2. The Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards are presented
by Museum and Gallery Services Queensland to honour the
achievements of Queensland individuals and organisations in
striving towards excellence.
3. The awards aim to:
• encourage continuous improvement and development of
galleries, museums and related cultural organisations
• enhance the profile of galleries, museums and related
cultural organisations in local and wider communities
• inspire and recognise best practice
• recognise and encourage the contribution made by
individuals to their organisations and to the gallery and
museum sector
6. ELIGIBILITY
1. Must be located within Queensland
2. Organisations must be one of the
following:
• Public, non-commercial museum or gallery
• Indigenous Keeping Place or Cultural Centre
• Libraries where the nominated activity has an outcome related to
exhibitions or museum practice
• Arts Councils where the nominated activity has an outcome related
to exhibitions or museum practice
• Artist-Run Spaces where the nominated activity has an outcome
related to exhibitions or museum practice
GAMAA
8. ORGANISATIONS…
1. Can be self-nominated
2. Or nominated by another organisation
(including local councils)
3. Or nominated by another person
(including members of the public)
GAMAA
9. ORGANISATIONS
The nominated activity must have been completed, or
have reached an identifiable or significant milestone,
within twelve months prior to the nomination closing date.
GAMAA
10. ORGANISATIONS
Examples of activities that might be nominated:
Exhibitions Public programs
Education programs Research
Publications Events
Collection management Community building
Marketing initiatives Operational initiatives
GAMAA
11. ORGANISATIONS
You can also nominate collaborative projects
between two or more organisations.
One organisation would take responsibility for the nomination
and act as the contact. All participating organisations would be
acknowledged and promoted in GAMAA material.
In categories where prizes are awarded, the collaborating organisations would be
responsible for deciding any split.
GAMAA
13. INDIVIDUALS
The nomination should demonstrate how the
individual’s contribution meets the Award criteria.
The work of individual nominees may date back
many years.
GAMAA
14. FOR ORGANISATIONS,
THREE SELECTION CRITERIA
MUST BE ADDRESSED
1. INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP
2. OUTCOMES IN THE COMMUNITY
3. BEST PRACTICE
GAMAA
15. SELECTION CRITERIA 1:
INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP
The nomination should provide
evidence of the organisation’s
creativity, originality, vision and
leadership.
GAMAA
16. Examples of innovative practice and leadership:
• Delivering a ground-breaking project to a successful outcome
• Taking up new ideas or new technologies
• Finding creative ways to improve access and equity for
audiences/participants
• Finding creative ways to educate audiences and encourage life-
long learning
• Working with communities or audiences that the organisation
has not worked with before
• Creating partnerships that improve the organisation’s practice
• Providing inspiration as a role model for others
• Leading others to implement new ideas, directions or initiatives
GAMAA
17. A Winning Example
2004 Winner in the Organisation category of Staff of 1 to 6:
The Gold Coast City Art Gallery produced a two-part exhibition and series of
events: All that Glitters…contemporary visions of the Gold Coast and All that
Glitters…50 years of Gold Coast kitsch and memories. The project provided an
opportunity for reflection and focus on the Gold Coast – one of the most rapidly
evolving communities in Australia, and one that is perceived to produce little of
cultural value. The exhibition showed the depth of critical and creative thinking
and making that has occurred on the Gold Coast in the second half of the 20th
century. The projects gave younger people and local residents an insight to the
character of the place, and encouraged people to come forward with their
memories and objects. The GAMAA judges found this project to be particularly
innovative both in its curatorial approach and in its efforts to connect with a
diverse local community. The exhibitions and associated events were well
executed and successfully connected social history and contemporary visual art
elements. In doing so they demonstrated the potential of a combined museum
and gallery collection for the Gold Coast, providing a valuable model for how
other communities might approach contemporary heritage and collecting.
GAMAA
18. SELECTION CRITERIA 2:
OUTCOMES IN THE COMMUNITY
The nomination should provide
evidence of how the organisation’s
activity has enriched the community.
GAMAA
19. Examples of outcomes in the community:
“Community” can mean the general community in your region, or
can mean a specific group within the community (such as youth,
older people, people from a particular cultural/ethnic
background, people who are isolated or disadvantaged)
• Enriching the cultural life of the community
• Increasing community participation or developing new
audiences
• Delivering successful outcomes for specific groups in
the community
• Having an impact on the social or economic life of the
community
GAMAA
20. A Winning Example
2006 Winner in the Organisation category of Staff of 1 to 6:
The Fully Sick!!! Youth Public Art Project was developed by the Bundaberg
Arts Centre to bring together several requests for mural projects from the
community. The Centre engaged young people throughout Bundaberg in the
project in a bid to develop better relations with youth audiences and to
provide skills development for the youth and artists involved. They developed
a number of significant partnerships for the project, ranging from a suburban
progress association to organisations that were already actively engaging
with youth communities such as juvenile crime prevention programs,
Indigenous youth services and local visual arts high school students. The
project attracted interest from the general population during the period that
the artists and participants were working on site. The GAMAA judges
recognised the Centre's achievement in working with youth beyond the walls
of the gallery; for identifying a strategy that will develop future audiences; and
for using community networks to find the right people for the project.
