International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific

NEW:

* Member Events listing

* Agenda & Minutes seperate section

Video Highlights of IMTAP's last conference: Raising Our Voices

Welcome to IMTAP in 2009

It's a big year for IMTAP (as will be every year), but this year we really get started.
There's a meeting on 18th February. Stay tuned!
There's a meeting in May at Museums Australia conference in Newcastle. Stay tuned!
There's an IMTAL conference in Monterey, USA in August. There's a new call for papers! Go to www.imtal.org
There's a huge IMTAP conference in the making for Sydney in 2010 and we are all very excited.
Please be an active member and submit ideas and agenda items...email patrickw@nsm.org.au

IMTAP MOVES FORWARD WITH BIG PLANS

On the 19th November 2008 IMTAP members from around Australia had a conference meeting to determine the future directions of the organisation.

The committee clearly saw itself sitting under the wings of Museums Australia and is currently in the throws of making that happen. The letter below will be presented to the MA governing council on about the 10th December.

Tuesday 25 November, 2008

Governing Council
Museums Australia
PO Box 266Civic Square ACT 2608

Dear Members of Museums Australia Governing Council,
During the last national forum (the fourth of its kind) for performance in cultural institutions (Raising Our Voices, Melbourne 16-18 October, 2008) the delegates overwhelmingly voted to form an organisation that would serve to represent them and their needs and these will be outlined further in this document. Fifty seven people enrolled to become members of an organisation now called: International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific (IMTAP).

Currently there exist two sister organisations internationally: International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL) Americas and IMTAL Europe. Both organisations recognise each other and recognise IMTAP.

At a meeting/telephone conference held at Melbourne Museum on Wednesday 19 November where 4 members joined by phone, 7 members were physically present and there were apologies from 18 members it was decided that the group identified itself as Special Interest Group (SIG) or Network and that it would be well placed under the umbrella of Museums Australia.


This letter is a request that we be accepted by Museums Australia as a special interest group/network and as such will be a recipient of the benefits bestowed upon members of Museums Australia.

I would suggest that the majority of our members are already members of Museum Australia. We will have associate members too. We also accept that we will need to have a small SIG / network fee that will need to be determined: (we think along the lines of the Museum Educators MAEN).

We already have a database of 57 members from Tasmania, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. We believe that we have many acquaintances that will be interested in our work in Western Australia, Northern Territory, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.

Aims and objectives: While ad-hoc groups from within IMTAP have already attended conferences by IMTAL in Europe and America, we have hosted four conferences/seminars in Australia. There have been two in Canberra and the final two were in Melbourne and Ballarat. We have averaged about 75 delegates at each of these forums.

Keynote speakers have included Wesley Enoch, Rose Hiscock, Tony Jackson, Mark Wallis, Sam Ham and Robyn Archer

IMTAP aims to operate as a conduit for its members; to disseminate relevant information regarding museum theatre / performance in cultural organisations. It will do this via email using its data base, postings on its website: www.imtap.org, newsletters and seminars, forums and conferences.

IMTAP aims to oversee the formation of committees to run forums and conferences and to be represented at events like the Museums Australia Annual Conference. In August 2009 some members will be attending the IMTAL international conference at Monterey, California. It will be good if they represent IMTAP and Museums Australia. In 2010 IMTAP members in Sydney are planning the next national conference. In 2011 IMTAP will plan to host the next international IMTAL meeting. In 2012 we hope that The Edge, SLQ, Queensland will be the home for the national conference that year.

IMTAP aims to be familiar and up to date with research and developments in museum theatre and will host special events to mark moments or when appropriate international speakers are available.

IMTAP will serve its members through advocacy of its work. It will promote the work and its importance of its members to Museums Australia and other organisations.

IMTAP will develop and maintain links with appropriate stakeholders and strategic partners across Australia and the Asia Pacific and internationally though IMTAL.

IMTAP will aim to contribute to publications within Museums Australia and within IMTAP. IMTAP has just formed an editorial committee to oversee publishing conference papers, research and academic rigor.


IMTAP aims to be accessible to all people involved in all forms of museum theatre or performance in cultural institutions. It will promote itself to encourage wider membership and discourse.

Currently members of IMTAP hold roles in management, education, public programs, curatorial services, university research, private enterprise (acting organisations), marketing and communications.

Members represent the following organisations:
South East Arts Region, Australian War Memorial, Charles Sturt University, University of Melbourne, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Australian Storytelling Guild, CSIRO (education), National Trust, State Library of Victoria, State Library of Queensland, National Museum of Australia, Sovereign Hill Museum, Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Powerhouse Museum, Questacon, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Zoos Victoria, Narrabundah College, Bendigo Discovery Centre, Parks Victoria, Happy Android Company, Heapsgood Productions, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks Museum, Old Melbourne Gaol, Melbourne Museum, National Sports Museum

We, the undersigned, trust that you will support us in our bid to become a Museums Australia special interest group / network and we thank you for your support.

