Winner

North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum
Stradbroke 100: Remembering North Stradbroke Islanders Overseas and at Home During the First World War

The project Stradbroke 100: Remembering North Stradbroke Islanders Overseas and at Home During the First World War began with the Honour Board in the Dunwich Hall, which was donated to the community in 1917 by Tom Welsby. It lists thirteen names of men who had served overseas in World War One with several blank spaces. Intrigued by these spaces, the North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum undertook an ambitious research project. This was a major exercise in community engagement, connecting with family members of the service personnel, and with families with links back several generations, to those living on the Island in 1914 to 1918. 

Eventually, twenty-two men were identified and researched, fourteen of whom were Aboriginal. The personal stories of all the men, their recruitment, war service and resettlement was documented, and the Museum used oral histories to capture family memories and experiences of the service personnel, and how life was on the Island 100 years ago.

Finalists

Old Government House, QUT, Brisbane
The Voice in the Walls

The Voice in the Walls theatre project at Old Government House was an initiative of Old Government House at QUT’s Gardens Point campus in partnership with Imaginary Theatre Company to develop an innovative and fun way to interpret and present the historical significance of the House to a younger audience. The result was The Voice in the Walls theatre project, a unique combination of technology, history, time travel, and a healthy dose of creepiness aimed to engage children in an enjoyable, meaningful and lasting way.

The performance is a 50-minute activity in which the audiences, aged 9 to12, are central to the action. Each child is equipped with headphones and a wireless device, and is guided around the House by the voices of Victor Lamington (Lord Lamington’s son) and Mary, a servant girl. They are on a quest to find pieces of the puzzle to help right the wrongs of history. The performance is site specific to Old Government House, and the characters and events in the performance are based on historical fact. At various points in the performance the audience meet characters from the past, performed live by actors.

Sunshine Coast Council, Caloundra Regional Gallery
Sunshine Coast Satellite Reef

The Sunshine Coast Satellite Reef project attracted hundreds of community members, together with art and science lovers, in the collaborative making of crochet coral forms to create the Sunshine Coast Satellite Reef. This community engagement process was envisioned, developed and initiated by Caloundra Regional Gallery curatorial and education staff, and was launched on World Environment Day on 5 June 2014.

The collaboration of art, science and the environment was the platform that enabled the gallery to engage with the community in a much broader scope than a purely visual art program. Participation with Reef Check Australia, other environmental groups and schools, created opportunities to connect to new audiences. Local residents gathered weekly over a 10-month period to connect, make and collaborate, gradually gathering momentum and outreaching to other groups and locations. Giving participants artistic flexibility with the hyperbolic crochet pattern enabled them to express their individual voice, contributing to a truly unique response. Participants developed deep connections to others in the process and have continued to regularly meet and create new projects.