GAMAA
21. SELECTION CRITERIA 3:
BEST PRACTICE
The nomination should provide
evidence of how the organisation’s
activity has established new standards
of practice or significantly raised
existing standards.
GAMAA
22. Examples of best practice:
• Establishing new standards of practice that are able to be
sustained by the organisation
• Significantly raising the organisation’s existing standards
(new processes, systems, displays, programs)
• Increasing the organisation’s professionalism and quality
of delivery
• Improving the skills/knowledge of staff and/or volunteers
• Improving the organisation’s relationships with its major
stakeholders
GAMAA
23. A Winning Example
2005 Winner in the Organisation category of Volunteer Run:
The Mulgrave Settlers Museum is open six days a week, is staffed by a team of 20
volunteers, and comprises an archival room, library, workroom, storage room and
exhibitions area. The Museum introduced the concept of Significance to the
assessment of its collections and uses the Significance statement when making
decisions about accessioning new objects. The Museum developed extensive
public programs with a series of annual changing exhibitions. One of these,
Beacons of Faith – religious traditions of Gordonvale residents, was the first cross-
cultural project of its kind initiated by a community museum in North Queensland.
The exhibition encompassed the history of every religious and spiritual
organisation in the Mulgrave area, such as the Chinese and Sikh communities and
local Indigenous groups. The GAMAA judges commended the Museum as a
model for other community based museums in Queensland. The Museum’s
dedication to gathering the social history of the district, its well executed programs
within the context of its limited resources, as well as its undertaking of difficult
tasks such as the digitisation of the collection and the de-accessioning of non-
relevant objects were acknowledged as a serious commitment to best practice.
GAMAA
24. FOR INDIVIDUALS,
FOUR SELECTION CRITERIA
MUST BE ADDRESSED
1. INNOVATION
2. OUTCOMES IN THE COMMUNITY
3. BEST PRACTICE
4. LEADERSHIP
GAMAA
26. Examples of innovative practice:
• Delivering a ground-breaking project to a successful
outcome
• Taking up new ideas or new technologies
• Working with new communities, new audiences or
developing new partnerships to improve their
practice
• Finding creative ways to educate audiences and
encourage life-long learning
GAMAA
27. A Winning Example
2005 Winner in the category of Individual Paid Staff:
Audrey Hoffmann was the Director of the Warwick Art Gallery. Audrey was a
dynamic force in raising the Gallery’s relevance and reputation within the local
community and within the cultural sector. Audrey led a team of forty-five volunteers
and invested enormous effort in working with local artists and art groups, local
government, and other sectors of the community to galvanise the Gallery’s impact
within the region. She implemented innovative exhibition and public programs that
resonated with a previously indifferent community and took artists’ work beyond the
Gallery walls. Audrey’s inspiration and leadership raised the status of the Warwick
Art Prize, and was instrumental to the success of Warwick’s festival, Jumpers and
Jazz in July, with its outdoor textile art, textile workshops and jazz music. The
GAMAA judges commented on Audrey’s innovative and dynamic approach to
positioning the Gallery as a vibrant and relevant force within the community. At a
time of amalgamation of local shires, Audrey introduced cultural programs and
worked in partnership with other local groups to engender a sense of identity and
belonging. Her leadership, dedication and drive were considered by the judges to
make Audrey a worthy recipient of the award.
GAMAA
28. SELECTION CRITERIA 2:
OUTCOMES IN THE COMMUNITY
The nomination should provide
evidence of how the person has
enriched the community.
GAMAA
29. Examples of outcomes in the community:
“Community” can mean the general community in your region, or
can mean a specific group within the community (such as youth,
older people, people from a particular cultural/ethnic
background, people who are isolated or disadvantaged)
• Enriching the cultural life of the community
• Increasing community participation or developing new
audiences
• Delivering successful outcomes for specific groups in
the community
• Having an impact on the social or economic life of the
community
GAMAA
30. A Winning Example
2005 Winner in the category of Individual Volunteer:
Patricia O’Connor is an Aboriginal Elder of the Yugambeh group and co-founder
of Australia’s first Aboriginal language museum, The Yugembeh Museum –
Language and Heritage Resource Centre in Beenleigh. In the face of perceptions
that Patricia’s traditional language, the Yugam language, was lost Patricia
initiated a campaign to gather language from the older men and women in her
community, matched with research from public records, and from her own
memories. The result was the collation of a number of dictionaries and a
revitalisation of the language in the community in daily life. Patricia made
significant contributions to the areas of museum studies, local history studies and
Indigenous cultural heritage management over a twenty-year period. The GAMAA
judges commented on Patricia’s remarkable achievement in giving language back
to her community, and the impressive effort she sustained throughout the
process. Patricia’s role as a leader and advocate within her community, her
vision, integrity, and her encouragement of and inspiration to others were seen as
worthy attributes for the award. The judges took into consideration Patricia’s
significant contribution in a voluntary capacity over many years.
GAMAA
31. SELECTION CRITERIA 3:
BEST PRACTICE
The nomination should provide
evidence of how the person has
established new standards of practice
or significantly raised existing
standards.
GAMAA
32. Examples of best practice:
The judges will be looking for the individual’s contribution above the
expectations of normal paid/voluntary employment.
• Establishing new standards of practice that can be
sustained
• Significantly raising their own existing standards of practice
• Increasing their own level of professionalism or that of their
organisation
• Contributing to the improvement of skills/knowledge of staff
and/or volunteers
• Contributing to improving their organisation’s relationships
with its major stakeholders
GAMAA
33. A Winning Example
2007 Winner in the category of Individual Volunteer:
Joan Hubbard is the volunteer Coordinator of the Chinchilla White Gums
Gallery. She has volunteered in this position since the Gallery was
established in 1999 and under her leadership has recruited a team of 42
volunteers. Joan’s commitment to professional best practice saw her
undertake a Certificate IV in Museum Practice, one of only eleven people
in Queensland to have completed this accreditation. She undertook the
course in her own time and financed it herself. Joan coordinates the
annual exhibition program at the Gallery, supporting local artists to exhibit
their work, programming touring exhibitions which strive to challenge and
excite audiences, and developing the Gallery’s own touring exhibitions
from works in the Chinchilla Shire Collection and local artists.
GAMAA
35. Examples of leadership:
• Providing inspiration as a role model for others
• Leading others to implement new ideas
• Identifying new initiatives or new directions
GAMAA
36. A Winning Example
2006 joint Winner in the category of Individual Paid Staff:
Lisa Jones is the Curator of the Queensland Police Museum. In addition to her
work with the Museum, Lisa has demonstrated her considerable leadership
qualities and made an important contribution to the museum and gallery industry in
Queensland through her voluntary work on numerous committees. Lisa was the
Chair of Brisbane's Living Heritage Network for four years; she is the Company
Secretary for Museum & Gallery Services Queensland; she is current President of
Museums Australia (Queensland) including sitting on the National Council of
Museums Australia and fulfilling the role of Conference Convenor for the 2006
Museums Australia National Conference. Lisa contributed greatly to training and
professional development programs for Queensland museum and gallery workers
and volunteers — performing the role of assessor for museum studies certificate
courses throughout Queensland, developing assessment tools and often travelling
to regional and remote areas for student evaluations. She also acted as a peer
reviewer for a Standards Pilot Program recently introduced in Queensland. The
GAMAA judges emphasised Lisa's impressive contribution to the Queensland
museum and gallery sector through her leadership and outward-looking approach.
GAMAA
38. SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION ON THE
FORM PROVIDED
You don’t have much space,
so use it wisely.
Try to give as much information as you
can fit in – but make it clear and directly
relevant to the nomination.
GAMAA
39. FOR ORGANISATIONS, DECIDE ON
THE ACTIVITY TO BE NOMINATED
You might choose a particular project,
exhibition, event, publication etc. to
nominate, rather than nominate the
organisation as a whole.
GAMAA
40. An activity, program or project generally has a
specific time frame and an identifiable
outcome which often can be more easily
assessed for its level of success.
Trying to demonstrate the success of a whole
organisation with its many and varied
activities can be harder to do in a limited
space, and more difficult to assess for its
achievements.
GAMAA
41. However, there are no restrictions on what
an organisation might nominate, so choose
the thing that most strongly addresses the
selection criteria.
You may feel that the whole of your
organisation’s operations does that.
Ensure that your nomination gives clear
examples of the nature of the achievement.
GAMAA
42. ADDRESS EACH OF THE
SELECTION CRITERIA
Your nomination may be stronger in some
criteria than others, but try hard to
demonstrate achievement in every
criteria.
GAMAA
43. “DEMONSTRATE” THE
CLAIMS BEING MADE
You should try not to make general claims
such as “Judy is a wonderful leader”.
