Old Parliament House: Exhibitions Feed

Marnti Warajanga–we're travelling

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +1100

From Friday, 26 February 2010 until Sunday, 20 February 2011

In Marnti Warajanga you will meet Indigenous Australians from the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia, and non-Indigenous people who have worked closely with their communities. In their own words they bear witness to momentous historical movements and reflect on their ongoing work for social and political change at a community and national level.

In Tobias Titz’s unique collaborative portraiture process, each person is photographed with a large format camera using Polaroid Type 665 film. He then photographs the same space without the person in it. Following this, the subjects write something of their choice into the wet ‘empty’ negative. The texts relate to questions about major events such as the Pilbara Strike of 1946, the 1967 Referendum and the 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations.

Tobias says that providing a place where often long-buried stories can be told “allows us to understand where we come from and how to move forward”.

Join these Australians as they tell the story of their journey towards equality in their own country.

Portraits (detail) by Tobias Titz, l-r: Tracey Monaghan, Bruce Thomas, Dylan Corbett, Winnie Coppin

Living Democracy: the power of the people

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +1100

Now open

Living Democracy: the power of the people offers insights into how Australians can participate in the running of their country. The exhibit asks: are you the one who’s going to stand up and be counted?

There are so many ways to participate in our democracy—voting, petitioning, demonstrating, lobbying, discussing ideas and issues, volunteering and lending a hand. Around Australia we have found examples of these activities at work in local schools, political organisations, lobby groups and performance artists.

The exhibition features organisations such as GetUp!, the Farmers Federation, politically active schools such as Shenton College in Perth and reflections from everyday Australians about what democracy means to them.

Australian Democracy—more than 2000 years in the making

Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 +1100

Now open

In Australian Democracy–more than 2000 years in the making, visitors begin a breathtaking journey across time and around the world, placing Australia’s democracy in its historical and geographical context. Through objects and stories, they can discover how vibrant and innovative, as well as how controversial, our road to democracy has been. A central interactive exhibit offers the visitor a visual and intellectual feast of our democratic milestones.

The exhibition contains exquisite objects like George Washington’s writing set (on loan for the first time outside America), and a first edition of Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man published in response to the French Revolution. The documents of Australia’s democracy reveal the power of the written word, and how our laws and institutions have changed over the past 240 years.

There are intriguing stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things: people like Catherine Helen Spence, who fought for women’s suffrage, and Eddie Mabo, who won legal recognition of his people’s land rights against enormous odds. The exhibition also presents the history of our parliamentary democracy told through the eyes of those who sought to translate their political beliefs into laws and institutions.

Hands on Democracy—Make:Play

Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 +1100

Now open

Hands on Democracy encourages children and their families to connect the concept of democracy to real experiences that relate to their world. This exhibition asks questions, inspires creativity, invites you to join in, take turns, share your ideas and listen to others.

Come along and discover that democracy is not just something we have; it is something we do every day!

There are two areas of Hands on Democracy to explore - Play:Act:Be and Make:Say:Do.

Play:Act:Be—History and Heritage

History is all about people. In Play:Act:Be some important moments from the story of Australian democracy are recreated so that children and families have an opportunity to see the world from someone else’s perspective.

Would you like to go back in time to 500BC, ride in a chariot and meet Pericles? Maybe you’d prefer to dress up and feel what life might have been like for the miners and their families on the Victorian goldfields; capture a picture with the Queen on her Royal Visit in 1954 or exercise your democratic right to demonstrate and place yourself in the People’s Walk for Reconciliation across Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000. You can do that here!

Make:Say:Do—Activity and Discovery

In this space families are invited to have fun discovering how democracy relates to them. How can you make your voice heard? Can you make a difference? We have some clever ways to start you thinking! Perhaps you’d like to design a city, find out what other children are doing around the world, listen to a story as old as time or make something to take home. It’s your choice!

Hands on Democracy is a space for families to share. Parental supervision is required at all times.

Prime Ministers of Australia exhibition

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 +1100

Now open

The popular Prime Ministers of Australia Exhibition is now in its permanent home within the exhibition precinct behind King’s Hall. Here, visitors are able to explore what leadership means in an Australian democracy.

Do you know which former prime minister was present at the hanging of Ned Kelly? Or which one used to work as a miner before he was prime minister? Or which one was nicknamed ‘Tosspot Toby’ by The Bulletin because of his love of good food and wine? To find out, visit the Prime Ministers of Australia exhibition.

The story of Australia’s prime ministers and their governments is also told through our research-focussed Australian Prime Ministers Centre, located on the main floor of the South East Wing of Old Parliament House.

Image credit

Visitors enjoying the new Prime Ministers of Australia exhibition.

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