Auslan gallery tour app

This afternoon I started out to bring together some information on the site for use as an Auslan interpretation of the site - to be used for a "Smart Auslan" gallery tour.

The app will be a permeant (but living) publication that tells the history of the site and the building, and how it has undergone regeneration from a Powerhouse to an arts centre - rather than being available as an Auslan interpretation of every exhibition. Pretty much people will be able to pick up a smartphone at reception with a smart Auslan app; they will photograph QR codes at different points around the site, connecting them to Auslan discussions of the point, as well as some relevant video interviews and photographs.

So far this has been a really enlightening and surprisingly apt approach - to explain the history and use of the centre through physical points of the site. Some of the sites to be marked with a QR code are things like public artworks: a big "Koori Floor" that is the ground of the main gallery space, or outdoor sculptures around the building.

I'm especially liking the room to talk about little or anecdotal details, like the spray-painted crosses on steal beams marked for removal in the early stages of rebuilding. Or the funny 'watch for falling nests' signs that lead onto discussion of plants and animals in the surrounding environment, the huge "hoppers" that help explain the whole process of coal-fired electricity production that was carried out in the former Powerstation (and my personal urge to rant on the ills of our outdated attachment to coal power).

Thinking about what makes a tour specifically for the Deaf community, and not just a tour that's been translated into Auslan... I'm hoping the centre will be able to get a consultant or representative from the Deaf community, as I really know very little of Deaf culture or ways of life for hearing impaired people - and I want there to be at least something that specifically relates to the history or culture of hearing impaired people in the area. The most I've got is some wiki-essentialisms of hearing impaired people being into social media and new technology. Perhaps true for some, but not much to work with beyond the reassurance that an app and smart phone technology is the way to go...

Gladly going down to Melbourne in coming weeks so will be able to check out the National Sports Museum's Smart Auslan tour - I think it's the only museum in Australia (so far) that has used this app.

People and organisational culture

I'm realising how useful it has been to have my one-day-a-week fall on staff meeting days. I now have some idea of the many things going on at the centre, but more importantly I actually know what people do - beyond curators arranging things on walls or marketing staff sending out flyers.


I'm impressed by the positivity in these meetings, be it about a great show coming up, high attendance numbers or low attendance and a quality experience. This is nothing like staff meetings at my workplace which regularly become a list of 'watch-outs' and venting grounds for ever unfixable problems - unfortunately I can't claim to be above a lot of the whining. As much as I know it's good to acknowledge stress at work, it's been really refreshing to see the flip side of sharing good stories. 


Chatting to one of the Creative Producers yesterday, he was explaining how he managed to by-bass arts administration qualifications through professional experience and specialist knowledge. Partly because of this background he can so effective in bridging gaps between community and arts organisations, which explains why specialisation in arts management isn't always a good thing... I think the people (students and lecturers) that have most impressed me through this masters have been those that bring their non-high-arts experience.