design across time - Powerhouse Museum

+ 02 powerline spring 05
contents
issue 79
from the
director
+
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2005
+
www.powerhousemuseum.com
FRONT COVER FROM THE EXHIBITION
INSPIRED! DESIGN ACROSS TIME,
SUPER ELEVATED GILLIES, DESIGNED
BY VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, LONDON,
1993–4. PURCHASED 1997; LADY’S
ARMCHAIR, MAKER UNKNOWN,
ENGLAND, ABOUT 1850. PURCHASED
1983; VASE IN BLUE JASPER,
DECORATION DESIGNED BY HENRY
WEBBER AFTER CHARLES LE BRUN
FOR JOSIAH WEDGWOOD & SONS,
ENGLAND, 1786–90. GIFT OF
POWERHOUSE MEMBERS 1990.
PHOTOS BY SUE STAFFORD AND
PENELOPE CLAY.
BACK COVER PHOTO BY SUE
STAFFORD.
O2 From the director
03 Power picks
06 2005 Museums Australia Conference
07 The Electronic Swatchbook
08 New exhibition: Inspired! Design across time
10 Museum mascots
11 Members news
12 Members calendar
14 Members scene
15 New acquisition: Marcello Nizzoli telephone
16 Quarterly design talk: Wanda Jelmini
17 Recycling fashion
18 New exhibition: The cutting edge: fashion from Japan
20 Locomotive No 1 upgrade
22 Observatory news
23 Corporate partners
24 Exhibitions at a glance
In the days before this edition
of Powerline was finalised the
NSW Premier and Minister for
the Arts, the Hon Bob Carr,
announced his retirement from
politics. Mr Carr was an
enthusiastic supporter of the
Powerhouse, in part because it
reflects his passion for history,
the contribution museums
make to education and cultural
enrichment, and the
opportunity they provide to
nurture a sense of community
and respect for cultural
diversity. We thank Mr Carr for
his support of the Museum
and look forward to welcoming
him back regularly as a visitor.
We look forward to working
with the newly appointed
Minister, the Hon Bob Debus.
Minister Debus was for some
time Minister Assisting the
Premier on the Arts, and
shares the former Premier’s
enthusiasm for museums and
the cultural sector.
Where to find us
Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney
Opening hours 10.00 am – 5.00 pm every day (except Christmas
Day). School holiday opening hours 9.30 am – 5.00 pm
Contact details
Postal address: PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238
Telephone (02) 9217 0111
Infoline (02) 9217 0444, Education (02) 9217 0222
The Powerhouse Museum, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
also incorporating Sydney Observatory, is a NSW government cultural institution.
The end of the financial year
provided an opportunity to
reflect on some of the
significant achievements of the
past 12 months. Regular
readers of Powerline will be
aware that the Powerhouse
celebrated its 125th
anniversary, marked by an
extremely successful free
weekend of activities and
events last September and the
publication of Yesterday’s
tomorrows, a fascinating
history of our development
over the past century and a
quarter. A further highlight was
our hosting of the Museums
Australia Conference in May.
Perhaps the most outstanding
milestone was achieving our
highest visitor attendances for
more than a decade. Over
700 000 people visited the
Powerhouse and Sydney
Observatory during the year.
Equally pleasing were the
record numbers (680 000) who
attended our travelling
exhibitions across NSW,
TRUSTEES
Dr Nicholas G Pappas,
President
Dr Anne Summers AO,
Deputy President
Mr Mark Bouris
Ms Trisha Dixon
Mr Andrew Denton
Ms Susan Gray
Ms Margaret Seale
Mr Anthony Sukari
Ms Judith Wheeldon
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Dr Kevin Fewster AM, Director
Jennifer Sanders, Deputy Director,
Collections and Exhibitions
Mark Goggin, Associate Director,
Programs and Commercial Services
Michael Landsbergen, Associate
Director, Corporate Services
Kevin Sumption, Associate Director,
Knowledge and Information
Management
Australia and beyond.
Exhibition highlights at the
Powerhouse included the
beautiful Bright flowers: textiles
and ceramics of Central Asia,
the hugely successful The
Lord of the Rings Motion
Picture Trilogy — The
Exhibition, and Greek
treasures: from the Benaki
Museum in Athens, one of our
most popular exhibitions in
recent years.
You will be interested to hear
that membership numbers
have also risen to record levels
as a consequence of the
strong 2004–05 program. We
thank each and every member
for your support and
commitment to the Museum.
We look forward to seeing you
and your families enjoying the
feast of program offerings over
the next 12 months and, in
between times, taking a few
moments to relax in the
Members Lounge. Enjoy!
Dr Kevin Fewster AM
Director
Powerline is produced by the Print Media Department
of the Powerhouse Museum
PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238
Editor: Tracy Goulding
Editorial coordinator: Deborah Renaud
Design: Trigger
Photography: Powerhouse Museum unless otherwise stated.
Every effort has been made to locate owners of copyright for the images in
this publication. Any inquiries should be directed to the Rights and
Permissions Officer, Powerhouse Museum.
ISSN 1030-5750 © Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences