Jervis Bay Maritime Museum's Munggura-Nggul exhibition has won an award as part of the 2021 IMAGinE awards.
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Munggura-Nggu, which tells the story of Jervis Bay's past and present, won the award for Exhibition projects
A permanent exhibition at the museum, the exhibition explores place and cultural connection through objects and photographs from the museum's collection, including Jervis Bay's boat building and tourism heritage, as well as the history of the Bay's Indigenous peoples who lived in the area for generations.
Collaboration with the Jerrinja and Wreck Bay Aboriginal communities ensured stories were told through First Nations voices and included local Dhurga language titles for the first time in the museum.
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Museum Director Diana Lorentz said the award was "fantastic recognition of the museum and its volunteers".
"It's very exciting news," she enthused.
"The award really says we are meeting our community's needs by providing fantastic exhibits.
"And it recognises the quality exhibition we've developed. It [the exhibition] features quality stories and shows the dedication of our teams and other groups involved in the project."
The award recognises the quality exhibition we've developed. It features quality stories and shows the dedication of our teams and other groups involved in the project.
- Jervis Bay Maritime Museum Director Diana Lorentz
Ms Lorentz said the exhibition took "just over 12 months to develop, design and work out our floor plan".
"It is a very collaborative work and absorbed a lot of the local community," she said.
"The community told their stories - we didn't tell it for them.
"We also used the local Dhurga language, which is also a way of introducing people to the local language."
Mungurra-Nggu means home, "a place to call home" or belonging so it was certainly an appropriate title for the exhibition.
"And we have shied away from topics - we have integrated elements like the story of dispossession and the stolen generation," she said.
The community tells their stories - we didn't tell it for them.
- Jervis Bay Maritime Museum Director Diana Lorentz
"The subjects have been put in a context that connects with people and allows people to have more feeling for the situation...it makes it more real.
"Quite often, these subjects are told separately and not intertwined and people don't get the context.
"The exhibition is a wonderful collaboration of people inside and outside the local community. A lot of people gave their time generously to help with the project."
The Exhibitions Award recognises excellence and innovation in museum and heritage exhibition practice, such as permanent or temporary exhibitions, exhibition design, exhibition publications and resources, and exhibition partnerships.
The IMAGinE awards recognise the people who work in museums and galleries across NSW and the contributions they make.
IMAGinE celebrates all institutions and pays homage to those organisations run by volunteers, with limited budgets and minimal resources.
The awards offer a unique opportunity for museums and galleries in NSW to advocate, promote their achievements and raise their profile within the sector and the broader community.
Museums and Galleries of NSW CEO Brett Adlington said the IMAGinE awards brings people together and creates a sense of achievement and comradery as a sector.
We have shied away from topics - we have integrated elements like the story of dispossession and the stolen generation. The subjects have been put in a context that connects with people and allows people to have more feeling for the situation...it makes it more real. Quite often, these subjects are told separately and not intertwined and people don't get the context.
- Jervis Bay Maritime Museum Director Diana Lorentz
"In these difficult times, cross organisational celebration is more important than ever and even though we were unable to hold the awards in person there is still a really strong sense of community surrounding the awards," he said.
"It is easy to fall into silos in our day to day but it's important to recognise the commonality of our goals and to work together and that is something that I'm reminded of when looking at the diversity, but also shared experiences of the nominees whether they be museums, artist run spaces, regional galleries, historical societies, Aboriginal Cultural Centres or large cultural institutions.
"This year I was really struck by the quality of the exhibitions and programs that museum and galleries are delivering and how they are continuing to serve their communities despite the limitations of their resources.
"In particular the incredible work by volunteers and staff in smaller museums, galleries and aboriginal cultural centres is inspirational."
The nominees in 2021 featured strong First Nations focused programs and was reflected by the highly commended and winning projects.
"I want to acknowledge the quality of all the nominees and congratulate the winners and highly commended projects," he said.
Like many organisations, the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum also suffered during the COVIO-19 lockdown.
"It was shocking, once the cases were found in Sydney in June those Sydney visitors just stopped," she said.
The museum was actually shut to the public for a number of weeks.
"It has been quiet coming out of lockdown but we are now gearing up for a bumper holiday season over summer," Ms Lorentz said.
"We had a group of children through late last week and it was a hive of activity as they undertook a treasure hunt."
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