2018 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Winner: Projects Under $15,000
Poihākena Tours: Stories of Māori in Sydney
(Kotahi Tourism)
Poihākena tours: stories of Māori in Sydney is a 2-hour walking tour based in The Rocks, Sydney where Māori have lived, loved, visited, traded, worked and died since 1793. (Poihākena is the Māori word for Sydney – a transliteration of Port Jackson).
Poihākena tours bring to life the wonderfully rich stories of Māori in Sydney through tangible connections to place, hands-on experiences and engaging story telling – underpinned by Matauranga (knowledge of Māori Culture and history) and Manaakitanga (hospitality).
Winner: Projects $15,000 – $50,000
Darwin: A Tale of Four Cities
(Caddie Brain)
In Darwin, every corner has a story. But this history can be hard to see: in its short life the city has been almost completely destroyed four times – three times by cyclone and once by war – so Darwin has been rebuilt over and over again. Still, in between the shiny high-rise are lots of secret historic spots to discover. ‘Darwin: A Tale of Four Cities’ is a first-of-its-kind, immersive, self-guided, audio walking tour that takes you to ten of these locations around Darwin’s CBD. It is delivered to your mobile device or tablet via an app and headphones. It was meticulously researched by independent curator and former journalist Caddie Brain, based Northern Territory collections and oral histories.
The tour also features the extraordinary personal story of narrator Charlie King, a legendary Northern Territory broadcaster and anti-violence campaigner and was funded by the Northern Territory Department of Tourism and Culture’s Live Darwin Arts program. In an Australian first, the tour is recorded binaurally, an innovative recording method that produces an immersive 3D sound augmented reality experience, on the street. Hundreds of locals were involved in re-creating historic soundscapes to support the audio stories that transport the listener back in time.
Winner: Projects $50,000 – $150,000
Explore Walka
(Maitland City Council)
The heritage value of the Walka Water Works, Maitland, extends well beyond the bricks and mortar of the former pumping station and reservoir. The place has outstanding landscape beauty and has significance as ecology altered by progressive human habitation. This project arises from the place’s particular significance as a bird habitat and the initiative of the Maitland City Council and the Hunter Bird Observers Group in establishing a viewing platform on the western edge of the reservoir. This project has developed both on site and multimedia online resources which are discussed and illustrated in this project nomination.The heritage value of the Walka Water Works, Maitland, extends well beyond the bricks and mortar of the former pumping station and reservoir. The place has outstanding landscape beauty and has significance as ecology altered by progressive human habitation. This project arises from the place’s particular significance as a bird habitat and the initiative of the Maitland City Council and the Hunter Bird Observers Group in establishing a viewing platform on the western edge of the reservoir. This project has developed both on site and multimedia online resources which are discussed and illustrated in this project nomination.
They include: · Construction of a viewing platform;· Installation of seating for 20 people to facilitate small group discussion;· Brochure guide for schools and visitors;· Signage investigation, content, design; · Sculptural presence on the site through the installation of a series of marker posts for wildlife viewing areas; · Educational web based resources;· Production of the Walka Bird App, a digital education resource.
Winner: Projects Over $150,000
Tiger Trek
(Taronga Conservation Society)
There are only 350 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild. This situation may seem hopeless … but it’s not.
Tiger Trek, a new exhibit at Taronga Zoo, is designed as a powerful immersive and disruptive experience that creates internal conflict in zoo guests; sparking deep emotional connections to Tigers, then challenging and inspiring people to take positive action to help save these magnificent animals.
The exhibit uses a combination of authentic cultural theming and landscaping, interactive elements and AV, props and staging, rich storytelling and soundscapes to create an immersive physical and emotional journey. In a simulated flight onboard Tiger Trek Airlines, guests are transported from Taronga Zoo to Indonesia. There, guests engage with Sumatran Tigers through close encounters, learn about Tigers’ behaviour in their natural habitat and find out about local conservation projects such as the Wildlife Protection Unit.
In transition back to the urban world, guests enter ‘Choice Mart’ — a simulated supermarket where they are empowered to make consumer choices to help protect the remaining Tiger population in Sumatra. They can also encourage manufacturers and retailers make more sustainable choices in food production through the Raise Your Palm community campaign. This campaign, developed as an integral part of the Tiger Trek exhibit, leverages community action to support the transition towards a truly responsible (sustainable) palm oil industry in Australia.
Together we can save Sumatran Tigers — and create a shared future for wildlife and people.
