2010 annual report Contents About Museums Australia Inc. (Victoria) .................................................................................................. 2 President’s Report .................................................................................................................................... 3 Treasurer’s Report .................................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Director’s Report ...................................................................................................................5-6 Management Report ..............................................................................................................................7-8 Professional Development and Member Events .................................................................................9-10 Communications ......................................................................................................................................11 INSITE .......................................................................................................................................................12 Museum Assistance Grants .....................................................................................................................13 Exhibition Services ...................................................................................................................................14 Community Collections Training – CCT ..................................................................................................15 Museum Accreditation Program – MAP .................................................................................................16 Victorian Collections ................................................................................................................................17 Museums Australia National Conference ..............................................................................................18 Acknowledgments ..............................................................................................................................19-21 Financial Reports ...............................................................................................................................22-25 1 Museums Australia (Victoria) About Museums Australia Inc. (Victoria) Mission Enabling museums and their people to develop their capacity to inspire and engage their communities. Statement of Purpose Membership Membership and Networking Museums Australia (Victoria) provides MA (Vic) represents approximately one to proactively and reactively identify professional services to develop and third of Museums Australia’s total initiatives for the benefit of existing and sustain the roles and interests of museum membership. It represents the Victorian potential members and links with the communities across Victoria. Museums members and coordinates services wider museum sector. The weekly Australia is the national association for them. e-bulletin and website resources offer representing the museum and gallery a range of up-to-date information and sector. The Victorian branch of Museums Australia resources. provides services for museums and museum Museums Australia (Victoria) provides: workers regardless of membership status, Exhibition Services providing advice, and our programs are relevant, accessible professional development and grants • Expert advice on museum practice and and strategically useful to the sector as specifically targeted to improve static and development a whole. touring exhibition activity in regional Victoria. • Grants for exhibition development and MA (Vic) encourages membership of small infrastructure projects anyone, or any organisation, with an interest Museum Assistance Grants provides in or an association with museums. • Accreditation and application of the grants for small infrastructure projects Membership is relevant for individuals and National Standards for Australian in museums and practical advice and organisations involved in the operations Museums & Galleries information through site visits and and administration of museums, institutions telephone support (until end 2010). • Professional development that teach courses relevant to museum practice and both public and private • Advocacy and profile-raising of Victorian INSITE our stimulating and informative institutions that hold collections of cultural museums member magazine published five times material. a year is directly sent to members with the The Victoria membership reflects the latest news on Victorian museums, events Values great diversity of the museum sector. and topics. • Recognising that museums and galleries At the end of December 2010 it included occupy a vital place in the community 205 organisations spanning archives, art Community Collections Training • Recognising the contributions of our galleries, botanical gardens, community a program targeted at developing the members to the sector historical societies, exhibition venues, skills and capacity of community museum natural and social history museums and workers to care for and share their • Supporting access to and the care of the specialist collections. At end 2010 we had collections. distributed national collection 250 individual members, most of whom are • Recognising and celebrating diversity working either professionally or voluntarily Victorian Collections an online database including Indigenous cultural heritage in museums as curators, conservators, enabling community groups to record collection managers, exhibition designers, their local heritage and culture to ensure • Recognising the importance of being a guides, historians and educators. collections are well-documented for the forum for ideas future. • Upholding the highest ethical professional Our key services include: standards The Branch Office is housed on the lower The Museum Accreditation Program ground floor of the Melbourne Museum. offering tools for museum groups to Members enjoy easy access to Branch Background develop with reference to accepted services and staff. Information brochures MA (Vic) is a state branch of a not-for- industry standards, drawing heavily on from Victoria’s museums are displayed in profit national membership association peer-review and guidance and the the foyer to provide promotional services founded in 1993 to bring together people National Standards for Australian Museums for our members, as well as information concerned with the care and & Galleries. to Melbourne Museum visitors about the communication of Australia’s natural, wealth of Victoria’s collections. MA (Vic) is artistic and cultural heritage. Professional Development services, grateful for the generous ongoing support including phone and print-based advice, Through the direction of an elected of Museum Victoria in making this space referrals, workshops and seminars. Committee, the Victorian Branch provides available. support, representation and professional development services to the museum sector throughout the state. Annual Report 2010 / www.mavic.asn.au 2 President’s Report 2010 was an extraordinarily busy year for In 2010 MA (Vic) hosted the Museums We were fortunate also to enjoy the strong Museums Australia (Victoria). An early Australia National Conference. An event so support of the City of Melbourne and ABC highlight was our success in securing magnificent, it required nothing less than Radio National and ABC Melbourne in significant funding, in partnership with the AFL Grand Final weekends both arranging an evening event for the public Museum Victoria, to develop Victorian preceding and following to set it off (as part of the Melbourne Conversations Collections, a basic shared online properly! Over four days, our Principal series) and a series of Q&A panels during cataloguing tool for small collections.This Partner, the University of Melbourne played the conference. A full list of our project has proved to be hotly anticipated host to over 600 museum professionals supporters can be found on pages 19-21. by volunteer-run collections across the and international speakers, with a panoply Less happily, the Community Collections state and development is well underway. of papers challenging and celebrating the Training program funded through Heritage best of museum culture in Australia and In total MA (Vic) and our stakeholders Victoria and the Museum Assistance overseas. The University was solidly behind benefited from our links with 65 strategic Grants program, funded through Arts the conference, generously supporting and collaborative partnerships, including Victoria, ceased to be funded at the end of visiting speakers and allowing us access to several philanthropic bodies, museum 2010. I warmly thank Justine Heazlewood its facilities and staff in a non-teaching suppliers, corporations, peak bodies, at the Public Records Office of Victoria, Dr week. community organisations, and broadcast, J Patrick Greene at Museum Victoria and print and online media. Museum Victoria also provided a diverse Kate Prinsley at the Royal Historical range of support, with sponsorship for the Society of Victoria for their letters of I gratefully acknowledge the continued Welcome Reception hosted by CEO Dr J support for these vital services to the generosity of Museum Victoria for Patrick Greene, the Lord Mayor of sector. supporting our office space and Melbourne, Robert Doyle, and Museums infrastructure,