Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 2004-05

23 22 sponsorship award. In February 2005, Craig Koomeeta — a key artist in the ‘Story Place’ exhibition — was welcomed as a new appointee to the Gallery’s Board of Trustees. A member of the Wik–Alkan language group, he lives in Aurukun, on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. Two Indigenous interns were also employed by the Gallery during the reporting year — in the areas of exhibitions and display, and marketing and communications. The provision of these internships, which were originally initiated in association with the ‘Story Place’ project in 2001–02, continued the Gallery’s commitment to provide training and employment opportunities for young Indigenous arts workers. The Friends of the Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation perform integral roles for the Gallery. Through the activities of the Friends and the Foundation, the Gallery receives immense support in two key areas — fostering and enhancing public appreciation of the visual arts, and fundraising for the development of the Gallery’s Collection and exhibition programs. The Friends actively involve the community in the mission and activities of the Gallery, bringing art and people together. The Friends’ diary of excursions, ‘Wake up to art!’ presentations, monthly luncheons, and coffee and film mornings ensured members enjoyed a fulfilling program of Collection- and exhibition-related events during the year. In 2004 the Foundation launched the successful Fairweather Art Appeal which added Café tables 1957 by Scottish–Australian painter Ian Fairweather to the Gallery’s Collection. The Foundation also celebrated its 25th anniversary with a cocktail party on 6 December 2004. For full details of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation operations and activities, please refer to the separate Annual Report produced by the Foundation. In memory of Mrs Yvonne Haysom’s late husband, artist Melville Haysom, the Melville Haysom Memorial Art Scholarship is awarded annually to an emerging Queensland artist under the age of 25. The scholarship provides financial support, access to the Gallery’s resources and expertise, and a three-month residency at the Gallery to assist the recipient to complete a specific body of work. In 2005 the scholarship was awarded to Natalie Masters, who is completing a Bachelor of Fine Art/Bachelor of Education at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. Instigated by Florence Emily Hobday in memory of her husband, the artist Percy Stanhope Hobday, and her brother, Arthur James Hingston, the Hobday and Hingston Bursary was awarded to Genevieve Staines, a Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, student. The bursary is awarded annually to the most promising undergraduate from a Queensland tertiary art course and each recipient receives financial support towards their continued development as an artist. The Australian Centre of Asia–Pacific Art (ACAPA), an initiative of the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, supported its first Artist- and Scholar-in-Residence during the reporting year. In November 2004, the Gallery hosted Sharmini Pereira, independent curator, writer and editor, as the first Scholar-in-Residence for ACAPA. During her residency, Sharmini researched Cai Guo Qiang’s gunpowder drawings in preparation for a forthcoming book. In February 2005, the Gallery then hosted Simryn Gill, as ACAPA’s first Artist-in-Residence. She consulted with Gallery curators and conservators, and used the Library’s research facilities, to investigate the histories of exchange and value in relation to beads and beaded necklaces. The residency was supported by an Australia Council Fellowship. The Gallery continued to provide high-quality internship opportunities in professional art museum disciplines — film, video and new media; children’s and family programs; conservation; web design; publications; marketing and communications; exhibitions; and Indigenous art. Interns were employed as part of the Queensland Government’s Breaking the Unemployment Cycle initiative. The Gallery’s volunteers are a committed and enthusiastic group who play an important role in the life of the Gallery. Volunteers present interpretive tours of the Collection and special exhibitions; staff the Information Desk; work behind the scenes in the Research Library; assist with Marketing, Curatorial, and Friends of the Gallery; and conduct visitor research for audience development purposes. During the reporting year, the Gallery’s volunteers continued to dedicate many hours assisting visitors and staff. PROGRAMS OF ASSISTANCE GALLERY MEMBERSHIP The Queensland Art Gallery provides assistance and encouragement to young emerging artists, and professional development and employment opportunities for museum professionals and young people seeking a career in the visual arts. THE MELVILLE HAYSOM MEMORIAL ART SCHOLARSHIP HOBDAY AND HINGSTON BURSARY AUSTRALIAN CENTRE OF ASIA–PACIFIC ART INTERNSHIPS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES