Inside the Collection

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Whimsical walking sticks

May 2, 2018

Alysha Buss
Mythical creatures, grotesque faces, writhing snakes, horse’s hooves, glinting shovels and pickaxes… all things not usually seen on walking sticks. However, the carvings of Robert Read display the potential creativity and whimsy of this part utilitarian, part fashionable item.

An ANZAC Postcard: From Cairo, on the banks of the Nile, 1915

April 25, 2018

Kathy Hackett
This colour printed photographic postcard shows a river scene in Cairo in the early years of the 20th century. It is one of 33 postcards sent from Frederick E Boddington and his brother George K Boddington during their years of service in World War I.
Front view of Pace TR20 analogue computer. Two rows of knobs run across the top of the machine and wires are plugged into the removable patch panel below. At the machines base on a slanted panel is a set of dials and indicators.

Analogue vs. Digital

April 18, 2018

Nina Earl
Today our computers operate in binary (1s and 0s) but this has not always been the case. For many years analogue computers where more effective than their digital counterparts, and were widely used in scientific and industrial applications where digital computers of the time lacked sufficient performance.

MAAS outgoing loans program: portative organ

April 4, 2018

Lucy Clark
A recent loan to the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) highlights our commitment to providing access to the collection in new and varied ways. The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) has an active outgoing loans program, through which the diverse collection is made accessible to audiences across Australia and the world.

Shape 2017: Student Design

March 28, 2018

Campbell Bickerstaff
Shape 2017 is a showcase of year 12 student work from the syllabus areas concerned with design and technology – Design and Technology / Textiles and Design / Industrial Technology. This year MAAS has 38 fine examples on show from around New South Wales.

Behind the scenes: Developing Australian Men’s Style

March 14, 2018

Vanessa Thorne
The Museum is excited to present Australian Men’s Style featuring 25 objects from the MAAS collection that touch on aspects of Australian men’s dress over a period of 200 years. From gentlemen’s attire in the early colonial period to post-World War II outfits and contemporary design, Australian Men’s Style will feature some of the milestones in the evolution of Australian menswear.

Powerhouse Museum turns 30!

March 10, 2018

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
On 10 March the Powerhouse Museum celebrates its 30th birthday. Over the past three decades the Museum has produced an enormous number of amazing exhibitions covering everything from science to art, Star Wars to high fashion.

Design Nation: When Australian Design Moulded the World

March 1, 2018

Damian McDonald
Colonised Australia felt it had grown into an independent, and quite sexy young adult by the 1980s. The 1988 bicentenary was a celebration of all that Europeans had acheived in Australia in 200 years.  It was also a year which benefited from the optimism of the Wran NSW Labor Government - which commissioned, among other public institutions and spaces, the ingeniously designed converted power station as the new home for the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Ultimo, Sydney.

Love is… Highlights from the MAAS wedding dress collection

February 13, 2018

Glynis Jones
Marriage has been practiced in myriad forms across time and communities. It has no universal model and is in a frequent state of flux as it adjusts and responds to the changing political, economic and social milieu.

Cuberider: Australia’s first payload to the ISS

February 7, 2018

Sarah Reeves
Almost exactly a year ago, the Museum was approached by Sydney start-up Cuberider with an unusual offer. In December 2016 Cuberider had launched Australia’s first ever payload to the International Space Station (ISS) – a Raspberry Pi computer used to run science experiments designed by high school students around the country.