CONTEXT

 

Almost despite lutruwitaTASMANIA's somewhat dark and gothic histories it is a 'treasure house' of contested and contestable ideas. Situated as it is at the edge of the world 'the place' is replete with every kind of story and cultural imagining.

There is something in Ava Gardner saying during the shoot for the film: "On the Beach is a story about the end of the world, and Melbourne sure is the right place to film it." That this was contested and a counterclaim made that 'Tasmania' could well be exchanged for Melbourne somehow is indicative of how Tasmania was often regarded cum disregarded by 'mainland Australia' albeit that their 'histories' are not only invested in Tasmania's musingplaces in no small measure, they are deeply embedded in these histories.

It is no surprise that within Tasmania's public museums and art galleries – the State's musingplaces – there is 'buried treasure' that all too often is kept away from its Community of Ownership and Interest (COI), an extraordinary cohort of people who have legitimate claims to access. This is a circumstance that has evolved for well over a century. Some of what must be called 'curatorial obfuscation' can be put down to almost every class bureaucratic power broker and empire builder flexing their self-serving mussels. However, it also has to be said that this is not absolutely true across the board, because it is not.

Around the state there are multiple 'musingplaces' and many underperform relative to their 21st C capacity so to do. This is quite simply because their collections have outgrown their custodians ability 'to do more'. And, there are treasures in these collections. 

For example, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG)boasts of the $200Million Plus in 'cultural material and scientific specimens' the institution holds – the numbers do not matter because the DOLLARvalue is totally irrelevant. Despite, a recent audit it is anybody's guess just what 'treasures' are buried in these collection well away from the reach of cultural researchers and others who have a legitimate interest in doing so – and often a need to do so.

By-and-large all these 'collections' are imagined as being held in trust. However, Charles H. Green, 'The Trusted Advisor', tells us that "It takes two to do the trust tango –the one who risks (the trustor) and the one who is trustworthy (the trustee); each must play their role." 

So, it turns out that all too often that when the task gets to be 'too big' the capacity to dance the TRUSTtango dissipates and nearly all the dancers can be found hiding away somewhere sitting on their hands out of sight, out of mind but nonetheless drawing upon the 'public purse for sustenance'.

This submission explores ways to reimagine 'musingplaces' and our built heritage estate's governance and management in a 21st C context. It is clear that there are compelling reasons for fundamental change in regard to the governance and management of Tasmania's musingplaces and heritage properties.

In a contemporary context, public museums and art galleries the world over are having to reimagine themselves in in order to be relevant. This is in much the same way as newspapers, universities, publishers, etc. are having to do a credibility check. Looking ahead, the status quo is no longer a viable option and especially so in regard to Tasmanian Aboriginal people post terra nullius, post Mabo.

Moreover, Tasmanians and others have invested billions of dollars in their musingplaces and heritage properties. Concerningly, it can be argued that Tasmanians investment in 'their place's' cultural realities is vulnerable and it faces various risks due to the inadequacies and inconsistencies plus their capacity to govern and manage themselves appropriately in a 21st C context.

CONTEXT … CLICK HERE 

THE WHAT IF FACTOR … CLICK HERE 

21st CENTURY MUSING IN lutruwitaTASMANIA … CLICK HERE 

SO WHAT NOW? … CLICK HERE  

BY WHAT MEASURE SUSTAINABILITY … CLICK HERE 

A STRUCTURE FOR COLLECTIONlutruwita … CLICK HERE 

HOW MIGHT A COLLECTIONlutruwita COME TO BE … CLICK HERE 

FISCAL MATTERS … CLICK HERE

COLLECTION INFORMATION … CLICK HERE

CONCLUSION … CLICK HERE