Inside the Collection

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MAAS Architecture Commission 2019: Agora by Penhale and Winter

February 26, 2019

Keinton Butler
Agora is the second in a series of three annual architecture installations commissioned by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Funded by a generous private donor, the annual commission is an opportunity for MAAS to support Australian architecture and design practitioners.

TeachMeets at MAAS

February 21, 2019

Karolina Novak
The Education and Digital Learning team at MAAS produce a wide variety of experiences exploring the Museum’s collection and disciplines for school audiences, including programs for teachers. Keeping in touch with teachers and teacher communities is important to us. Not only to build and maintain relationships, but to keep up to date with issues facing teachers, their ideas on teaching and learning, and to get regular reality checks on life at school.
An image of a red papercut. 'Golden Coin, Good Fortune and Longevity' (jīn qián fú shòu).

Happy Lunar New Year, The Year of the Pig

February 5, 2019

Vanessa Thorne
The Lunar New Year is the most significant annual celebration for Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures. Today (5 February 2019) marks the beginning of the Year of the Golden Pig. If you were born in 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007 or 2019 then it is your year!
Low angle close shot of a dark and light brown classic car on grass. Front left wheel is the closest object in the photo. The sun is at the centre of the top section of the photo.

MAAS Cars at Parramatta’s CARnivale 2019

February 1, 2019

Chloe Appleby
Over the recent long weekend, I was thrilled to assist with the Museum’s participation in the annual CARnivale festival. Held for the second year in Sydney’s Parramatta Park on 26 January, CARnivale displayed over 400 classic vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, fire engines and ambulances, all made before 1987!

The Ideal Home Exhibition: Australian experiences of home across the past 100 years

January 29, 2019

Nina Earl
Home should be a place of security, intimacy, love and family, a haven from the world. It is where we can express ourselves through the location, architecture, furnishings and decoration. But 'home' is also a site of financial burden, fracture, loss and danger - and increasingly for some, a home is simply unattainable.
Seven white busts and two statues of composers and writers. Made from Parian porcelain in the 1800s . Collected and donated to the Museum by Thomas Lennard in 1921.

Busted

January 25, 2019

Anni Turnbull
The Museum has a wonderful collection of busts in the areas of science, fashion and art. From the slightly disconcerting 19th century French paper-mache anatomical models used to explore and demonstrate the workings of the human body to the fabulously formed torso of Chesty Bonds advertising Bonds singlets.
The museum interns stand beside a large yellow ball on a high tower. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is in the background.

Collecting in health and medicine: A curatorial intern experience

January 16, 2019

Meg O'Donnell
As a third year university student studying an arts degree, the same inevitable and dreaded question often arises in daily conversations; “oh, so what kind of job are you hoping to get with that degree?” My answer has always been that I would like to work as a curator or conservator in museums and art galleries, as I enjoy uncovering the history of objects and understanding what they can tell us about the past.
Woman sitting on wooden steps giving a talk to a group of people with presentation slides on the wall behind.

Incremental Urbanism: A follow up to Common Good

January 9, 2019

Ziggy Potts
The Common Good exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum explores the impact of contemporary design practice in Australia and the surrounding region, examining how designers are responding to various social, environmental and ethical challenges to affect change.
A staged colour photograph taken in the 1970s for advertising featuring seven young men wearing board shorts. The man in the centre is holding a young woman with blond hair and wearing a bikini.

Remembering Australian summer holidays

January 2, 2019

Margaret Simpson
The beach has always been the ultimate destination for summer holidays whether it was just a few kilometres away or a long car trip. Back in the 1960s cars weren't as reliable as today. Even for a relatively short drive you'd stop off at the service station to have the oil, water and tyres checked and to pick up maps.
The two Barbie dolls' costumes consist of a pink 'Rockers' T-shirt, one doll has a pink mini-skirt and tan leggings; the other has a pink jacket and pants ensemble. The styling is indicative of the mid 1980s. The Ken doll's costume is a silver long jacket and pants ensemble with a silver 'Rockers' T-shirt, and silver shoes.

Toys and games from the 1980s

December 26, 2018

Margaret Simpson
Was your childhood spent in the 1980s? Then the names Puggle, He Man, Fabuland, Battle Cat and Teddy Ruxpin will ring a few bells this Christmas. Fantasy toys were an element of the 1980s. The super-hero toys He-Man and his and his faithful steed, Battle Cat, were media merchandising from the Masters of the Universe (MOTU) film, cartoon and comic series.
Two men and a woman stand around a table discussing fashion drawings and fabric samples. They are in the designer’s studio with garments hanging on racks in the background.

Serenely Akira: from storyboard to exhibition

December 20, 2018

Roger Leong
Dismantling Reigning Men took a full week of sweat, noise and dust. But from it the MAAS team has crafted a cocoon of serenity designed to celebrate the creativity and subtle complexity of Akira Isogawa, in a new exhibition which opened on 15 December 2018.