South Australian Museum
Highlights 2016–17
Museum Pathways: Skills and Training Development at the South Australian Museum. The first recruits, generously supported by the Australian Executor Trustees, to the Museum Pathways initiative (l–r); Rebecca Richards (Early Career Researcher), Jade Turner (Cadet) and Jacinta Koolmatrie (Cadet).
Chair’s Message
The South Australian Museum has been committed to making Australia’s natural and cultural heritage accessible, engaging and fun for more than 150 years. We are one of the most popular museums in the country, attracting more than 750,000 visitors each year, and hold collections of national and international significance. Most importantly, we are a modern, visitor-focused institution. By combining new technology with an old-fashioned commitment to fostering curiosity, we have seen a significant evolution in our ability to engage and inspire our visitors, not simply show them things. We believe we are a great example of how and why museums still matter as places where nature and culture come together and where learning about history, heritage, people and the arts can be done in three dimensions. There is a real sense of excitement when you walk through our doors. The 2016–17 financial year was one of great achievement, with developments in all of our key areas and exciting initiatives such as the free concert on our front lawns to launch our Yidaki exhibition and the Adelaide Festival’s opening night and the first international travelling exhibition in over a decade: Opals, which travelled to be on display at the Australian Embassy in Doha, Qatar. Behind the scenes, we introduced a Museum Pathways program to provide greater training and development opportunities and this included, I am delighted to say, the employment of an early career Aboriginal graduate to work directly with the Australian Aboriginal Material Culture Collection as well as new Aboriginal cadetship positions for two years. This document is designed to give you a snapshot of the year’s events. Our aim is to create a visitor experience that is greater than just the sum of its many parts, to offer something for people of all ages and backgrounds, and to ensure a welcoming environment that encourages curiosity for science and the world around us – and return visits.
Dr Jane Lomax-Smith 3
Curious Beasts featured more than 80 works on paper, including prints by Albrecht Dßrer and Francisco de Goya, which demonstrated how printmakers have contributed to our knowledge of animals. The rare prints were supplemented by unique objects from the Museum’s collection.
Curious Beasts exhibition
Exhibitions
We presented 12 public exhibitions during the year, with 10 drawn wholly or substantially from our own research and collections. Highlights were undoubtedly the only Australian showing of the spectacular Curious Beasts exhibition from the British Museum and the landmark Yidaki: Didjeridu and the Sound of Australia exhibition we created in partnership with the Yolngu people of North East Arnhem Land. Yidaki was made very special by the deep involvement of Aboriginal people in curating the exhibition and by the multimedia and immersive aspects of the experience. It was a formal part of the 2017 Adelaide Festival, adding an exciting event to the Festival program while also introducing the Museum to a wider potential audience. Nearly one-fifth of all visitors to Yidaki heard about it through the Festival. We deliver two of the largest competitions and exhibitions of their kind in Australia: the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize and the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year. These are highly regarded international events which draw strong support from local, national and international visitors. The Museum also presented six off-site exhibitions and displays in local, interstate and an international venue. The appeal and impact of our exhibitions was highlighted by the decision to reprise the successful Opals exhibition in Doha in mid 2017 to celebrate the opening of Australia’s first Embassy in Qatar.
“The exhibition hit all the senses and created a journey that was composed of history, culture and spirituality.” Visitor to Yidaki
280,000+
people engaged with our exhibitions, 20% more than in the previous year and 55% above the five-year average. 5
We added to our already significant collection of didjeridu through the commissioning and purchase of key contemporary pieces. A number featured in the Yidaki exhibition and all are registered into the internationally significant Australian Aboriginal Cultures collection.
Collections
Our collections also were appreciated from afar during the year. Some 1600 objects were on loan in 38 cities across 13 countries and SA Museum content was downloaded 9200 times from the Atlas of Living Australia. The Fire of Australia opal, which weighs nearly a kilogram and is valued at $900,000, had featured in our successful Opals exhibition in 2016. Its acquisition was made possible by the vision of a private donor and funding from the Federal Government’s National Cultural Heritage Account. Collaborative research activities with a national group of scientists resulted in the collection of deep sea invertebrate specimens from the Great Australian Bight (GAB), Tasmania and eastern Australia. We will be the repository of specimens from the GAB collections, increasing the scope and importance of our marine collections. In addition, the skeleton, baleen and earplugs from the body of a juvenile Pygmy Blue Whale found after being stranded on Yorke Peninsula were added to our Mammals Collection. The digitisation of our collections also continued, with 1658 images added to the database. On a rather different note, we led a public campaign to choose a South Australian Fossil Emblem, working with State agencies, the paleontological community and other partners. Spriggina was announced as the winner in early 2017, coinciding with a visit by Sir David Attenborough, who later spoke about the fossil at his public lecture in Adelaide on 14 February 2017.