Instead you should demonstrate how her
leadership achieves high standards and
what that means for her colleagues, the
organisation, the community etc. This can
be achieved by providing facts, examples
and good support material.
GAMAA
44. CHOOSE YOUR SUPPORT
MATERIAL CAREFULLY
Support material must not exceed 6 items
for Organisations and 4 items for Individuals.
The material should enhance your written
nomination by giving extra information or
backing up the claims you have made.
GAMAA
45. • If one of the items you have supplied is a 3-hour DVD or
video, the judges will not have time to watch it all. You
would be better to choose one or two excerpts of no more
than 10 minutes’ duration.
• If you are supplying media clippings, each clipping counts
as 1 piece of support material, so don’t send two or three
that say the same thing. Choose the best.
• The judges will not have time to read large publications
(including educational kits etc), so mark particular sections
you might want them to see.
• You can send a written referee’s report as one of the items.
It should add to what your nomination says, not simply
repeat the same information.
GAMAA
46. Where possible, support material should be provided
electronically on a CD/DVD posted with the nomination
form. This might include scans of media clippings,
photographs, word documents etc. This helps us to
streamline the process by providing the judges with some
of the support material prior to judging day.
Obviously, hard copies of items such as publications,
business plans, merchandise etc. cannot be sent to each
judge, and will be viewed by them on judging day.
Your nomination will not be disadvantaged if you cannot
supply the material electronically.
GAMAA
47. GET SOMEONE ELSE TO
READ YOUR NOMINATION
Ask someone who is not familiar with the
activity or the individual to read your
nomination and tell you if the information is
clear, comprehensive and answers the criteria
in a strong and positive way. They can also
help check spelling and grammar.
GAMAA
49. The judging panel changes from year to year.
It comprises six to seven members from
across the sector, representing museums and
galleries, large and small, regional and
metropolitan. There is usually at least one
person from an associated industry (eg
tourism), and usually one person from
interstate with experience in similar awards
programs.
GAMAA
50. The judges choose a Winner in each of the five
categories (3 organisations and 2 individuals).
The judges may also award Special
Commendations in each of the five categories.
There is no limit to how many Commendations are
awarded.
GAMAA
51. What are the judges looking for?
Nominations which:
• Are strong in all of the selection criteria
• Demonstrate significant outcomes commensurate
with the resources available
GAMAA
52. How can you help the judges in their
difficult task?
• Ensure your nomination is clearly written, with a direct
focus on the activity or individual being nominated
• Address all of the selection criteria as strongly as possible
• Send good support material which gives extra information
or helps to demonstrate the claims being made
• Complete the form correctly, including providing referee
details and the correct number of items of support material
GAMAA
53. Organisations should make sure to
provide all of the information requested.
The judges will assess the outcomes of your
activity against the available resources for
your project (budget, the number of
staff/volunteers working on the project,
services/support available in your region)
GAMAA
54. This means that bigger
is not necessarily better.
If you had very limited resources but achieved
an outcome that was substantial for your
organisation, then your nomination will
compete very well against organisations who
had bigger budgets, more staff/volunteers, etc.
GAMAA
55. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
What does winning a
GAMAA mean?
GAMAA
56. The Prizes:
The winners in each of the five categories
receive a specially commissioned trophy by a
Queensland designer. The trophies are by a
different designer each year.
All winners and special commendation
recipients receive an Award certificate.
GAMAA
57. • The winner of the category, Organisations: Staff
of under 5, receives a $1,000 cash prize.
• The winner of the category, Organisations:
Volunteer, receives a $1,000 cash prize.
• The winner of the category, Individuals Paid,
receives $1,000 of goods/services.
• The winner of the category, Individuals Volunteer,
receives $1,000 of goods/services.
GAMAA
58. M&GSQ covers travel expenses for all winners and
commendation recipients to attend the Awards
presentation evening, usually held around
October/November each year, hosted by a major
cultural institution.
GAMAA
59. M&GSQ undertakes extensive media coverage for
all winners and commendation recipients, particularly
within the winners’ regions.
M&GSQ also publishes major articles on award
recipients in its publications.
Many GAMAA winners have experienced flow-on
benefits such as improved profile within their regions
and with stakeholders such as local government,
funding bodies, sponsors.
GAMAA
60. So start preparing your 2009 nomination!
CLOSING DATE 10 JULY 2009
M&GSQ staff are on hand to help if you have any questions about
eligibility, selection criteria, how to fill out forms, etc.
Phone 07 3215 0820 or 07 3215 0842 or
freecall within Queensland 1800 680 433
Or email information@magsq.com.au
2009 GAMAA nomination forms can be downloaded as a PDF or Word
document from Museum and Gallery Services Queensland’s website
www.magsq.com.au
GAMAA
