❓ The Minister for Culture and the Arts responds to a question regarding key appointments to the new Western Australian Museum project team, highlighting the expertise of the appointees and the project's importance to WA.
AnsweredQoN 625Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NEW MUSEUM PROJECT TEAM — APPOINTMENTS
625. Ms E. EVANGEL to the
Minister for Culture and the Arts:
I understand that a number of key members have recently been
appointed to the new museum project team. Can the minister please tell the
house about the appointments and what they mean for the project?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the third time. I do not want a
running commentary on every question in this house.
625. Ms E. EVANGEL to the
Minister for Culture and the Arts:
I understand that a number of key members have recently been
appointed to the new museum project team. Can the minister please tell the
house about the appointments and what they mean for the project?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the third time. I do not want a
running commentary on every question in this house.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. It refers to the new
Western Australian Museum project, which is very important in its own right in
telling the story of Western Australia and Western Australia's place in
the world, and bringing the world and world-class exhibitions to Perth. I am
very pleased that the planning for the project is progressing very well. As
part of that process, a significant stage has been reached with the appointment
of the project director, Julie Finch. Julie was selected from a high-level
field of international candidates. She is currently head of the Bristol Museum
and Art Gallery in the United Kingdom. Securing her expertise has been very
much a positive aspect of the project. Julie has recently been instrumental in
leading the development of a vibrant new museum in Bristol's city
centre. It attracted 750 000 visitors in its first year of operation. Other
recent appointments include Mr Bill Seager, who was the redevelopment content
manager at the newly refurbished Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and Trish
McDonald, who has been in the employment of WA Museum for a little while and
has been one of the key figures involved in planning the new museum project.
Although the current museum facilities are far less than
ideal, it is presenting a very good range of high-quality exhibitions. The
recent exhibition Secrets of the Afterlife:
Magic, Mummies and Immortality in Ancient Egypt , which a number of members
of Parliament attended at my invitation, included more than 100 authentic
ancient Egyptian artefacts. Over 85 000 people attended that exhibition,
including in excess of 8 500 children as part of school visits. It is pleasing
to see how the museum is contributing to the overall revitalisation of the
Perth Cultural Centre, and indeed Perth as the capital of Western Australia.
The new museum project is a very important aspect of the broader transformation
of Perth.
I was interested to read some of the comments on social media
recently. One recent visitor to the museum said, amongst other things —
the ''cultural precinct''
in Northbridge has definitely lifted its game and is worth a stroll round; went
the Egyptian exhibition at the Museum. i enjoy these ''interactive''
displaysnot like the true stuffy rooms of the museums i visited as a kid.
This person is clearly far more enlightened than the Leader
of the Opposition, for example, who believes that the Western Australian Museum
is nothing more than a place for woolly mammoths. We know otherwise.
Western Australian Museum project, which is very important in its own right in
telling the story of Western Australia and Western Australia's place in
the world, and bringing the world and world-class exhibitions to Perth. I am
very pleased that the planning for the project is progressing very well. As
part of that process, a significant stage has been reached with the appointment
of the project director, Julie Finch. Julie was selected from a high-level
field of international candidates. She is currently head of the Bristol Museum
and Art Gallery in the United Kingdom. Securing her expertise has been very
much a positive aspect of the project. Julie has recently been instrumental in
leading the development of a vibrant new museum in Bristol's city
centre. It attracted 750 000 visitors in its first year of operation. Other
recent appointments include Mr Bill Seager, who was the redevelopment content
manager at the newly refurbished Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and Trish
McDonald, who has been in the employment of WA Museum for a little while and
has been one of the key figures involved in planning the new museum project.
Although the current museum facilities are far less than
ideal, it is presenting a very good range of high-quality exhibitions. The
recent exhibition Secrets of the Afterlife:
Magic, Mummies and Immortality in Ancient Egypt , which a number of members
of Parliament attended at my invitation, included more than 100 authentic
ancient Egyptian artefacts. Over 85 000 people attended that exhibition,
including in excess of 8 500 children as part of school visits. It is pleasing
to see how the museum is contributing to the overall revitalisation of the
Perth Cultural Centre, and indeed Perth as the capital of Western Australia.
The new museum project is a very important aspect of the broader transformation
of Perth.
I was interested to read some of the comments on social media
recently. One recent visitor to the museum said, amongst other things —
the ''cultural precinct''
in Northbridge has definitely lifted its game and is worth a stroll round; went
the Egyptian exhibition at the Museum. i enjoy these ''interactive''
displaysnot like the true stuffy rooms of the museums i visited as a kid.
This person is clearly far more enlightened than the Leader
of the Opposition, for example, who believes that the Western Australian Museum
is nothing more than a place for woolly mammoths. We know otherwise.
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