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2024 AMaGA National Conference Wrap-Up

In September 2024, ART ON THE MOVE Executive Director Ricky Arnold and General Manager Julianne Mackay attended the Australian Museums and Galleries Australia (AMaGA) National Conference. Here, Julianne shares some of her highlights and key takeaways from the event.

At the heart of Australia’s vibrant museum and gallery sector lies a powerful platform for transformation and collaboration—the AMaGA National Conference. With the theme (un)Common Ground: Collisions, Convergence, Conversations, this year’s conference challenged existing norms and sparked innovative ideas. Ricky and I were thrilled to contribute to these important discussions, travelling to Ballarat on Wadawurrung Country, Victoria, to join sector leaders in exploring the intersections of art, culture, and social impact.

These gatherings are pivotal, not just for propelling the sector forward, but for fostering a keen sense of community and shared purpose among professionals. We were not alone in this belief—(un)Common Ground brought together 500 delegates from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, and beyond, making it the largest annual event for museum and gallery professionals to connect, share, and learn.

AMaGA National Conference. Photographs by Julianne Mackay

Held at iconic Ballarat venues such as Civic Hall and The Goods Shed, the conference was embedded within the city’s vibrant hospitality scene and creative spaces. This offered delegates an immersive experience that went beyond the traditional conference.

A highlight for me (and there were many) was a visit to the Art Gallery of Ballarat to view the works of Clarice Beckett, on loan from the National Gallery. These works depict the artist’s life in Naarm (Melbourne) at the turn of the last century, providing a unique lens through which to reflect on Australia’s evolving artistic narratives.

Another standout moment was hearing from keynote speaker Professor Eleanor Bourke, a respected Wergaia/Wamba Wamba Elder. Her humility and wisdom captivated a full audience as she shared her four decades of contributions to Aboriginal affairs and human rights. Professor Bourke spoke about her work with the Victorian Aboriginal Treaty Working Group and her strategic guidance to the Treaty Commissioner, which paved the way for the establishment of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.

Ricky joined several people for an informative panel roundtable to discuss touring challenges and opportunities at all scales: international, national, state, and regional. He spoke to the unique challenges experienced in Western Australia associated with touring over vast distances and the extensive work undertaken to produce the Regional Exhibition Touring Strategy.

Panellists included Seb Chan (ACMI) Jessica Bridgfoot (Bendigo Art Gallery), Russell Briggs (Australian Museum) and Tracy Cooper-Lavery (National Gallery of Australia) who all brought their collective experiences related to touring exhibitions and discussed the challenges and ways forward.

This session was particularly relevant to ART ON THE MOVE. Panellists talked about how touring exhibitions through regional and remote areas presents unique challenges, from complex planning to limited infrastructure. Transporting delicate artworks over long distances and working with venues which lack climate control or proper lighting requires careful planning. It was also noted that regional galleries may have limited professional staff and rely heavily on inconsistent funding, making it more difficult to present high-quality exhibitions. Audience sizes in these areas are often smaller, necessitating community outreach and creative engagement strategies which adds another layer of complexity when planning and delivering.

Bigger institutions talked about the importance of attracting “blockbuster” exhibitions that can bring in 100,000s of paid audience members but also acknowledged this is not a sustainable model and other options need to be sought. This could include several organisations partnering to bring bigger exhibitions to Australia to share costs and maximise resources.

Despite the challenges discussed, the opportunities touring exhibitions provide are equally significant. Regional exhibitions can have a profound cultural impact by bringing art to communities that otherwise have limited access. They offer unique storytelling possibilities, as exhibitions can be tailored to reflect local histories and cultures. Working within constraints often leads to creative innovation, from pop-up venues to community collaborations.

This is an area that ART ON THE MOVE is already exploring for some of our future programming and touring options, offering slower and longer ways for people to engage with our diverse exhibitions and public programming in regional and remote areas. It is always beneficial to hear other views and ways different practices can be adopted into the way we do things at ART ON THE MOVE.

Within the same panel discussion, Tracy Cooper-Lavery from the National Gallery announced a new way to tour their exhibitions based on feedback they had received. They have redesigned and reimagined their touring program, one which will reach bigger audiences and make its way to regional and remote communities, increasing accessibility to the significant national collections. Their new touring model is proactive and collaborative, providing more choice, funding, and support for galleries.

This resonates with the recent approaches ART ON THE MOVE adopted to select their new touring exhibitions. We worked with our stakeholders and venues to ask what exhibitions would work best in their communities, providing valuable programming insights and a collaborative approach to how we work.

For those keen to stay at the forefront of industry trends and innovations, the AMaGA National Conference remains an essential space for inspiration and exchange. The 2024 event truly embodied the spirit of (un)Common Ground, leaving us with a richer understanding of the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead for our sector.

A heartfelt thank you to AMaGA for the invitation to be part of this year’s event.