Runners Up – 2018 Awards of Excellence
Runner Up: Projects Under $15,000
Judbarra/Gregory National Park Visitor Centre Interpretation Plan
(Parks, Wildlife and Heritage – Department of Tourism and Culture)
The Judbarra / Gregory National Park Interpretation Plan has been developed in conjunction with the Traditional Owners, Parks, Wildlife and Heritage (Department of Tourism and Culture) and the Consultant Trace Writing. The project has been one of collaborative consultation to review and prepare to update the existing old Visitor Centre which services this park. The Interpretation Plan saw the Partners work together to ensure Aboriginal people, place names and language are well represented, information is accurate and appropriate and new communication technologies are considered. Truly a rewarding journey and an important step in engaging Traditional Owners in the joint management of this park.
Winner: Projects Between $15,000 – $50,000
Alice Anderson Motor Service
(Synthetic Creative Services)
Alice Anderson (1897-1926) was Australia’s first female garage owner. In 1919 Alice purchased a block of land on Cotham Road in Kew and built a garage from her own design: ‘Alice Anderson’s Motor Service’. The garage offered petrol sales, vehicle repairs, a driving school, 24 hour chauffeur experience and organised chauffeured tourist parties on interstate trips. It was an all-women business, and employed approximately nine chauffeurs and mechanics. This exhibition tells Alice’s short life story – how she set up the garage and the role of women in motoring; her inventions and innovations; her personal life and tragic death. Told in a setting of a reconstruction of her garage, office and bedroom through interpretive panels, historical objects and interactive elements.
Runner Up: Projects Between $50,000 – $150,000
Alphabetical Sydney: Creative Lab
(Sydney Living Museums)
Alphabetical Sydney: Creative Lab at the Museum of Sydney is an interactive children’s exhibition that celebrates Sydney in all its diversity, from A to Z. The exhibition was produced by Sydney Living Museums in collaboration with illustrator Antonia Pesenti and author Hilary Bell, creators of the best-selling book Alphabetical Sydney.
The Alphabetical Sydney book is immensely popular with children and adults alike. This exhibition provides an opportunity to invite young and old to experience and explore the city through creative activities and sensory games in a fun, low-tech environment.
A custom activity booklet or ‘Lab Kit’, specially created for this exhibition, leads visitors through the show using playful illustrations and rhyming verse. Visitors can investigate the clues in the mini museum, write their own verse in the poetry factory, experience the magic of Sydney at dusk or relax with a book under the canopy of a Moreton Bay fig tree. The sounds of the city in all their intensity and diversity are hidden throughout – deafening cicadas, clanging construction, an elephant’s trumpet from the zoo.
The exhibition aims to provide an accessible avenue for children and families to engage with Sydney’s story by encouraging visitors to investigate, write, collaborate, listen, draw, read and dream. The exhibition was designed to be enjoyed by budding artists and authors and anyone with a sense of fun and a capacity to dream.
Runner Up: Projects Over $150,000
Keeper Kids Melbourne Zoo
(Zoos Victoria)
Keeper Kids
Creating an interactive, play-based learning experience to build an engaged and connected audience for life.
Want to be a Zoo-keeper for the day? Feed and care for the animals? Sure thing! Let’s get you a keeper’s uniform and the rest is up to you! Love animals and want to help care for them? Why not try your hand at being a Keeper Kids Vet? Examine real x-rays to see what each patient might need before listening to their heartbeats through specialised stethoscopes. It’s all here waiting for you! This part of the Zoo is just for you, you’re in charge and where the animals live and what they do is completely up to you!
Judges Choice – 2018 Awards of Excellence
Port Arthur Gallery
(Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority)
This project involved the redevelopment of the Port Arthur Historic Site Interpretation Gallery and was undertaken alongside the major redevelopment and extension of the Visitor Centre. The new Gallery has been designed to be the launch pad for the greater story line of the site, and to provide our visitors with orientation and an in-depth understanding of our complex and layered history and world heritage significance. The Gallery combines a range of interpretive media to communicate five thematic pathways which then extend into our onsite tours and activities. A user-operated way-finding map and up-to-date visitor information assist our visitors in planning their day, while interactive displays inspire storytelling and create personal connections to Port Arthur’s multi-layered history.
Interloop
(Transport for NSW)
Interloop is a large, hovering sculpture commissioned by Transport for NSW that re-uses and re-imagines the 1950s heritage escalators from the York Street exit of Wynyard Station into an evocative public artwork. It incorporates 244 wooden escalator treads and four escalator plates over 50 metres into a looping feature.