Yours sincerely

Patrick Watt
National Sports Museum

Lyn Beasley
National Museum Australia

Nadya Tkachenko
Immigration Museum

Patrick Helean
Questacon

Barry Kay
The Sovereign Hill Museums Association

Michelle Sanders
Scienceworks

Michael Mills
Heaps good Production

Gerard Boland
Charles Sturt University

Sue Atkinson
Museum Consultant

Michael Van Tiel
Powerhouse Museum

We eagerly await the outcome!

IMTAP HAS BEEN LAUNCHED

HOORAY IMTAP HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED!

Overwhelming positive response to the Raising Our Voices Conference just held in Melbourne also saw the historical moment: the launch of International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific. The launch was announced by Nadya Tkachenco and Patrick Watt at the Immigration Museum on Friday 17th October 2008. In an act of celebration Nadya had a a cake made and Patrick requested Margaret Griffith and Barry Kay share the knife-holding as all others present joined hands to form a giant circle and then the cake was cut. Mark Wallis from "Past Pleasures" UK and keynote speaker also had the knife and represented IMTAL Americas and Europe in doing so. Sam Tidy from the State Library of Victoria asked all in the group to sing the defining note of launch. It all happened with artherial beauty and magic.

The first meeting on IMTAP will take place at Melbourne Museum on Wednesday 19th November at 11.30am. Members who have signed up will receive notice via email.

The Agenda will include:

IMTAP roles including..
•To be the formal conduit for all of us.
•To organise meeting places and discussion
•To organise forums, conferences
•To host events with special guests
•To advocate performance in cultural organisations
•To publish conference papers, research and academic rigor

•Formalising the organisation

•Publicing the organisation

•Getting people to be a part of the organisation

•Developing the database

•Hosting the first meeting: 11.30 am at Melbourne Museum and then lunch in Lygon Street. Conference phone will be set up. Wednesday 19th November, 2008

•Review Raising our Voices

•Plan for representation at Monterey in 2009

•Plan for 5th National Forum: or the 1st IMTAP conference in the Asia Pacific region in 2010

•Plan to host IMTAL conference in Melbourne in 2011 and to be announced at the Monterey IMTAL conference in August next year.

•Plan new publications and web site development

We want you
•To join the database
•To come to the meetings if you can
•To have a say in the future directions of our organisation and its mission.
•Don’t send any money. There are no costs: yet! And if there are you are not obliged to pay!

•Support IMTAP or be square!

IMTAP to be launched at National Forum

The new International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific (IMTAP)will officially be launched at the Fourth National Forum for Performance in Cultural Institutions in October 2008.

The steering committee for the next national forum and the reference committee met in Canberra/Melbourne on February 8, 2008 and voted unanimously to take appropriate steps to formalise the organisation.


The new organisation will be the reference group for events that include conferences, workshops, guest seminars and lectures. It will play host to on-line forums, be the database for memberships and official link for strategic partners. It is hoped it will publish a newsletter and journal.


The launch in October will see the establishment of membership and the voting for office bearers.


All members of the reference committee are invited to participate in the formation of this site to keep it up-to-date and accurate.

Please email Patrick Watt: on the corrected address: patrickw@nsm.org.au

Details about Raising Our Voices (or got to site via web links on right of page)

The Fourth National Forum on Performance in Cultural Institutions16 - 18 October 2008
Presented and hosted by Museum Victoria in conjunction with the Sovereign Hill Museums Association, the Victorian College of the Arts, Zoos Victoria, Museums Australia (Victoria), National Sports Museum and CSIRO Education.

Inspiration, Construction, Excellence
We are excited to announce the return of the National Forum on Performance in Cultural Institutions to Melbourne in 2008. Presented by International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific (IMTAP).
Come together. Share your expertise. Be inspiredRaising Our Voices will focus on skills exchange and training in conjunction with debate and dialogue. It will be a rare opportunity for those working in the field of museum theatre and performance to watch, listen and be heard. Through presentations, workshops, debates and performances delegates from Australia and the world explore the following themes:
Inspiration: How far can we go? Risk, Challenge
Construction: Research and development. The hows and whys of developing work.
Excellence: What is it? How do we know? How do we evaluate?
Raising Our Voices aims to be lively, enjoyable and stimulating. We look forward to seeing you in Melbourne in the spring. And it's the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts time too…
For more information, please email Margaret Griffith or email Michelle Sanders