Annual Report MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS & SCIENCES INCORPORATING THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM & SYDNEY OBSERVATORY 05\06 presence programs positioning people processes The Hon Bob Debus MP Attorney General, Minister for the Environment and Minister for the Arts Parliament House Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Minister On behalf of the Board of Trustees and in accordance with the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984 and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, we submit for presentation to Parliament the annual report of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences for the year ending 30 June 2006. Yours sincerely Dr Nicholas G Pappas Dr Anne Summers AO President Deputy President ISSN 0312-6013 © Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences 2006. Compiled by Mark Daly, MAAS. Design and production by designplat4m 02 9299 0429 Print run: 600. External costs: $17,150 Available at www.powerhousemuseum.com/about/index Contemporary photography by MAAS photography staff: Sotha Bourn, Geoff Friend, Marinco Kojdanovski, Jean-Francois Lanzarone and Sue Stafford (unless otherwise credited). CONTENTS 02 President’s Foreword 24 Members 03 Director’s Report 24 The Powerhouse Foundation 04 Achievements 24 Volunteers 05 Goals for 06-07 25 Sponsors and partners 06 Performance summary 25 Museum Honours 07 Trends 26 Media and marketing 08 Who we are 26 Collection acquisition 08 Corporate Governance 27 Collection loans 09 Organisation chart 27 Museum archives 11 Refresh program 27 Research and Photo Library 11 Ultimo site Masterplan 29 Human Resources 11 Façade refresh 29 Equal Employment Opportunity 11 Interior refresh 29 Occupational Health 12 Visitor facilities refresh and Safety 12 Castle Hill 29 Learning and Development 12 Sydney Observatory 32 Commissioning visitor facilities 32 Collection management 14 Evaluation and 33 Performance management audience research 33 Policy review and 14 Permanent galleries refresh development 15 Temporary exhibitions on site 33 Risk management and audit 16 Public programs 34 Sustainability 18 Sydney Observatory 35 Financial report 19 Museum Online 62 Appendices 20 Collections Australia Network 80 Index 20 Publications 22 Regional Services 22 Movable Heritage NSW Fellowship 22 Off site exhibitions 22 Indigenous culture 23 Migration Heritage Centre The Powerhouse is Sydney’s great museum of design and technology. We celebrate people’s experiences, creativity and innovation across time and space. We will refresh our presence, programs, positioning, people and processes. PRESIDENT’S FOREWORD In an age when success is increasingly measured by the level of The year that passed also saw further consolidation of, and growth accessibility a cultural institution affords to its audiences, there could in, the Powerhouse Foundation which we launched in September 2004 th be no better way to begin this foreword than by celebrating the fact as an enduring legacy of the Museum’s 125 Anniversary celebrations. that over 2.4 million unique users accessed the Powerhouse Museum’s Thanks to the hard work of the Foundation’s chair, Mr Jack Ritch, various websites in the 2005-06 year. This represents a 50% increase and the Foundation’s various Ambassadors, all of whom give freely of on the previous year and attests to the fact that the virtual museum their time to broaden the Museum’s interface with its network of experience is becoming a central pillar of the services the Powerhouse supporters, the Powerhouse Foundation was able to triple the target it provides. No longer are museums places visited predominantly by had set for itself in its First Anniversary Appeal. Of course, and as is busloads of school children and itinerant tourists – they are now, thanks the case with any long-term, relationship-building strategy, the fruits are to the internet, virtual windows through which the entire world may often many years in the making. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know observe, and share in, the cultural fabric of our community. In the case that the Powerhouse now has its own steadily-growing endowment of the Powerhouse, this presents an unrivalled opportunity to project fund which will help build its collection over the decades to come. our Museum’s fine achievements onto the world stage. At our Life Fellows dinner in September 2005, we were delighted to In terms of actual visitation, over 1,000,000 people either visited the honour former director of the Museum, Terence Measham AM, Museum and the Sydney Observatory or participated in our off-site Lionel Glendenning, Alan Landis and David Roche for their significant exhibitions and programs. This is a sobering statistic that should serve contributions to the history of this institution. On the same night, to remind us again of the dynamic, yet often understated, role the we also welcomed Khoa Do as our second Powerhouse Wizard for Powerhouse plays across New South Wales in preserving and interpreting his fine work in exploring themes of culture and identity