Hidden treasures and stories from our collection
Photo by Tomy K C Leung, Hair: Daniel Yang, Makeup: Kristina Milisavljevic, Model: Sandra Janssen @ The Agency Models.
2013 is an important year for the Museum. Not only are we celebrating our 25th birthday, but we’re also celebrating 20 years of Student Fashion.
Continue reading ‘Making it: 20 years of Student Fashion’
Studio of Philip Handel, 2012. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.
Picture a large stained glass window inside a cathedral. You see a variety of colours – perhaps a contrast of red and blue, long slivers of yellow, or a striking sea of white. A pattern emerges, changing your interpretation of the window. At first you notice a figure in the centre of the window, which you perceive to be the image of Christ. Then more figures emerge, so you begin to piece together a narrative, reading the window as you would a novel. Now you are lost in the story, in the intricacies of light and colour, in private thought and reverie.
Continue reading ‘How to make a stained glass window, Handel-style’
Eid prayers at Lakemba Mosque, 2011. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.
From the end of this week until August 19 is Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. During this time, Muslims fast everyday from dawn to sunset with the purpose of cleansing their mind and body, practicing self-discipline and re-focusing their worshop on god. At the end of Ramadan, a large celebration takes place called Eid ul-Fitr, or simply Eid. Family and friends dress up in their most beautiful clothes to celebrate in prayer and good company. As reflected in the Faith, fashion, fusion exhibition, designers release new collections specifically for this occasion. “Ramadan is our busiest month”, says Hanadi Chehab and Howayda Moussa of Integrity Boutique. “People buy a new outfit for everyday of Eid [it goes for 3 days]…and we start designing for it months in advance”.
Continue reading ‘Ramadan, Eid prayers and the Museum’
Asme Fahmi (far left) with her three sisters Zainab, Rabia and May.
During the course of developing the Faith, fashion, fusion: Muslim women’s style in Australia exhibition, we met Asme Fahmi. Asme, 31, is a Community Engagement Project Coordinator with the Community Relations Commission, a third year Shariah Law student at Daar Aisha Shariah College and a student of Islamic Studies at Charles Sturt University. In addition to this, Asme also serves in a number of important volunteer roles for MuslimVillage.com, Mission of Hope, Foundations for Tomorrow and the Deen Intensive Rihla Program. We invited Asme, who is of mixed Iraqi-Syrian parentage, to share with us her personal family refugee stories in this special post ‘Seeking refuge in hope’ as part of National Refugee Week 2012.
Continue reading ‘Refugee Week, Seeking refuge in hope’
Widyan Al-Ubudy outside the Villawood Detention Centre.
This is the second post we are privileged to share with you by guest writer, Widyan Al-Ubudy, for National Refugee Week. In this post, Widyan recounts her personal experiences as a volunteer at Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre and the deep and moving impact it has had on her. To find out more about Widyan, see her earlier post here. Continue reading ‘Refugee Week, Visiting Villawood Detention Centre’
Widyan Al-Ubudy and her mother at the opening of the Faith, fashion, fusion exhibition.
To recognise National Refugee Week, we invited Widyan Al-Ubudy, an up-and-coming journalist and media personality to write a post for the Museum about her personal experiences with refugees. Widyan, 20, originally from Iraq, was born in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia after her family escaped Saddam Hussein’s regime in the early 1990s. Continue reading ‘Refugee Week, ‘No more running a mother and daughter story’’
January 25, 2012 one year anniversary memorial. Photograph by Melanie Pitkin, 2012
Continue reading ‘Cairo and the curator: stories from Tahrir Square’
Mirath in Mind logo designed by M K Graphics
Community outreach and engagement is a core responsibility of any museum. This is what helps us to bridge social and cultural divides, develop greater tolerance and understanding, facilitate new connections and relationships with one another and expand our way of seeing.
The Powerhouse Museum has a long tradition of working together with communities, from our collections and exhibitions (see for example, Beirut to Baghdad: communities, collecting and culture, Our new home Meie uus kodu: Estonian – Australian stories and Ties with Tradition: Macedonian Aprons, among many others) to public programs, affiliated societies, regional services and online presence. One of these communities I have been strongly involved with is the Arab and Lebanese community (especially in Sydney and Melbourne) for two important projects. The first is an upcoming exhibition on contemporary Islamic women’s fashion in Australia (more of which will be revealed in the coming months) and the second, which I would like to share with you in this blog post, is an independent external organisation, Mirath in Mind, of which I am a representative committee member for the Museum.
Mirath in Mind is a non-profit organisation committed to celebrating and promoting the art, heritage and culture of the Arab and Lebanese world in Australia. Founded in 2010, Mirath (which means “heritage” in classical Arabic) focuses on a different cultural or artistic legacy each year and in 2011 it is the legendary Lebanese singer, Fairuz.
