SPARK: Museums. Ideas. Connections.

Are you a young museum professional looking to connect with others in the industry and share your ideas for energising and future proofing the sector? SPARK is a new initiative from M&G NSW to bring together the next generation of museum leaders.

The inaugural event will feature a curated evening of provocative talks tackling the theme ‘Disrupting the Status Quo’.
There are some amazing initiatives and a lot of passion out there so join us for a casual evening of discussion, drinks and disruption.

Speakers include Rodney Adams, Daniela Franza, Bethany MacRae, Sam Leah, Danielle Robson, Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance and Asti Sherring.

This event will be interpreted into Auslan for deaf and hearing impaired attendees. Please indicate access requirements when booking so seating can be reserved.

View event on Museums & Galleries of NSW website.

Speaker Bios

Mini Keynote:
Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance
Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance is a Wiradjuri man from the Mowgee clan who grew up on Darkinjung Country, NSW. Nathan is a proud descendant of Diana Mudgee. He currently works as project officer in First Nations programming at the Australian Museum. Nathan works to ensure that the cultural and historical narratives conveyed by cultural and memory institutions, such galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) have First Nations perspectives and that First Nations stories being told are being told and controlled by First Nations people.  This is to balance the biases and misinterpretations of Aboriginal culture and people that has been previously set by GLAM institutions.
Nathan was a participant in the 2017 Wesfarmers/NGA Indigenous Arts Leadership program and was previously the convener of the Australian Society of Archivists, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Special Interest Group. He is currently a member of the Indigenous Archive Collective.

Pecha Kucha Style Talks:

Rodney Adams
Rodney Adams is an Adjunct Lecturer in Auslan and Deaf Studies at the University of Newcastle, Rodney is also a Research Affiliate with the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney. He is researching Indigenous sign languages and issues impacting deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people such as health, education and social and emotional wellbeing.

Daniela Franza
Originally from Argentina, Daniela Franza is currently the Assistant Curator and Exhibition Designer at Liverpool Regional Museum. She has a background in Communication Sciences (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) and has completed her Master of Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of Sydney. Daniela is also a freelance artist who draws on her illustration skills when approaching exhibition design.

Sam Leah
Sam is currently the Regional Museums Officer at Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, and has a background in regional outreach, programming, curatorial and education. She is passionate about community consultation and collaboration, and was the facilitator/curator for the award winning exhibitions We Are Here: Riverina LGBTIQ Stories and STEAM the Museum. She is the project manager for the museums redevelopment project, including relocating the collection, contributing to design outcomes and leading the curation of the new exhibition hall. In the future she hopes to continue to be involved with community led programs and projects to support the communities of the Riverina, particularly to encourage access to future technologies.

Bethany MacRae
Bethany is currently the Cultural Services Coordinator at Hurstville Museum & Gallery, and has previously worked in curatorial, public programming, and arts administration. After completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Bethany discovered it was the stories that objects could tell, rather than the discovery of the objects themselves that she found interesting, and went on to complete a Masters in Museum Studies at Sydney University.

Danielle Robson
Danielle Robson is an experienced Arts Manager, Curator and Creative Producer who relishes connecting audiences with ideas. For over 17 years she has been working across the private and cultural sectors, connecting the work of artists and designers with the needs of audiences and organisations. In 2018 Danielle launched Soda Arts, an arts consultancy that develops and delivers projects for organisations who want to work with visual artists. Previously Danielle was Co-Founder and Director of ArtsPeople and Creative Programs Manager at Australian Design Centre. Danielle’s recent curatorial highlights include Sea-change with Penelope Davis at Arup Sydney Gallery (2018), Jurassic Plastic with Hiroshi Fuji at Sydney Festival (2018), Tanabata: Star Village at The Powerhouse Museum and Sydney Observatory (2016) and Fort Thunder: An Electro-Acoustic Playground with Lucas Abela and Keg de Souza at Fairfield Museum and Gallery (2018).

Asti Sherring
Asti Sherring is currently employed as the first time-based art conservator at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, a position which began in 2015. Asti completed a Bachelor of Media Arts with honours from Sydney University in 2005. She completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in photographs conservation (Melbourne University) in 2011 and a Masters of Materials Conservation specialising in paper and photographic materials in 2012. Asti undertook a photographs conservation fellowship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2014 and in 2016 was awarded The Grollo Ruzzene Foundation travel fellowship in conservation. In 2017 Asti began postgraduate research in the form of a PhD at the University of Canberra.

Please contact us via dalem@mgnsw.org.au for more info.

SPARK is presented in partnership with the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA), New South Wales