Untitled - Annual Report 2004 - The University of Western Australia

authors to win the award in consecutive years. UWA Press also received acknowledgement in the history section of theWA Premier’s Award, which was won by John Dowson for his book Old Fremantle. In addition, Contested Country: AHistory of the Northcliffe Area of Western Australia by Patricia and Ian Crawford was awarded the Community andRegional History Award at the New South Wales Premier’s Award. The Long, Sticky Walk by Edel Wignell was named aCBC Notable Book 2004.UWA Extension • It was a year of consolidation for UWA Extension with good results in all programmes. A first forUWA Extension in 2004 was the organisation of a very successful Australian lecture tour by Germaine Greer. Eventswere organised in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane drawing capacity crowds. Other major speakersincluded John Pilger, Hugh MacKay and Andrew Wilkie. A profitable partnership between the School of Humanitiesand UWA Extension culminated in An Evening at the Court of Henry VIII with music, literary readings and special guestappearances in a packed dining hall at St George’s College.Berndt Museum of Anthropology • The key activity of the museum in 2004 was the preparation of the exhibitionOn Track: Contemporary Aboriginal Artists of Western Australia co-ordinated by the museum’s Curator/Director Dr JohnStanton. This was commissioned by the Premier for the State’s 175th Anniversary Celebration, and opened at theWestern Australian Museum in June. It continues to travel around the State with Art on the Move. The museum alsoreceived funding from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service to develop an exhibition of historicalphotographs, to be accompanied by Indigenous oral histories, relating to the former Allowah Grove Settlement inPerth, which will open in mid-2005. The biannual newsletter Berndt News continued to be circulated to more than 700Indigenous communities throughout Australia and beyond; and the museum continued an active acquisitionprogramme, as well as loaning art works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, among other institutions.Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery • Seven exhibitions were held at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2004, with five ofthem initiated, researched and curated by the gallery staff. Ranging from Pri-mates: Lisa Roet, a show by an innovativeAustralian artist examining the relationships between humans and our closest cousins, to Clouded Over: Representationsof Clouds in Art, which addressed its theme through artworks from across three centuries, these exhibitions werecritical, scholarly and popular. Two exhibitions combined artworks from the extensive University of Western AustraliaArt Collection with others lent by major private and public collections from Western Australia and beyond. The galleryalso provided space and support for Dreaming the Dreaming: The Kurrir Kurrir Cycle from Warmun, an exhibition fromthe collection of the Berndt Museum of Anthropology, and for Bio-Difference: the Political Ecology, a show developed bystaff in the SymbioticA laboratory at The University of Western Australia. All exhibitions were accompanied by anextensive public programme of talks, lectures and tours by Gallery staff, UWA academics, visiting experts and voluntaryguides. A new chapter of the Friends of the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery—Artique, aimed at young professionals andUWA alumni, was launched in early April.Public Affairs • In addition to strong ongoing promotion of the achievements of staff, students and alumnus to thecommunity at large, there has been an increased focus on relationships and interactions with business and industry.Special editorial supplements in business media and sponsored events—including partnerships with the Committeeof Economic Development of Australia, WA Business News, WA Media Club, Young Professionals Network, FutureLeaders Forum, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and the National Young Leaders Day—have helped provide agreater understanding of the University’s role and value within the community. Increasing numbers of staff areproviding comment on issues of community interest and concern, with more than 600 individual staff members beingquoted or interviewed annually in the print and electronic media.University Theatres • In 2004 more than 231,000 people attended 548 events in venues managed by UniversityTheatres. The diverse array of events included dance, drama, music, comedy, public forums and exhibitions. Notableamong the year’s activities were the UWA Perth International Arts Festival events, three excellent seasons by the BlackSwan Theatre Company, sell-out performances of comedy featuring Wil Anderson, and an Oz Opera production of LaBoheme. Around 8000 people also attended the annual Antique Fair in Winthrop Hall. During the year UniversityTheatres increased its capacity to provide fine music performances through the purchase of the Shigeru piano featuredat the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition. Also in 2004, STM magazine awarded the Somerville AuditoriumBest Cinema Experience and Best Outdoor Cinema. The Octagon Theatre was awarded Best Venue for Theatre and theStyleaid fashion show and dinner at Winthrop Hall was awarded Best Social Event.page 24