“This museum is a jewel and the best that I visited in Australia.” Visitor from Massachusetts, USA
21,465
objects added to the collections in 16/17, representing value in excess of $1.17M
7
The Museum’s Young Explorers is a program designed so that children and their families can enjoy an interactive experience that immerses them in the stories, objects and spaces of the South Australian Museum.
Night Lab combines science engagement with entertainment. Activities include talks, tastings, exhibition tours, live music or DJs, hands-on activities and behind-the-scenes information. During 2016-17, we held a Night Lab in conjunction with Curious Beasts and the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition.
Engagement
We ran 107 public programs during 2016–17, up from 67 the previous year. These reached 155,353 people, an increase of nearly 30,000. All program activities focus on engagement, rather than just observation. Community programs focus on personal, face-to-face interaction between presenters and audiences. There was a 40% growth in onsite program participation, including regular events such as the Sprigg Lecture and our School Holiday and Young Explorer programs, as well as special events associated with major exhibitions. We also ran 18 programs in regional areas via our Out of the Glass Case initiative, inspiring more than 54,700 people who normally would not get the opportunity to engage with the Museum. Our specialised education program offered a diverse range of learning opportunities to more than 32,500 primary and secondary school students during the year, and we continued to lead the South Australian implementation of the national Inspiring Australia Strategy, which is designed to strengthen society’s engagement with the sciences. During the year the SA Regional Science-Arts Collaboration Grant Program was launched, programs in support of young student engagement commenced and a Kangaroo Island Regional Science Hub was established. We are always looking for new ways to attract new visitors to the Museum, particularly those who may have preconceived ideas about what goes on within our walls. This has seen the further development of exciting concepts such as Night Lab and Makers at the Museum.
“I loved that one could touch the animals, have tasty treats, learn about art and hear about science – also loved being able to do some drawing while having a drink with friends.” Visitor to Curious Beasts Night Lab
32,588
School students participated in Museum Education Program 9
Where our visitors are from
Who they visit with
Visitors
During the year we welcomed 772,705 to our North Terrace sites – a 5.8% increase on the visitation total of the previous year. The galleries and exhibitions of the main Museum building attracted the highest number of visitors in seven years. Prior to August 2016, we had only a handful of volunteer hosts, who were an ad hoc presence. Now, trained hosts are a regular feature front of house. They take a proactive role in welcoming visitors, asking about where they are from and what they are interested in, and making sure they don’t miss the day’s highlights. Since these hosts have been recruited we have seen an increase in the number of visitor comments relating to the feeling of welcome and staff interaction they experience. During the year we also implemented a major initiative to upgrade signage at the Museum. The aim was both to provide a clearer and more welcoming introductory statement and to make it easier for visitors to find their way around, whether looking for specific exhibitions or simply exploring. The result is both functional and attractive, and feedback has been very positive. Evidence that we are meeting visitor needs comes through informal feedback, participation numbers and formal surveys. We are particularly pleased with an overall rating of 4.5 from 1000+ comments on TripAdvisor, with 53% of respondents describing their experience as “excellent” and 37% as “very good”.
“The museum is superbly presented and supported by some very well-versed volunteers.” Visitor from Melbourne
What they visit visit the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery
11
PhD students Felicity Coutts (l) and Lily Reid (r) examining an Ediacaran fossil slab.
Research
We enhanced our position as the nation’s leading research museum thanks to our success in attracting external grant funding, our collaborative approach to research and our 182 international peer reviewed journal publications. During the year we maintained 146 research partnerships, 83 of them with international partners. Among many highlights, our researchers added new species to the tree of life and worked to resolve the shape of the tree as well, contributing to global knowledge of biodiversity, to refining the system of classification of animals and developing the evolutionary perspective that underlies our ability to answer critical questions in biology, ecology and conservation. In a similar vein, after many decades of discovery and description of early animals from the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods, our researchers are now reconstructing the environmental conditions that promoted the evolution of these animals, including a detailed understanding of the ancient marine environments that supported and ultimately preserved them. There is great excitement, too, about the comprehensive Aboriginal Heritage Project, which has combined the advanced research of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA with our own collections and genealogical datasets to construct the first genetic map of Indigenous Australia. This project is a collaboration between the Museum, the University of Adelaide and Aboriginal families from across Australia. It has set a new standard for engagement, with its design and delivery directly guided by Aboriginal Communities and Aboriginal consultants.
