Transforming the Visitor Experience: Cultural Mediation in Practice - Cairns

20apr9:00 am4:00 pmTransforming the Visitor Experience: Cultural Mediation in Practice - CairnsArtist and Artsworkers Workshop

Time

(Saturday) 9:00 am - 4:00 pm(GMT+10:00) View in my time

Location

Cairns Court House Gallery

38 Abbott St

Event Details

9am – 4pm Saturday 20th of April

UQ Art Museum is proud to partner with Flying Arts Alliance to deliver this one-day intensive Cultural Mediation workshop at the Cairns Court House Gallery on the 20th of April 2024.

This workshop is a professional development opportunity for artists and artsworkers that will advance their knowledge and approach to visitor engagement through exposure to cultural mediation practice and principles defined by UQ Art Museum cultural mediators. 

About this workshop 

Cultural mediation is a visitor engagement practice that sees museum staff and volunteers’ journey alongside the visitor in an act of mutual exchange. In this interactive workshop you will explore the history and foundations of cultural mediation from its conceptual European origins, and building on this, experiment with UQ Art Museum’s guiding principles, which underpin the practice. Participants will have the opportunity to put cultural mediation into practice, extend their engagement skill sets and will leave with a renewed perspective of the visitor experience and practical tips and tools to develop cultural mediation into a bespoke engagement model. 

Workshop outline:  

Session 1: Welcome and Workshop Overview l Introduction to cultural mediation l History of cultural mediation l Guiding principles   

Session 2: Active listening activity | Role of the mediator | What makes cultural mediation different to other visitor engagement models   

Session 3: Honouring different perspectives | Thinking about audiences   

Session 4: Navigating Difficult conversations | Final Reflection 

About UQ Art Museum  

UQ Art Museum is a site for progressive and contemporary creative inquiry. Our work speaks to the distinct context of the Art Museum’s place within the University. We aim to connect each visitor with new ideas in creative practice, and with learning in its many forms.  

We collect and exhibit progressive works of art, which stimulate dialogue and debate. We’re committed to opening up dialogue with the faculties, research institutes and centres of the University, and to place education at the core of our activities.  

UQ Art Museum:  

  • provides creative, active learning through specialised, curriculum-based experiences to diverse disciplines. These include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Education, Drama, Linguistics, Art History, Museum Studies, and Economics (see UQ Student Strategy > Authentic assessment);  
  • produces cross-disciplinary, research-based exhibitions that partner with a variety of academics and disciplines on campus; in doing so, contributing productively to Excellence in Research for Australia outcomes, and the Australian Research Council’s Engagement and Impact assessment; and  
  • provides industry-based training to UQ students to equip them for careers in the arts and humanities. The Art Museum aims to be a national leader in industry-based education. 

What to bring

Flying Arts Alliance recommends having note taking materials on hand. Please bring any questions that you may have.

Venue

Cairns Court House Gallery, 38 Abbott St, Cairns City QLD 4870.

Flying Arts encourage the use of sustainable transport, including cycling, walking and public transport. Plan your journey through Translink.


Additional Information

Your facilitators: Dr. Carol Masel and Nikia Tester

 

Dr. Carol Masel has worked as a Cultural Mediator at the University of Queensland Art Museum for 3 years and as a volunteer Guide at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art for nine years. Over this time, and across both institutions, Carol has supported visitor engagement with passion and commitment.  At the UQ Art Museum, she has recent involvement with the development and delivery of Cultural Mediation training at the Somerset Regional Gallery.  Carol also draws on her past professional background working in health-related disciplines in large public hospitals and in universities to facilitate meaningful, inclusive and accessible shared conversations with gallery visitors.   

 

Nikia Tester is a GLAM sector professional with interests in Audience Engagement, Queer & Gender Studies. She holds a BA in Art History and a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. Nikia is a facilitator of Cultural Mediation at UQ Art Museum and continues to practice in this space, in addition to her role as a Museum Officer with Moreton Bay City Council.