Museums Aotearoa announces travel bursaries

Museums Aotearoa announces travel bursaries

Press Release

For immediate release

Public gallery and museum professionals from throughout New Zealand will have the opportunity to share idea and experiences with their colleagues in Australia, thanks to Museums Aotearoa and Creative New Zealand.

As a result of a generous grant from Creative New Zealand, Museums Aotearoa is offering ten bursaries worth $1000 each to enable New Zealand attendance at the forthcoming Australasian conference Leading from the Edge.

Leading from the Edge, being held in Wagga Wagga this November, is the third Australian Public Galleries summit conference devoted to the needs and aspirations of public gallery and museum professionals and will result in substantial benefits to the sector. Underpinning this year’s summit is critical discussion about the current and future role of the regional gallery and regional areas as the leaders of the next wave of Australian and New Zealand cultural development.

Leading from the Edge is designed to inspire and motivate but also to give practical input to participants, with masterclasses and panel discussions supporting a strong range of international keynote speakers, including New Zealanders Greg Burke and Huhana Smith. It is anticipated that the conference will provide ample opportunity for New Zealanders to establish professional relationships with their Australian counterparts, with a view to developing exhibitions, professional and artistic exchanges, as well as simply increasing the flow of communication between the two countries’ artistic and cultural sectors.

Ross Tanner, CEO of Museums Aotearoa says, “As a key theme in Leading from the Edge is the ways in which those in ‘far-flung’ areas often push the boundaries artistically and culturally, we are hoping that these bursaries will support attendance from people currently employed in smaller institutions in regional New Zealand. This conference has the potential to be something of a watershed in terms of the potential for closer artistic relations between New Zealand and Australia”.

In addition to the Museums Aotearoa bursaries, International Art Services is offering one more New Zealand bursary for Leading from the Edge, valued up to $1000 AUD. This bursary is open to paid public gallery staff, and preference will be given to applicants from rural or remote areas.

Applications for the International Art Services bursary close on the 15th July and the Museums Aotearoa bursaries on 29 July. Applications for the Museums Aotearoa bursaries can be obtained by calling the Museums Aotearoa office on 04 499 1313 or emailing mail@museums-aotearoa.org.nz, and applications for the International Art Services bursary can be obtained from www.leadingfromthedge.org.au/bursary.htm#IAS

ENDS

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