Free afternoon talks
Level 2
Talks After Noon is a series of lectures from Museum curators, experts and special guests. Talks are free with Museum entry ($10 adult/$6 concession/Powerhouse members free).
Wednesday 2 June, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
ULTIMO AND UZBEKISTAN : CONNECTING THE MUSEUM WITH CENTRAL ASIA
Christina Sumner, Principal Curator Design & Society, Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum’s connection with Central Asia began in 1885 with the purchase in London of a remarkable set of 50 Russian chromolithographs, now a rarity. Over the next 95 years, the collection grew very slowly until, in 1980, the Oriental Rug Society of NSW was founded under the patronage of the then director Dr Lindsay Sharp. This was the spark which has encouraged three decades of collection growth and a range of Central Asian programs at the Museum, aided and abetted by additional stimuli: the political repositioning of Australia from an outpost of Europe to a key player in the Asian region; a shift in emphasis towards Central Asian studies at tertiary institutions in Sydney; the passion of key individuals for Central Asia’s history and culture – and serendipity.
Talk postponed until Wednesday 3 November
book online
Tea, tour and talk: sitting pretty
Wednesday 16 June, 11.00am – 12.00pm
Join Museum curators Paul Donnelly and Melanie Pitkin for an exclusive and intimate floor talk that unlocks the secrets of the chairs on display in our Inspired! Design across time exhibition. Why are chairs the ultimate expression of design? Sitting alongside these exquisite objects, you will learn some of their stories. From Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art Nouveau movement presented in his Glasgow Tea Rooms (1897), to a ‘Gothick’ style chair made for Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1821 and the last known Walter Burley Griffin chair created for Café Australia in 1916. Plus discover contemporary chairs by leading designers Marc Newson and Zaha Hadid. Tour and talk includes morning tea.
book online
Australia ’s horse drawn vehicle era
Andrew Grant, Curator Transport, Powerhouse Museum
Wednesday 7 July, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
The economic and social development of colonial Australia was closely linked to the availability of reliable forms of transport, much of it horse drawn. Early vehicle forms were a reflection of popular English practice while North American styles influenced later vehicles such as the famous Cobb & Co coaches. But what can we claim as our own uniquely Australian horse drawn transport? Transport curator Andrew Grant will reveal what we can be proud to call an Aussie original as well as sharing some fascinating anecdotes of the days when our pioneering ancestors did it tough in the horse drawn era.
book online
Locomotive No.1: 126 years in our care
Margaret Simpson, Curator Science Technology and Industry, Powerhouse Museum
Wednesday 21 July, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Locomotive No. 1 was used in the construction and early operation of the first railway line from Sydney to Parramatta, built in 1855. It operated for only 22 years before being decommissioned, and has been in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum for 126 years since 1884. During the 1930s doubts were raised over the authenticity of the locomotive and whether it was in fact Locomotive No. 1 or 2. Hear how Margaret Simpson, Curator Science, Technology & Industry, has researched the engine and can now prove beyond doubt it is No.1!
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Confessions of a Twentieth Century collector: From a romance with the 1950s to serial partnerships with the 1980s
Adrian Franklin, author and ABC presenter The Collectors
Sunday 6 June, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Serial collector Adrian Franklin reveals his love affair with twentieth century objects. From his first love, the vivacious and exciting 1950s, a decade characterised by the emergence of everything modern and also the modern impulse to change everything, through to the swinging 1960s, a decade influenced by cultures, traditions, lifestyles and crafts. From the glamorous and romantic 1970s, where new technology was beautiful and things became fluid, changeable and stylish, to the colourful 80s, where the rules of design were thrown out the window. Adrian’s love affair with the twentieth century hasn’t stopped – hear more about his passion for collecting as well as some of his favourite designs from each decade.
book online
Street art of Sydney’s inner west
Melinda Vassallo, street art photographer
Sunday 27 June, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Graffiti or street art is often seen as the defacing of public property. So who would have thought that the casual inscriptions of "Eternity" by a drunken scamp and squanderer would eventually become a celebrated symbol of a country to welcome in the new Millennium.
Street art in Sydney varies from its most famous tagger Arthur Stace with his simply put “Eternity” to the iconic "I have a dream” mural on King Street, Newtown. Sydney’s inner west is rich with street art and has some of the best examples in Australia, despite the fact that many landmark street art pieces have disappeared in a time of high-density housing construction and increased renovation of buildings.
Melinda Vassallo is a graphic designer and art director with more than 20 years in the industry and also the author of Street Art of Sydney’s Inner West.
book online
Tea, tour and talk: sitting pretty
Paul Donnelly, Curator, Design & Society
Sunday 18 July, 11.00am – 12.00pm
EVENT CANCELLED
Join Museum curators Paul Donnelly and Melanie Pitkin for an exclusive and intimate floor talk that unlocks the secrets of the chairs on display in our Inspired! Design across time exhibition. Why are chairs the ultimate expression of design? Sitting alongside these exquisite objects, you will learn some of their stories. From Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art Nouveau movement presented in his Glasgow Tea Rooms (1897), to a ‘Gothick’ style chair made for Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1821 and the last known Walter Burley Griffin chair created for Café Australia in 1916. Plus discover contemporary chairs by leading designers Marc Newson and Zaha Hadid. Tour and talk includes morning tea.
Global warming: old science, new science, controversies, and solutions
Steven Sherwood, University of NSW, Climate Change Research Centre
play video
NASA’s new future
Morris Jones, Space analyst and author
play video