Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 2004-05

21 20 High-quality promotional publications continued to be produced, including Preview , the quarterly guide to events and exhibitions at the Gallery, as well as posters, flyers and media kits, while Artmail , the Gallery’s e-bulletin service, continued to attract new subscribers. A 28-page full-colour promotional brochure was produced to profile the first announcement of artists for the forthcoming ‘APT 2006: Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’. Over 6000 copies were distributed to artists, curators, writers, government representatives, sponsors, public and private museums and galleries and arts organisations, both in Australia and overseas. The Gallery was awarded recognition for its publications on several occasions during the reporting year. Story Place: Indigenous Art from Cape York and the Rainforest was awarded an honourable mention for exhibition catalogues at the American Association of Museums 2004 Museum Publications Design Competition — the only exhibition catalogue from Australia to be acknowledged at these awards, and Ah Xian was commended in the category of best small catalogue at the 2004 Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Publication Awards. The Gallery was highly successful in the 2005 Museums Australia Publication Design Awards in the following categories: exhibition catalogues ( Video Hits: Art & Music Video — winner; Ah Xian — highly commended); corporate ( Annual Report 2003–04 — highly commended); information brochures ( Prime 04: Art & Music Video — highly commended); and education material ( The Nature Machine children’s activity book — highly commended; Kuril’s Deadly Insights children’s activity book — highly commended). During 2004–05, the Gallery redeveloped its website, which now features over 600 pages and reflects the Gallery’s depth of programming and collection development (see QAG online opposite). The publications unit also commenced planning for the forthcoming contemporary Australian art collection book, 1966–2005 (a companion volume to Brought to Light: Australian Art 1850–1965 ), as well as a publication focusing on the Gallery’s Asian art collection, and the exhibition catalogue to accompany ‘APT 2006: Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, both of which will be supported by the Australian Centre of Asia–Pacific Art (ACAPA). ACAPA also supported the research for the forthcoming Sparse Shadows, Flying Pearls: A Japanese Screen Revealed , due for publication in August 2005. An innovative website was developed for the Gallery’s annual Prime National Youth Week initiative by the Design, Web and Multimedia unit. The ‘Prime 2005: New Art from Queensland’ website featured a unique home page animation, a slide show of artists’ works and videos of artist interviews. The Gallery continued its year-long project to redevelop its website, which was then launched in December. Built on a content management system (MySource Matrix), the site was completely redesigned and reconfigured to reflect the Gallery’s key programming areas, to reinforce the Gallery’s reputation for quality web design, and to take advantage of online technologies. The redeveloped website affords a significantly improved online presence to the Gallery’s Collection, education and research programs, and Queensland Gallery of Modern Art initiatives, while the home page now features animations profiling current and forthcoming exhibitions. An ‘A to Z’ listing of artists, together with some 83 Collection highlights profiling the Gallery’s 9 key collecting areas, and an area showcasing recent acquisitions, ensures the Gallery’s Collection enjoys a prominent online presence for the benefit of visitors and researchers alike. Similarly, the exhibitions, education and kids’ (Children’s Art Centre) areas of the website ensure visitors have improved access to forthcoming exhibition and event information, as well as to archives of past programs. Visitors accessing the site’s research section can browse the Gallery’s publishing history and explore art work conservation projects. With the simultaneous opening of the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art and the fifth ‘Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ in late 2006, it is anticipated that virtual traffic to the Gallery’s website will increase substantially over the next 18 months. With this in mind, valuable additions to the site — a searchable calendar of exhibitions and public programs, and interactive art games for children — are currently under development. Gallery staff provided professional advice and support to regional gallery and arts workers, and were involved in workshops, lectures, talks, consultancy services, and in the judging of art awards and prizes during the year. Three exhibitions toured to nine venues in regional Queensland during the reporting period, including ‘Pop: The Continuing Influence of Popular Culture on Contemporary Art’. The touring component of ‘Story Place: Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest’ concluded its tour at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, in Townsville, in June 2005, while a new travelling exhibition — ‘Streeton: Works from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection’ — was launched at the Outback Regional Gallery in Winton in April 2005. Extensive support material and services accompanied all tours, and Gallery staff travelled to regional centres to assist venue staff set-up and dismantle exhibitions. All three exhibitions were supported by education resource kits and online resources. The Gallery’s commitment to reconciliation recognises the need to enhance the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of Indigenous people, and the ‘Blak Insights: Contemporary Indigenous Art from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection’ exhibition assisted the Gallery in meeting its commitment in a number of ways. Blak Insights: Indigenous Voices, New Directions, a national invitation-only conference for artists, curators and cultural activists, was presented over the weekend of 3 and 4 July 2004. Blak Insights, supported by the Australia Council, canvassed Indigenous perspectives on important Indigenous cultural issues. In addition, ‘Blak Insights’ for kids, a two-week program during the school spring vacation, saw children participate in workshops with local Indigenous artists to learn about Indigenous culture from all around Australia. ‘Story Place: Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest’ continued to receive recognition for the Gallery. The Gallery’s partnership with principal exhibition sponsor Comalco won the 2004 Toyota Community Award at the Australian Business Arts Foundation Sponsorship Awards in Melbourne in July 2004. This was the first time a Queensland arts organisation had won a national arts During the reporting year, Gallery Store staff were involved in planning new retail operations and merchandise for the Gallery of Modern Art. In conjunction with the Gallery’s website redevelopment project, the Gallery Store launched a new online shopping service specialising in Australian art books — <www.australianartbooks.com.au> . With more than 400 titles available for purchase, Australian Art Books Online offers a comprehensive online catalogue of current and hard-to-locate Australian art books. Recommendations by Gallery curators guide buyers to the best Australian and Indigenous Australian art books currently available, while a unique book search facility assists the novice or specialist collector. The Gallery Store’s external sales program continued to expand with 220 visits undertaken during 2004–05 to schools, libraries, TAFEs and universities throughout regional Queensland and northern New South Wales. A feature of the program was a display of GOAT [‘Greatest of All Time’]: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali , one of the largest books ever published. This book display attracted extensive publicity in regional centres including Maroochydore, Noosa, Cairns and Townsville, as well as Armidale, Coffs Harbour and Tamworth. In partnership with Access, Education and Regional Services, a Gallery Store external sales representative also attended teachers’ previews and travelling exhibition openings in regional centres to display and sell art books. Themed merchandise displays were presented by the Gallery Store for several exhibitions including ‘Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’, ‘The Nature Machine’ and ‘The Art of Fiona Hall’, while a range of Collection-based postcards was also produced during 2004–05. GALLERY STORE QAG ONLINE <WWW.QAG.QLD.GOV.AU> SERVICES TO REGIONAL QUEENSLAND RECONCILIATION From left to right: The Gallery’s redeveloped website <www.qag.qld.gov.au >. Sharmini Pereira, the first Scholar-in-Residence, Australian Centre of Asia–Pacific Art. Artist Thancoupie delivers her ‘Story Place’ opening speech at Cairns Regional Gallery. Up close and personal with Jubilee Wolmby’s Freshwater shark 2002, at Cairns Regional Gallery’s ‘Story Place’ opening. Publications for young audiences were a focus of the Gallery’s publishing activities during the year. Simryn Gill, the first Artist-in-Residence, Australian Centre of Asia–Pacific Art.