In case you’ve never heard of Fairuz before, it might be easier to compare her with a mainstream western performer. I would say she has the celebrity status of Madonna in the Middle East, but the elegance, grace and poise of someone more like Celine Dion. In terms of her singing abilities, however, she is unparalleled.
Fairuz was born Nouhad Wadi Haddad on November 21, 1935 in Jabal al Arz, Lebanon. She started singing at an early age, initially hymns and other popular songs of the time for radio (like Ya Zahratan Fi Khayali by Farid al-Atrash and Mawwal by Asmahan), before singing her own songs composed not only, but most famously, by brothers Assi and Mansour Rahbani. Together, they wrote many of Fairuz’s best-loved songs (my personal favourite is “Nassam Alayna”). They also scripted several of her films, including “Bint el-Haras” and “Safar Barlek”.
Fairuz recently performed at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam and some colleagues and I from Mirath were lucky enough to have secured tickets. You see, the Carré Theatre only has a capacity of 1700 and tickets sold out within a day of being advertised! Many travelled from far and wide to Amsterdam just to see Fairuz in concert. They came from Morocco, Palestine, Belgium, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and…Australia! Even though Fairuz performed only a small selection of songs, most of which were from her more recent albums, it was a magical experience and the fervour of the crowd carried over into the streets of Amsterdam until well into the wee hours of the morning! You can get a taste of the atmosphere by having a look at some of the television media coverage here.
Since one of Mirath in Mind’s key objectives is to educate and inspire the younger generations (who have an Arabic background, but not exclusively so) about the cultural icons and legacies of their native past, Mirath has been running a number of educational activities about the life and work of Fairuz. These have been taking place in schools and universities in Sydney and Melbourne where Arabic is a spoken language, among which includes St Charbel’s College Punchbowl, the Holy Spirit College Lakemba, the Holy Saviour School Greenacre, the Antonine College Coburg, the University of Western Sydney and Deakin University.
Chadia Gedeon-Hajjar, President of Mirath in Mind talks to Year 8 and 9 students at the Holy Spirit College Lakemba about Fairuz. Image courtesy of Marie Joseph Abi-Arrage.
This has involved almost 1000 quizzes with students on the previously mentioned films, “Bint el-Haras” (for primary students) and “Safr Barlek” (for high school students), as well as a variety of singing, multimedia, drama, arts and crafts projects more broadly linked to Fairuz’s expansive career. We’ve also been running an essay competition in Universities, as we noticed there is a significant gap in well-researched, academic writing on the topic of Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers. All of this hard work will culminate in an Awards Gala Day ceremony that will take place at the Powerhouse Museum on Monday 21st November (the date of Fairuz’s 76th birthday upon which we will also be launching ‘National Fairuz Day in Australia’). On this day, the top performing students in the quizzes and essays will be awarded while the finalists in the creative and performing arts competitions will compete before a panel of judges for prizes (we’re even staging a ‘Fairuz Idol’!).
We are now starting to think about what other Arab cultural icons we should feature in future Mirath in Mind projects. Perhaps Khalil Gibran, Youssef Chahine or Sabah? What do you think?
If you’d like to find out more about the work of Mirath in Mind, please take a look at our website – www.mirath.org.au. Alternatively, you can contact me – melaniep@phm.gov.au. Please note the Awards Day at the Museum is by invitation only.
Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.
Name: Suzanne Chee
How long have you been at the Museum for? I just had to do some mental arithmetic! I have been working at the Powerhouse Museum for 26 years!
What is your role at the Museum? I am a conservator mostly working in the area of costumes, dress and textiles.
What is your educational/work experience background? Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to study in the Arts field. After high school, I went to the University of Sydney where I completed an Arts degree majoring in art history and languages hoping to become a curator in an art gallery. This direction took a slight turn because I became fascinated with art conservation. Moving into conservation was not an automatic progression. I lacked chemistry knowledge and had no work experience in the field. After my degree, I started working as a volunteer in the conservation department of the Powerhouse Museum while I was studying chemistry at night. After several years working as a conservation assistant at the Museum, I won a scholarship that took me to New York where I studied for a Masters of Arts in Museum Studies. Working as an intern was part of the degree requirements and I was fortunate to have worked at the Costume Institute at the Met.
Is there a difference between a conservator and a restorer? Conservators strive to slow down the deterioration of our cultural materials. We do this by controlling the environment it lives in, good storage, appropriate display supports and retaining as much of the original as possible to preserve its cultural integrity. In contrast, a restorer would removed deteriorated elements of the object and replace it with a newly made part.
