change at the Beehive will open up some association' has nothing to do with museums or positive opportunities for change in other areas over the next three years. In galleries per se, but everything to do with how a Policy Matters! (p23) I have referred to various possible topics for museums professional association serves its members and and galleries to address in the year to come. the sector in which it operates. In that respect we have much in common with the Veterinary, Also in this issue are articles about Auckland Museum's renewals and the Crane or Organic Farms associations, and it was new He Tohu exhibition and installation of our founding documents in the very useful to share some of our experiences with National Library. Other developments currently underway include Te Papa association colleagues. (with the new art spaces to open in March 2018), City Gallery Wellington refurbishing its entrance, and Otago Museum new science centre, Tūhura, In developing our priorities and services for members, opening just before Christmas. we recently conducted a survey of Individual Members. This has been helpful in understanding On p12 we look back at Waikato Museum since it was built thirty years your reasons for membership, and how important ago. This November a whole new museum and community complex opened various aspects are. We were delighted to see that in Foxton. Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (TANS) brings together a Dutch 75% of respondents read MAQ! heritage centre; Māori museum, arts and learning centre; and library. Situated beside De Molen (windmill) and the Flaxstripper, facing onto the historic We wish all our readers a wonderful summer, and river/wharf area, and including landscaped courtyard and connecting areas, remind you to renew your MA membership to TANS provides a community hub, and is an anchor point for Foxton's Te continue to hear from us in 2018. Awahou Riverside Cultural Park. We hope to profile TANS in a future MAQ. Happy holidays, Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou ki a Other recent activity includes the National Digital Forum (NDF) conference. koutou katoa! As our reviewers highlight (p16–17), NDF is an annual inspiration for all things digital in the GLAMS. This year I had a feeling that digital is almost Phillipa Tocker a redundant descriptor, as everything we do now has a digital element – the Executive Director, Museums Aotearoa important considerations are about how we employ technology, integrate evolving tools and engage on a human level in a digital world. 2017 December MAQ 3 Message from the Board I’m writing this a mere three weeks after our My time on the Museums Aotearoa Board has been a steep learning curve most recent Kāhui Kaitiaki hui which was held in and I owe much gratitude to my tuakana, Tryphena Cracknell and Dion Waikato-Maniapoto at Pūrekireki Marae. Each Peita, and the other Board members for welcoming me and encouraging year as a network we host two hui, one early in input. In particular, I wish to thank Tryphena as she has now stepped down the year to coincide with the Museums Aotearoa from the Board after many years (so many that we can’t remember exactly conference and another at the end of the year. how many!) representing kaitiaki voices at board level. Tryphena has been From experience, the two hui have quite different hugely influential presence in my career starting with when I first got involved āhua to them. The May hui often feels heavy and with Kāhui Kaitiaki in 2013, and she was instrumental to my joining the exhausted after a long week of conference so our Board as the Ika Tauhou junior Kaitiaki representative. In the comparatively hui end up performing the dual task of sharing short time that I’ve been involved with Kāhui Kaitiaki, Tryph has driven kōrero and lightening loads. By October, the end and executed the lioness’ share of work, an immense amount. Every time of the year is in sight and there’s a delight in the we thought of a small task that needed attention, we’d find that Tryph had reconnection. already completed the task. E te tuakana, e kore e mutu āku mihi ki a koe mō ō mahi whakahirahira. For our hui in and around Te Awamutu, the hau kainga were open and generous in sharing their With Tryph standing down, it is also my pleasure to welcome Henriata kōrero with us. Our hosts at the Te Awamutu Nicholas to the Board. Henriata (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Te Mahau, Ngāti Museum and the Waitomo Caves Discovery Turumakina, Ngāti Unu, Ngāti Kahu – Te Arawa, Waikato-Tainui) is Centre showed such manaakitanga that it made the Exhibitions Coordinator at Te Awamutu Museum and is also on the board hui a spectacular experience. An enduring lesson I of Creative Waikato. Aside from all that mahi, Henriata is also an artist and took from the hui was the importance to get out designer who practices uhi tā moko. of the four walls of the museum – reading about historic events from the comfort of your office is The most recent hui in Waikato-Maniapoto was coordinated by Henriata a completely different experience to hearing about so it feels like a fortuitous time to have her join the Board. Nau mai, haere the events from the perspective of descendants mai e hoa. while standing at these sites of significance. As this is the last Museums Aotearoa Quarterly for the year (despite it feeling As kaitiaki we have advocated at length about so premature!), I’d like to wish you all a safe and merry summer break. how important it is for Māori to have input, if not control, over how Māori stories and taonga Kia pai ōu koutou wā whakatā! Māori are handled. This hui was further proof of the power in recognising the rangatiratanga Matariki Williams of iwi and hapū Māori to tell us these histories Curator Matauranga Maori, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa themselves. In museums we take on the role of authority, an uneasy assumption when working with Māori who are still working to have their erased histories heard. Matariki Williams Credit: Tim Onnes 4 MAQ December 2017 Kaitiaki Hui Report Uenuku, welcomed us into the Te Awamutu Museum to hear the aspirational future Museum development by staff and Council management. Continuing our tour, a moment of silence at Ōrākau was followed by a welcomed by the Tane Tinarau kaumatua, staff and board of the Waitomo Discovery Centre and Museum. This Museum’s footprint encompasses not only the building but the landscape above and under the ground. Janneen Love from Tamaki Paenga Hira (AWMM) explored the intricacies of how to and how not to, be the conduit between creative Kahui Kaitiaki 2017 artists and Museum staff. Mata Aho inspired us with their down to earth contingencies and Kāhui Kaitiaki Hui: he oranga planned experiments of how to be creative on a large scale that challenged the viewer and their taonga he oranga tangata.