$6.5M of research funding
64 34 honorary researchers and associates
PhD students supervised
1,556
hours of academic teaching by Museum personnel
13
Mr Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, in the philanthropically supported position of The William and Margaret Geary Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Material Culture
Philanthropic activity
9%
Sponsorships
20%
Resources received free of charge
Members growth 30 June 2016:
821 30 June 2017:
35%
Donations and Bequests
36% Grants
1,858
Supporters
We gratefully acknowledge our supporters, who helped us achieve a record year of contributions to the Museum. More than $1.5 million was raised through donations, benefaction, sponsorship and grants. It was exciting to see both a deepened level of engagement with existing supporters and an expanded breadth of benefaction opportunities across the Museum. Giving Donors remained committed to creating new opportunities for the next generation of Museum professionals. Philanthropic generosity directly supported an endowed position, scholarships, cadetships and an Early Career Researcher during the year. The Exhibition Leadership Council support model was again a highly engaging and well-received program for private donors.
Museum Membership The Museum Membership program grew in terms of member numbers and exclusive offerings. The year saw the launch of the Junior Museum Member category and Members enjoyed an exciting expansion of events, including the inaugural Museum sleep over, nationwide reciprocal benefits, retail discounts and free exhibition entry.
Corporate Partnerships Transformative new partnerships were established with Great Southern Rail and the Port Adelaide Football Club, while established corporate partners renewed their support, among them Newmont Asia Pacific, Beach Energy, the University of Adelaide, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Australian Geographic.
Government Support from all levels of government enabled outcomes including improved engagement with students through increased onsite resources; the resourcing and delivery of new exhibitions and displays about South Australia’s natural heritage; and the acquisition of critically important specimens. 15
Entry to our main galleries is free to all, as are many of our programs and events. We have a very strong focus on providing content and facilities to nurture and inspire a sense of inquiry in young South Australians, both through specific initiatives and by providing free or heavily discounted entry to ticketed events.
South Australian Biodiversity Gallery, Level 2, South Australian Museum
Instagram following growth
Facebook audience growth (‘Likes’)
Twitter followers
2015-16:
July 2016:
End of 2016-17:
2,913 4,851
20,733
2016-17:
June 2017:
66% increase
21% increase
25,125
5,955 11% increase
Impact
The Museum makes a significant contribution to South Australia’s economy, both directly and indirectly, as well as to its education system and cultural life. We employ about 90 people, have 302 volunteers across all areas of operations and support around 700 other jobs through research, teaching and tourism. In February 2017, we commissioned the report Evaluating the South Australian Museum’s Economic Contribution, 2015/16, prepared by Economic Research Consultants. It found that: • The Museum’s contribution to Gross State Product was $77.87 million, supporting the employment of 724 people. • 38% of Museum attendances were by people from outside South Australia – and as such the Museum contributes to the tourism and cultural infrastructure of the State. We are listed as one of the best attractions in Adelaide by TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet and Top Sights on Google, and among the top 10 things to do in Adelaide on the Tourism Australia website. We achieved 36.98 million potential impressions through print media over the 12 months, up from 22 million the previous year. We calculate that achieving the same reach through advertising would have cost around $10.3 million.
The Museum’s reach (2016–17) Offsite exhibition visitation
50,121
Offsite programs participation
Potential media impressions
36.8 million
54,700
Social media followers
39,931
Atlas of Living Australia downloads
9,200
North Terrace visitation
772,705
Website visits
231,101
17
A place to celebrate. Be it corporate event, private party wedding or meeting, the South Australian Museum offers unique settings and memorable experiences.
Operations
We continued to expand the reach and scope of our activities during the year, with a particular focus on securing long-term financial security through commercial initiatives. Of particular note is a partnership with Great Southern Rail that allows passengers on the Indian Pacific to spend an evening at the Museum during their Adelaide stopover. We also have increased the marketing of our shop, cafĂŠ and venue hire.
Museum Income 2016/17
66%
SA Government ($11.62M)
34%
15%
Commercial activity and other income ($2.64M)
19% Philanthropic activity ($3.2M)
Museum Expenses 2016/17
45 % Staffing
($8.35M)
55%
Supplies, services and grants ($5.13M)
15% 28% 15% 12%
Accommodation and facilities ($2.81M)
Depreciation ($2.17M) 19
Front cover: Larry Gurruwiwi preforming at the opening of the Museum’s highly acclaimed exhibition, Yidaki: Didjeridu and the Sound of Australia.