This WA Day public holiday, the WA Museum is inviting all Western Australians to contribute to the New Museum project by sharing their thoughts on what it means to be Western Australian.
WA Museum Chief Executive Officer Alec Coles said WA Day is an ideal opportunity to reflect on what makes Western Australians proud to live in, work in, and identify with their State.
“The New Museum will share the culture of Western Australian people, their origins, and their heritage. Aboriginal people in WA are descendants of arguably one of the longest continuous cultural traditions in the World. At the same time, many of us are quite recent migrants whether it be from Europe, Asia or the Eastern States,” Mr Coles said.
“Whichever way you look at it, Western Australians are an incredibly diverse group of people with a host of stories to tell - the many voices of Western Australia will be at the heart of the New Museum.”
Mr Coles said WA Day would be just one of many opportunities the people of WA would have to contribute to the New Museum, which is currently in the planning stage with project completion scheduled for 2020.
“This project will play a part in redefining our city, transforming the way we think about our State, and showcasing Western Australia, its history, and people to the world,” he said.
During the day, Museum visitors will be able to share what makes them proud to be Western Australian using a pop-up video booth – part of a long-term project reflecting the theme of ‘identity’ – and explore the iconic Western Australian objects on display before voting for their favourite.
“The WA Museum is home to a number of unique WA objects including the Kimberley’s Gogo fish fossil – the first known evidence of ‘live’ birth in vertebrate animals; the Foundation Tree Box made from the tree cut down to mark the foundation of Perth; and more than 30,000-year-old Aboriginal shell beads which represent one of the world’s oldest examples of human adornment,” Mr Coles said.
The Museum’s WA Day activities form part of the wider ‘Celebrate WA Day’ festivities in the Perth Cultural Centre, including the Museum’s free-ticket-giveaway to the Secrets of the Afterlife exhibition, which will be open exclusively to the 1,000 lucky competition winners.
A gold-coin donation barbeque will also take place outside the Museum, with all proceeds going to Telethon.
The WA Museum – Perth, located in the Perth Cultural Centre on James Street, will be open all long weekend from 9.30am-5pm, with the special WA Day activities taking place between 9.30am and 4.30pm on Monday, June 3.
Media contact:
Niki Comparti
Western Australian Museum
6552 7805, niki.comparti@museum.wa.gov.au
