Expanding our Reach: Art, Research and Access

National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia

4 -5 October 2018

Conference Theme

The theme is Expanding our Reach: Art, Research and Access, delving into the expanded uses and users of Art Library collections. It is an exciting time in our sector as our roles have developed in response to a broadening user category and to innovative ways our collections are being used. This expansion has resulted in an exciting range of projects, collaborations and outcomes.

We are seeing an expansion in the uses and the users of the art library collections we manage. We have seen the importance of artist driven archive collections, exhibitions of artist archives, thematic study and object based learning. There is a greater emphasis on collaborative projects with educational departments and interactive online engagement utilising art library collections to help inform and engage.

In the 2018 conference let’s look at how our collections are being used. What is exciting, what is ground breaking? Also, stretching into the near future and being prepared, where our collections can take us, who our users will be, how our collections can be used and to what purpose? Integral to this is managing these expanded applications; what can we do to better align ourselves with these growing demands?