Roving Curator Program

The Small Museums and Collections program provides grants and loans to assist the curatorial and collection management practices of smaller public and community collections and museums.

This program is particularly focused on improving information about collections, increasing public access to information and on enhancing curatorial practice and collection management. The program is unique in that you can apply not only for funding, but also for the time of Arts Tasmania's Roving Curators who can assist with any projects that are concerned with the development, care and/or use of a collection. 

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply to this program your organisation must be legally constituted. This includes incorporated associations, companies limited by guarantee, local government councils and other statutory bodies.

This highly successful program delivers outstanding outcomes to collections care, volunteer training and supporting the preservation of Tasmania’s heritage in small museums and galleries around the State.

The Roving Curators are available to assist with a range of project types: collection, management, cataloguing, preventive conservation, planning displays, interpretation plans, volunteer procedures, significance assessments, and so on.

Under this program a museum professional is made available to work with a museum or collection for a period of up to five weeks (based on a full-time workload).

Collections that apply to this program make a request for time, rather than a request for funding. Tasmania currently has over 140 small museums and there are myriad projects being put forward from communities around the State that are worthy of support. The program is staffed by two part-time museum and collections professionals based in Launceston.

Some of the projects that the roving curators have worked on recently include:

• Low Head Pilot Station Support Group – assisting volunteers complete a Significance Assessment

• St Helen's History Room – assisting with the Aboriginal Bush-tucker exhibition

• Pearn's Steam World, Westbury – completion of Interpretation Exhibit Signage

• Melville Street, Wesley Uniting Church, Hobart – the development of a Significance Assessment

• About Campbell Town Inc – the development of a new display about the Transit of Venus

• Derby History Group – assisting with archiving the collections, documents, photographs and maps

• Hobart Hebrew Congregation – assist with information on the Collection and the building (The Hobart Synagogue is significant as the oldest remaining synagogue in Australia)

• Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre – conservation and collection care related assistance

• Teraki Cottages – assist with information about significance, collection management and display and interpretation methods

• Channel Folk Museum, Lower Snug – assisting with the relocation of the Channel Heritage Museum with a priority on Significance Assessment, Interpretation Plan, Exhibition Planning and Development.

• Ulverstone History Museum - planning and assisting in the implementation of exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s collection; and advising on the conservation needs of it

• Southern Midlands Council – assisting with the Southern Midlands Heritage Collection

• Glamorgan-Spring Bay Memorial Centre – assisting with developing a plan for engaging tourists with the museum

• Professional Development

The Roving Curators are also involved in the professional development of museum volunteers and will be presenting workshops and training sessions on a range of topics including:

• Recruiting and managing volunteers

• Textiles conservation

• Exhibitions – concept to installation (two days)

• Public programs publicity, kids trails and craft holiday programs, events planning templates

• Marketing museums

Download the Museum induction package for volunteers (MS Word)

Visit small museums and collections to obtain an application Tool Kit.

Please note that this program is only available for organisations.