Nominations are being called for election to the Committee of Museums Australia Inc (Victoria) for the 2012 – 2014 term.

Nominations are encouraged for ordinary members to join the Committee. Candidates for election to the Committee must be an Individual Member or the designated representative of an Institutional Member of Museums Australia Inc.

Nominations close at 5pm on Wednesday 15 February 2012. If a ballot is required, ballot papers will be sent to all members in early March. If a ballot is required, ballot papers will be sent to all members in early March and voting will close at 5pm on Wednesday 4 April 2012. The elected committee will be announced at the General Meeting at 6pm on Wednesday 2 May.

Download the Nomination Form

Nominations should be forwarded to the Secretary, Museums Australia Inc (Victoria), PO Box 385, Carlton South VIC 3053.  For more information: call 8341 7344 or email mavic@mavic.asn.au

Museums Australia (Victoria) invites you to ‘Come To Life’ in Ballarat for our very first State Conference for museums and communities in Victoria. This forum for ideas will bring MA members and the wider community together to showcase some of the best museum practices, community-building projects and local cultural heritage.

Collect, Conserve, Connect: Museums Australia (Victoria) State Conference 2012 will take place from the 29 – 30 March 2012 at the School of Mines, University of Ballarat.

The two-day format combines traditional keynotes and lectures with hands-on practical sessions, museum theatre performance, a public lecture and an expo of industry suppliers and examples of Goldfields arts and cultural heritage.

An optional conference dinner will take place at the New York Bakery, Sovereign Hill on Thursday 29 March with special guest presenters. Optional tours will be available on the afternoon of Friday 30 March.

Earlybird registrations are now open and over 20 speakers are confirmed to date.

>> See our dedicated conference website for more

MA (Vic) is pleased to announce that we will be presenting our first state conference in 2012. Collect, Conserve, Connect: Museums Australia (Victoria) State Conference 2012 will take place from the 29 – 30 March 2012 at the School of Mines, University of Ballarat.

Join us for the very first MA (Vic) State Conference in the beautiful heritage city of Ballarat. Program and registration details will be launched in November 2011.

Register your interest here: MA (Vic) State Conference 2012

A pool of $40,000 has been devolved to seven Victorian Museums from the Museums Australia (Victoria) Exhibition Grants program.

There were very strong applications this round and after much discussion from the committee, the following organisations have been awarded a grant:

• Banyule City Council
• Castlemaine Art Gallery
• Koorie Heritage Trust
• Mission to Seafarers Victoria
• National Alpine Museum of Australia
• National Trust of Australia (Victoria)
• Yackadandah Historical Society

This year's Victorian Museum Award winners were announced on Thursday 4 August at the NGV International. MA (Vic) is proud to announce the Award winners, and congratulates nominees, supporters and members on their dedication to the Victorian museum sector.

See our Awards page for further details.

Museums Australia (Victoria) will create a series of free practical online training sessions for community museums using still photo slideshows, after receiving $9,000 through the Public Record Office Victoria’s Local History Grants program.

Local history collections are spread across the state, with an estimated 1.5 million objects cared for by volunteer-run organisations. There is a clear need to offer training to collection custodians. By reaching more rural, regional and time-poor individuals online, the project will enable individuals to access free training for community collections. The Museum Practice Online Training digital content will reflect best practice techniques on caring for and providing access to local history collections via this website.

Craig Ondarchie, MP, Member for Northern Metropolitan, who presented a certificate of achievement to Museums Australia (Victoria) on behalf of the Premier, and Minister for the Arts, the Hon Ted Baillieu MP said "The successful grant application by Museums Australia (Victoria) is well deserved and I am very confident that this money will go a long way to ensuring that people of all ages will benefit from the services provided." He concluded that "It is vital to preserve local history, it is important to emphasise the depth of our local history and why it is so special."

The Local History Grants Program is currently funded through the Victorian Government’s Community Support Fund, which in 2011 has provided small grants totalling $355,000, to eighty-one community organisations to preserve, record, publish and present Victorian local history.

Two of MA (Vic)’s key programs have been discontinued in 2011 and we invite colleagues to express their concern about this lack of support of key services for Victorian museums and galleries.

It has been announced that Arts Victoria will not be funding the Museum Assistance Grants Program in 2011.  In addition, the Heritage Victoria funding for Community Collections Training ended in 2010 and we have only been able to secure $20,000 for limited regional training in 2011.

These invaluable programs delivered much needed assistance to community organisations, particularly in regional areas, both in terms of high-quality training and expert advice on capacity-building.  The cost of delivering these programs cannot be covered without support funding and this loss has resulted in the departure of two experienced staff members.

MA (Vic) needs your help in lobbying to reinstate these programs.  Please help us to help you by writing in with your feedback by 25 March.  Contact us for more information: mavic@mavic.asn.au

Thank you to all who participated in the Museums Australia 2010 National Conference. A selection of papers & presentations from the conference have now been made available online, visit the Program & Publications page for details.

Now is the time to save the date for the 2011 Museums Australia National Conference to be held in Perth at the recently opened State Theatre Centre located in the Perth Cultural Centre, from 14th to 18th November 2011. Visit www.ma2011.com.au for more.

On 21 February the Collections Australia Network (CAN) announced the ceasing of its funding by the Cultural Ministers Council (CMC). On the 24 February the Powerhouse Museum announced that it will continue to operate the website until further notice. As no additional funding is available the Powerhouse will not be able to provide the previous level of service and information.

CAN began as Australian Museums Online (AMOL) and was redeveloped as CAN in 2004. CAN provides a valuable resource to the collections sector including discussion lists, listings of Australian collecting organisations and hosting for museum publications and resources including the National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries.

The CAN website provides some museums with their only online presence but under the new custodial service no new partners will be added to the site. We are concerned to see the defunding of national online cultural initiatives such as the Cultural Portal and Collections Australia Network and are uncertain how the resource will progress. We welcome your views about how this defunding will affect you. E-mail your comments to: mavic@mavic.asn.au

The 2011 Annual Program is now available. Go to mavic.asn.au/events to see all the museum and gallery professional development opportunities, events and training on offer.

We have not received support funding for the Museum Assistance Grants Program from Arts Victoria in 2011. Sadly, this means we cannot provide these small infrastructure grants and associated museum advisory services as planned for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Further information: Museum Assistance Grants

Now released to MAP Accredited Museums and selected Tourist Information Centres, this DL size brochure is a handy resource for the visitor and professional alike. Included is contact information, opening hours, location and collection focus of all our 45 Victorian Accredited Museums. Download online now!