Art & Community

Local primary school students recently teamed up with architects to co-design a welcome space for First Nations peoples in the MRAG grounds.

Indigenous students from six local primary schools recently had the opportunity to work with architecture students from the University of Newcastle to co-design a First Nations landscape space for the Gallery grounds. This community project, generously funded by Rotary Sunrise and the University of Newcastle, forms part of the Gallery’s objectives over the next five years for inclusive programs and infrastructure.

The first phase of this project was led by Professor SueAnne Ware, Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. Students from each school’s Aboriginal Education Consultative Group were accompanied by their teachers and collaborated with a team of architecture students for over a week in the MRAG workshop spaces and adjoining garden. The students engaged in storytelling, shared ideas about what makes a place special, made dioramas, gathered objects, and explored the Gallery’s garden space. They then developed concept plans and small-scale models, some of which incorporated bush tucker, landscaping structures and the use of beautiful natural materials, as part of the lead-up to making larger models on-site. An open day was held following this codesign process, with visitors – including architects, landscape contractors and community guests – invited to view the

concept plans and models. The designs will be refined and presented to the Gallery and Council for development and construction, with the aim of MRAG having a beautiful new welcoming space on its grounds in early 2022. One Year 4 student who participated in the co-design process said afterwards, “I have loved being involved in designing a garden and doing lots of painting.” A Year 5 student said, “It will be great when visitors come to the Gallery and see what we have been working on.” For the architecture students, it represented an opportunity to further develop important career skills and knowledge – around cultural awareness, communication and collaboration – as they contribute to the redesign of a public space. This is one of several projects in MRAG’s 5-year plan to better engage Indigenous peoples with the Gallery and is informed by The Australian Museums and Galleries Association's ‘First Nations Roadmap’, an important guide for developing more culturally inclusive museums and galleries. An important step in this process is to create a welcoming space such as the one you will see at MRAG in 2022. Keep an eye on the MRAG website for project updates. Words: Anne McLaughlin, Learning and Audience Development Curator

IMAGE University of Newcastle and local Indigenous students shared their ideas for a co-design garden project at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, July 2021. Image Leighsa Cox. Professor Sue Anne Ware is Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Newcastle and an active MRAG member! She has worked with us as a collaborator on the garden co-design project for the past 12 months ensuring strong engagement between architecture students and community. Sue Anne is a landscape architect with a design practice that explores catalysts for social change. She is a co-founder of out(fit), an all-female collective of design practitioners and student volunteers providing design services for women’s domestic violence refuges, underfunded schools for students with special needs, and Indigenous Community Centres. She believes that landscape architects share a responsibility for exploring social agendas in public spaces.

Look Out!

MRAG Collection artworks featured in this issue

Contents page Peter Kingston, untitled, 2004, paint on plaster, 32 x 26 x 6cm. Pg 4 Anne Ross, I am a fan, 1993, Bronze. Pg 5 Braddon Snape, Large device for a yet to be assigned purpose, 2016, Welded, painted and inflated steel. Pg 17 Paul Selwood, Points of Possible Surety, 2003, painted steel. Pg 19 Mark Aylward, Magpies, 2013 stencilled hand-cut mild steel plate, installation detail*

*On permanent display at MRAG; not part of the Collection.