Hawkesbury City Council is proud to announce that Hawkesbury Regional Gallery and Hawkesbury Regional Museum have both won IMAGinE Awards at a gala presentation at Sydney Modern, Art Gallery of NSW on Wednesday, 29 November 2023.
WINNER – Hawkesbury Regional Gallery
Exhibition Projects Award – Small Gallery
Dyarubbin
WINNER – Hawkesbury Regional Museum
Engagement Programs Award – Small Organisation
Bangadyi Nawi Making a Canoe
The Mayor of Hawkesbury, Councillor Sarah McMahon said it is a wonderful commendation for the quality of the exhibitions and programs at both the Gallery and Museum, and the dedication of the staff.
“Congratulations to the staff and artists involved in creating these significant exhibitions and programs,” Mayor McMahon said.
“Thank you also to our wonderful volunteers who continue to support our Museum and Gallery so that we can open our facilities for our visitors to enjoy.
“For both projects, Museum and Gallery staff engaged extensively with Dharug people and the Hawkesbury community throughout the planning and development of the exhibition and program,” Mayor McMahon said.
“This ensured their perspectives and voices were included, respected, and accurately represented. The Gallery exhibition and the Museum engagement program provided education and community awareness through the provision of resources and programs, founded on local knowledge and understanding necessary to approach the exhibitions programs with sensitivity.
“This is the first IMAGinE award for the Gallery and the third IMAGinE award for the Museum. It’s wonderful that we can celebrate our cultural facilities in the Hawkesbury!
“These awards are well deserved recognition for producing high quality programs that engage with our Hawkesbury community and our wider audiences.”
The IMAGinE Awards highlight the resilience, innovation and creativity of museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centres across NSW and recognise the passionate people who work in them. The IMAGinE Awards are an initiative of Museums & Galleries of NSW, developed with support from the Australian Museums and Galleries Association NSW and Regional and Public Galleries of NSW. For all the nominees and winners, see 2023 IMAGinE awards catalogue – MGNSW
HAWKESBURY REGIONAL GALLERY
Dyarubbin
The Dyarubbin exhibition, which ran from 29 October 2022 to 5 February 2023, took its name from the ancient waterway also known as the Hawkesbury River.
The exhibition encouraged a deeper understanding of the Dharug people and their connection with Dyarubbin generating a sense of shared ownership of the past, in a safe forum for greater understanding. The support of the exhibition from all stakeholders was overwhelming with 400 people attending the exhibition opening including a visit by The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
The exhibition won the award because it provided an opportunity to contribute to truth and build reconciliation efforts in the Hawkesbury region through highlighting the challenges faced by the Dharug people due to colonisation.
The Dyarubbin exhibition was an opportunity to expand the narrative/understanding of the Hawkesbury locality by encompassing the perspectives of indigenous Australians long absent from the telling of these stories. The exhibition also showcased how research into institutional collections intersected with cultural revitalisation. Dharug knowledge holders, artists and educators Leanne Watson, Jasmine Seymour, Erin Wilkins and Rhiannon Wright shared their stories of special sites along Dyarubbin as custodians of this beautiful place.
The exhibition included artworks, soundscapes, installation art, animation and storytelling which demonstrated the importance of the discovery. The exhibition also provided an opportunity for non-Aboriginal people to engage with its themes in a local context, and for Dharug people to engage with the broader themes of the exhibition and their stories.
HAWKESBURY REGIONAL MUSEUM
Bangadyi Nawi Making a Canoe – current exhibit
Bangadyi Nawi was a community engagement project between Hawkesbury Regional Museum, the Dharug community, and Brewongle Environmental Education Centre. The project provided a transformative experience for local Aboriginal high school students who created a traditional canoe during an Elder-led, inter-generational camp on Country. As a new exhibit at the Museum, the canoe is shaping learning opportunities for the whole community.
The project has provided a transformative experience for local Aboriginal high school students who created a traditional canoe during an inter-generational camp, led by Elder Uncle Dean Kelly and with Uncle David Payne and Dharug Educator Erin Wilkins.
The canoe is now part of the Museum’s permanent exhibition and collections.
The Hawkesbury Regional Museum is located at 8 Baker Street, Windsor and is open six days: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10am to 4pm. Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm
Closed Tuesdays.
www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/museum