Can you describe the processes involved in conserving an object from the moment it comes to the lab to final treatment? When an object comes into the lab for treatment, we must fully document the condition before any work can be performed. Many detailed images are taken. Once the images are printed onto A4 sheets, we annotate the images with notes and lines indicating its condition. The type of treatment we tend to do is more about stabilisation than anything radical. For example, if a Victorian garment made of fine silk has fragile or deteriorated underarms, we dye our own silks to match the colour of the original and use that fabric to support the weakened areas. Using size 12 needles, we sew with fine silk monofilament threads. This treatment may take weeks to complete. It is also my role as a conservator to dress the garment onto an appropriate mannequin for display. Making the right underpinnings for the garment is an important aspect as well, to give the correct silhouette of the time.
Are there any potential health hazards working as a Museum conservator? Yes, as a science and technology Museum we have many objects made in the past with components fabricated from what we now know as hazardous materials. To name a few, asbestos has been found in many areas of our collection including clothes, lead in toys and paint, arsenic, uranium in ceramic glazes, vaccines with small pox and anthrax.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in Museum conservation? All conservation departments in public institutions are happy to talk to people keen on pursuing a career in conservation. It often involves a tour of the facilities, a chat and a cup of tea. It’s generally more difficult to volunteer on a regular basis these days but we tend to help tertiary students with their internship component of their course. There are only two institutions in Australia where one can study conservation. The University of Canberra offers an undergraduate degree in cultural heritage and conservation while the University of Melbourne offers a Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation.
Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.
If you are a regular reader of ‘Object of the Week’, you would know that Charles is one of our best contributors. I thought it was about time we ‘met’ Charles in one of our inimitable 6×6 style interviews!
Curator’s name: Charles Pickett (it’s actually Dr Charles, but he is modest! Charles holds a PhD in History from the University of Sydney).
What he’s known for: Charles is Curator of Design and the Built Environment. He has published widely on the topics of apartment living, Australian cities, Sydney suburbia, pub design and culture and gambling, among many others.
Describe your typical working day…
At the moment it involves rushing to get the kids to school and then arriving at work for a rest! Actually, not quite. A typical working day for me, now, is slogging away on a new book.
What major projects are you currently working on?
The book. It’s called Designer Suburbs and I am co-writing it with Judith O’Callaghan of the University of New South Wales. I’m also working on an architecture exhibition which is in the pipeline.
What was the last book you read?
A huge volume on Le Corbusier. These days, however, I rarely get time to read books outside of work, although I like to look at online magazines and newspapers like Slate, the New Yorker and the Guardian.
Last film you watched?
I used to be a real film buff, but my wife and kids have kind of squashed that! I’ve been getting through the whole Mad Men series and I also recently saw Never let me go.
Last piece of writing you published?
My masterpiece blog post on ‘Object of the Week’ – Osama’s lair.
Last exhibition you curated?
I developed a section on design in The 80s Are Back exhibition. I also developed a section for Sydney’s Pubs, an exhibition at the Justice and Police Museum (part of the Historic Houses Trust) a couple of years back. I’ve curated or co-curated about 25 exhibitions in my time.
Last person you had a conversation with?
I took my son’s broken violin bow into a music shop this morning and the shop owner and I had a chat about how nothing is repaired anymore, given it’s much easier to buy a replacement!
Last shop you visited?
The music shop – Logan’s in Burwood. Before that I went to Burwood Cycleworld to buy a new tube. I’ve been busy this morning!
Last meal you ate?
Breakfast – a long black and two pieces of toast.
Last time you laughed uncontrollably?
I don’t know if I do a lot of uncontrollable laughing. Maybe on Sunday morning while watching the Champions League Final.
From the top…
[Charles was asked to select which of the following pairs of words best describes him]
Introverted or extroverted? Introverted
Meateater or vegetarian? Both
Country or classical? I like opera, I don’t care much for classical. Never liked country!
Swim or cycle? Cycle [Charles is a real bicycle buff]
Tooheys or VB? I like Tooheys Old
Borneo or Berlin? Berlin
Camping or cruising? Neither – both are hell on earth!
Crossword or sudoku? Neither
Early bird or night owl? Night owl
Manual or auto? Auto
T-shirt or tie? I like a nice shirt
ABBA or Village People? Village People
Basil Fawlty or Benny Hill? Basil Fawlty was funny a century ago! Never really watched Benny Hill.
Flip flops or sneakers? I like Dunlop Volleys
Cocopops or Cornflakes? Neither
Turn out your pockets…
In Charles’s jacket and trouser pockets, we found the following items: his Powerhouse Museum swipe card, a business card obtained at a recent conference he attended at Sydney Olympic Park, some dirty tissues (also leftover from the conference…which, for the record, was 2 days ago!), a wallet and set of keys.
To read Charles’s blog posts on ‘Object of the Week’, click here. And, if you liked this interview, please feel free to put forward some suggestions of other interviewees you’d like to see in the hot seat!
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