The Changeable Collection Program at the NMA is a key project initiated as a part of a multi-year, digital transformation initiative which articulates a decade-long vision to advance digital capabilities across the organisation and enhance the museum experience for visitors. At the core of this program is the recognition of the importance of developing frameworks that can re-conceptualise the museum’s approaches and activities to assess, care for, interpret and share NMA’s collections.
The NMA's changeable approach addresses the unique needs of all collection objects as dynamic, relational, and inherently changeable. This perspective aims to enhance our understanding, management, and care of such collections through a lens of positive change to ensure these objects can develop, evolve, and maintain their significance as time, contexts, and audiences shift.
In this presentation we reflection on:
The impact of embedding a philosophical approach and and building a specialist Changeable and Digital team to embed digital collection management practices and collaborative workflows
Initiating ten cases studies to embed practical strategies that map relational knowledge, expand preservation strategies and explore the use of new technologies to unlock narratives and methods for activation
Building upon the Museum’s community engagement strategies to embed two-way knowledge sharing, informed consent, community exchange and sustainable collaboration for both First Nations and non-indigenous collection
To ground our theoretical framework, we will present the methodological approaches we’ve developed via specific case studies such as our work with the Hetherington Family Collection (Mr. Squiggle and Friends) and the WLAN testbed prototype. In these case studies we explore innovative digital techniques such as 3D laser scanning and body motion capture to produce archival-quality data packages that enable production for a range of experiences for our audiences. We also reflect on our engagement and consultation processes with creators and communities to help us understand how a changeable approach can support and communicate intergenerational transfer of knowledge, performance and care practices, to not only enhance the museum’s operational effectiveness but also ensures that its digital transformation remains relevant and responsive to the needs of diverse stakeholders.
Candice Cranmer, National Museum of Australia: Candice Cranmer is currently the Changeable and Digital Collections Senior Officer at the National Museum of Australia. She was ACMI's first Time-based Media Conservator and has held roles across conservation and digital preservation at ACMI. She is the co-convener of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials special interest group ‘Electron’ and enjoys exploring innovative conservation methodologies and collaborative practices. Candice holds Undergraduate and Honours Degrees in Fine Art from Monash University and a Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation from the University of Melbourne.
PROJECT COLLABORATORS:
Asti Sherring, National Museum of Australia: Asti Sherring is the Manager of Changeable and Digital Collections at the National Museum of Australia and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Humanities, Arts and Social Science, Australian National University. She has completed a Bachelor of Media Arts (honours) from Sydney University and a Masters of Materials Conservation at Melbourne University. Asti has held positions as Time-based media consultant at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and senior time-based art conservator at The Art Gallery of New South Wales. Asti is currently undertaking doctorate research at Canberra University (in its final stages) which explores contemporary Museum theories and practices of digital, ephemeral, immersive, participatory and technological cultural heritage.