School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications
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ItemA Conservation Overview of Gaps in Traditional Trade Skills in Australia(Informa UK Limited, 2019-07-03)In 2003, the General Conference of UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage; recognising the important role traditional craftmanship has as a tangible manifestation of intangible heritage and highlighting the importance of the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and skills. Within this context, a Conservation Skills Gaps survey was conducted in 2016 that examined whether there was a current perceived skills gap relating to traditional trades; what difficulties might conservators have in accessing these trades; and, how such a skills gap might be addressed? This paper examines the results of this survey, reviews the 2000 AICCM Skills Gap Audit and the 2018 Heritage Skills Initiative Sector Analysis Survey that reported on the health of traditional trade skills in Australia, and discusses recent initiatives to revitalise rare trades. It also examines current work in developing opportunities to build intergenerational knowledge transfer, support specialist practitioners, and generate solutions to address skill gaps in traditional trades and conservation.
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ItemIntroduction(University of Melbourne Library, 2016-12-01)This introduction outlines the content of the cultural collections at the University of Melbourne, and the importance of conservation in protecting these valuable resources.
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ItemBlood antiquities and the role of the Conservator(AICCM, 2016)Objects of great historical, cultural and financial value are being looted from sites of conflict and sold to finance wars and regional conflicts. These socalled 'blood antiquities' are being sold in the great centres of antiquities trading in Europe and around the world, but are they making it as far as Australia? And what ethical and legal obligations does an Australian conservator have if she should suspect she is dealing with an illegally looted object? I asked Professor Robyn Sloggett of the Grimwade Centre for the Conservation of Cultural Materials for her expert opinion on the issue.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWaringarri Aboriginal Arts: Rethinking practices in conservation documentation through assessing the needs of a community arts centre(Routledge, 2013-12)The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing preservation needs. The practicality of these, however, can be called into question when they are applied outside an institutional environment, particularly in a different cultural context. This paper explores the conservation needs of an Aboriginal community art centre. Over several years a partnership between the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at The University of Melbourne and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia, has seen the development of a method for the assessment and care of Waringarri’s permanent community collections. The deterioration factors impacting the preservation of cultural material in the East Kimberley region were considered. Limited documentation arising from a lack of infrastructure, resources and funding was found to be one of the key conservation issues. A strategy is recommended that seeks a national approach to conservation documentation of Indigenous art. This paper suggests that members of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) form a Special Interest Group, much like the Archives Society of Australia’s Indigenous Issues Special Interest Group, to collaborate with representatives from art centres and to work towards a framework for training, resources and funding to support the preservation of Aboriginal cultural material.
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ItemRay Marginson: A Tribute(University of Melbourne, 2019)Dr Ray Marginson AM was Vice-Principal at the University of Melbourne from 1966 until 1988, as well as a number of other significant public positions. In that time he transformed the finances, grounds and cultural collections of the University. This article charts some of his major contributions to the life of the University, and explores his broader contribution to Melbourne cultural life and identity.
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ItemAccess relative to need for community conservation funding in Australia(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2019-12-02)In a climate of scarce resources for heritage preservation, there is a need to develop principles and methodology for assessing and responding to inequity within the conservation sector. This paper focuses on spatial, or geographic, barriers as one factor determining the accessibility of conservation services. While the case study focuses on the conservation and management of collections of cultural material in Australia, the methodology is globally relevant for advancing the equitable distribution of heritage and conservation resources according to need. Using a statistical analysis of the spatial distribution of 1323 local heritage conservation projects that have been funded by the National Library of Australia’s Community Heritage Grants Program from 1994 to 2017, this study provides a measure of the spatial equality of conservation in Australia. Spatial distribution analysis indicates that the majority of projects funded are located in major cities, with fewer projects funded in regional, remote and very remote areas. An ‘access relative to need’ approach is proposed to counter the current centralisation of the conservation industry. Of particular relevance for international readers is the potential for this methodology to frame studies of the impacts on heritage resulting from climate change and extreme weather events.
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ItemNgarranggarni, Gija Two Way Learning and the University of Melbourne(University of Melbourne, University Library, 2017)This paper examines the relationship between the Gija Elders artists, and art workers and at the Warmun Art Centre, and the staff and students at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne developed into a tertiary education program, led by Gija Elders. It discusses how this relationship was built from the response by Gija people and the University of Melbourne to a contemporary crisis, the decimation of Warmun by a major flood in March 2011. It examines how an understanding of the importance of the Gija lived belief in Ngarranggarni has guided the formation of this strong relationship between Warmun and the University. It explores the framework within which this relationship developed, the ways in which Gija Elders have shared the knowledge that they own and have responsibility for, and argues that it was the education model devised in Warmun by the Old People a generation ago that provided the strong base for an ongoing education-focused partnership. Significant outcomes from this relationship have included the establishment of a partnering agreement between the Warmun Art Centre and the University of Melbourne, a Masters by Coursework subject that is delivered by Gija Elders, conservation training for Gija artworkers, the Friends of Warmun support network, joint research program as well as public lectures, exhibitions and seminars. Increasingly much activity is being documented through digital media. This paper proposes that it is the contemporary nature of Gija belief in the continuous nature of Ngarranggarni that has provided the best model for the sustainability of this partnership.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableInterrogating Time and Meaning: Aligning Art Criticism, Conservation, Cultural Context and Materiality(Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies, Auckland University of Technology, 2017)Art criticism relies on having access to an art history that has been rigorously assessed and contested through the advancement of disciplinary knowledge. As examples of recent art criticism have indicated, however, critics flounder when called to assess art that signifies important knowledge and aesthetics from areas beyond their own epistemological heritage. This is particularly the case with Australian Aboriginal art, where there are significant examples of criticism that do not engage with either the cultural context of the aesthetic values of the work, do not identify gaps in the episteme of the criticism, but yet which is stridently judgemental. In art conservation, where materiality (or lack of) defines the point of entry to all questions, verification and evidence-based decision-making are essential to professional praxis—but developing these tools requires effective mechanisms for cross-cultural participation and collaboration. Using materiality as both the framework and point of departure from which to develop more rigorous approaches to artistic and aesthetic inquiry, this paper examines how such a focus on materials can help to provide proper contextualisation of cultural exigencies and values, and thereby build formal and structural approaches to address gaps in critical commentary.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWaringarri Aboriginal Arts: Rethinking practices in conservation documentation through assessing the needs of a community arts centre(Informa UK Limited, 2014-12)The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing preservation needs. The practicality of these, however, can be called into question when they are applied outside an institutional environment, particularly in a different cultural context. This paper explores the conservation needs of an Aboriginal community art centre. Over several years a partnership between the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at The University of Melbourne and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia, has seen the development of a method for the assessment and care of Waringarri's permanent community collections. The deterioration factors impacting the preservation of cultural material in the East Kimberley region were considered. Limited documentation arising from a lack of infrastructure, resources and funding was found to be one of the key conservation issues. A strategy is recommended that seeks a national approach to conservation documentation of Indigenous art. This paper suggests that members of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) form a Special Interest Group, much like the Archives Society of Australia's Indigenous Issues Special Interest Group, to collaborate with representatives from art centres and to work towards a framework for training, resources and funding to support the preservation of Aboriginal cultural material.