in Australia. our cultural and material heritage in areas as diverse as science, All were very worthy recipients indeed. design and social history. It is a credit to our Director, Dr Kevin Fewster AM, our Deputy Director, Jennifer Sanders, and our Associate As always, the Powerhouse’s extensive ranks of sponsors, donors Directors, Dominic Curtin, Mark Goggin and Kevin Sumption, and their and volunteers are responsible for much of the industry we see today respective teams, that this has been achieved in an increasingly in our various activities. Together with our committed staff, they competitive leisure environment and against a background of declining represent the lifeblood of this cultural institution and the bedrock upon attendances for museums internationally. which it sits. I thank each of them for their contribution to ‘Sydney’s great museum’. Finally, it has once again been a pleasure to preside over a Board of Trustees that offers such a range of skills. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Deputy President, Dr Anne Summers AO, and the Chair of our Finance Committee, Susan Gray, both of whom have contributed far beyond the call of duty to the affairs of the Museum. I thank them, and each of the other Trustees, for their commitment to the Powerhouse Museum in their otherwise busy lives. Dr Nicholas G Pappas PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2 DIRECTOR’S REPORT The year in review was the first year of our new Strategic Plan OPAC 2.0 has been an unqualified success, our web usage more 2005-2008. Central to this plan is the notion of refresh, and than double since its launch. We are very proud of this project, this principle has driven many of our new initiatives and directions. especially as it was conceived and developed in-house. When it was demonstrated to the Collections Council of Australia’s Digital Collection In terms of the Powerhouse site we began with a refresh of the Summit in Adelaide it drew a rapturous reaction on the conference building’s exterior. The newly transformed white facade, with its blog site: ‘The Powerhouse has inspired all of us with this exciting updated livery, is a symbolic introduction to an extensive program of presentation. A new ‘benchmark’ is born. You could actually hear and planned works to reinvigorate the site and what we offer to our feel the amazement and excitement in the room.’ It is hard to think visitors. It complements the new Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre soon to of a better endorsement. open further along Harris Street and reflects the redefinition of our neighbourhood as a knowledge, cultural and entertainment precinct. In common with most areas of government, the Museum must constantly review its operations and activities to ensure we are We began a major program of refreshing our permanent exhibitions, living within our means. Accordingly, during the year I implemented the with the installation of the magnificent Inspired! Design across time twin strategies of instigating a whole-of-organisation Voluntary gallery, the return of the beloved Strasburg clock, after an extensive Redundancy program followed by an organisational restructure and conservation process, and the upgrading of the Locomotive No 1 realignment of functions to ensure that we are best placed to th exhibit to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the NSW railways. In all, deliver on our Strategic Plan priorities. we developed 28 new exhibitions and displays, along with a broad range of public and education programs, at the Powerhouse and Of particular importance this year has been the introduction of new Sydney Observatory. Commissioning processes to improve the planning and delivery of our exhibitions, programs and publications. Great care has been taken As well as our in-house offerings, we presented a record number of to ensure the development of an effective and pragmatic model that programs with 93 site visits, workshops, lectures and training sessions will be to the advantage of our users for many years to come. at 42 regional New South Wales locations. In addition, we provided By year’s end, many benefits of these new processes were already eight internships to regional museums workers from across NSW. becoming evident. Our reach continues to grow through access to our provision of Over 3.5 million people across our city, our State, our nation and knowledge online. The launch of our groundbreaking Online Public beyond either visited the Museum, attended our exhibitions off-site or Access Catalogue, OPAC 2.0, made 62,000 collection items available to used our online services during 2005-06. This outstanding result the public, with images, historical information and statements of was achieved thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Museum’s staff, significance attached. The site employs unique technology which actually volunteers and Trustees, along with our sponsors, partners and collects search information which it then utilises to help future users. supporters, all of whom I sincerely thank for their commitment and enthusiasm.