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ToitŪ Otago Settlers
Museum Board
7 November 2018
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Reports
ToitŪ Otago Settlers Museum Activity
Report
Department: Arts and Culture
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 This
report covers the activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (TOSM) for the
period 1 August to 30 September 2018.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Board:
a) Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Activity Report.
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BACKGROUND
2 This
report is written for the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting and
details the latest activities and KPI performance at the Toitū Settlers
Museum and Lan Yuan.
DISCUSSION
Visitors
3 There were
39,565 visitors to the Museum from 1 August to 30 September 2018. This
represents a 2.68% increase on visitation, compared with 38,531 for the same
period last year.
4 There
were 4,702 visitors to the Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (DCG) from 1 August
to 30 September 2018 which is an 11.05% increase, compared with 4,234 for the
same period last year.
(Note: The high number of visitors in February 2018 was a
result of the Chinese New Year event. The Chinese New Year is the moon
occurring between 21 January and 20 February each year.)
Financial
Summary
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Year to
Date 30 Sept 2018
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$000
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Actual
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Budget
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Variance
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Revenue
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1,636
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1,648
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(12)
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U
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Expenditure
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1,786
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1,692
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(94)
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U
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Net
Surplus/(Deficit)
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(150)
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(44)
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(106)
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U
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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum
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(143)
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(32)
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(111)
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U
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Dunedin Chinese Garden
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(7)
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(12)
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5
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F
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Net
Surplus/(Deficit)
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(150)
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(44)
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(106)
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U
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5 The
financial performance for TOSM/DCG to September 2018 was $106K Unfavourable.
Visitor
Experience
Exhibitions
6 The
Museum’s latest major temporary exhibition – Suffrage &
Beyond: 1893-2018, opened in the Special Exhibitions Gallery on 7
September. The exhibition, which was opened by Dame Silvia Cartwright, marks
the 125th Anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand and
coincides with the national celebrations organised through the Suffrage 125
project. The exhibition also explores the progress and change in the lives of
women over the ensuing 125 years. Suffrage & Beyond: 1893-2018 is
open to the public until 28 July 2019.
7 Object
Affection: Dialogues with Ancestors opened in the NZR
‘Bullnose’ Lounge on 21 September. This exhibition is
collaboration between renowned photographic historian King Tong Ho and members
of the local Chinese community. King Tong Ho’s work reflects history
through the interface between visuals (photographs) and the contextual (English
and Chinese bilingual texts). The exhibition is presented as part of the
commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Lan
Yuan – the Dunedin Chinese Garden. Object Affection: Dialogues with
Ancestors runs until 10 February 2019.
8 Staged as
part of the Lan Yuan Ten Year Anniversary celebrations were two exhibitions
held at Lan Yuan – The Dunedin Chinese Garden. The first of these was Photographs
from Yu Garden, Shanghai, a series of images from Lan Yuan’s
459-year-old sister garden in Shanghai. The display was opened as part of the
inaugural 10-year event on 14 September. A reciprocal exhibition from Lan Yuan
will be staged at the Yu Garden in November.
9 The
Chinese history panels in the corridor display area of Lan Yuan have also been
updated for the 10-year celebrations. Lan Yuan: A Living Memorial
presents a view of Chinese history in Dunedin based on the recent Journey to
Lan Yuan documentary.
Public Programmes
10 Twenty-four
programmes were held during the August – September period with a total of
390 attendees. Programmes included the regular: Toddler Time, Tapestry
Project, Global Dunedin, Music Saturday; and a play reading held in the
Auditorium on 30 September.
Education
Learning Experiences
Outside the Classroom (LEOTC)
11 A total of 1,086
students visited the Museum as part of the LEOTC experience for the months of
August – September. Of those, 820 were primary and 266 were secondary
school students.
12 The junior programme
focus included Housing (and domestic life); Science, Innovation and
Sustainability; History including visits to Lan Yuan – the Dunedin
Chinese Garden.
13 Secondary school
History students visited the Museum utilizing the museums Archive for the
curriculum NCEA research component. Topics included Otago History and
Māori political prisoners. Programmes were supported by staff talks.
14 Over 100 Primary
School Principals attended a national Māori Achievement Conference in
Dunedin and concluded the conference at the Museum. During the day staff gave a
presentation on the Museums Kai Tahu Gallery story.
15 Drama students
visited early in the term to choose spaces and stories to devise original
drama. They returned later in the term and presented work to an audience of 100
parents and friends.
Collections
Management
16 Object preparation
in advance of the Suffrage & Beyond: 1893-2018 and Object
Affection: Dialogues with Ancestors exhibitions was the central focus for the
collections team.
17 Strong progress has
been made by Archive staff, regular volunteers and the Otago Early
Settler’s Association (OESA) intern with a result of 1,124 new records
built in the Vernon catalogue system during the period.
18 Analysis and planning
has been carried out for changes to the Large Collections Store in preparation
to house objects more efficiently going forward. This is ahead of a major
thrust on a cataloguing project in the general Collection and Archive stores.
Mana
Whenua Engagement
19 A meeting of the Kāi
Tahu Liaison Group was held on 10 September 2018. Discussion included: Discussion
included: the Cultural Mapping Team from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
(TRoNT) and work on the Bill Dacker Collection; the recently commenced project
to carve a Waharoa gateway into the Museum exhibition galleries; Tai Timu Tai
Pari Exhibition planning; and protocol on return or storage of exhibition
taoka.
Commercial
Activity
Retail
20 Retail revenue for
August – September is $19,760. This is an increase of $5.5K on the same
period last year.
Lan
Yuan – Dunedin Chinese Garden
21 The Ten-Year
Anniversary celebrations of the Garden officially opened in September 2018.
Delegates from Shanghai - Yu Yuan attended along with a group of delegates from
the Chinese Consular Office in Christchurch. Highlights of the weekend included
a cocktail event at the Garden on 14 September combining the celebration of the
anniversary and the opening of an exhibition of photographs of Yu Yuan. On the
evening a special gifting of a waiata from manawhenua was received by Dr James
Ng and Mr Peter Chin on behalf of the Dunedin Chinese Community. The
following evening the Dunedin Chinese Garden Trust held a Gala Dinner at the
Golden Harvest Restaurant. The delegation from Shanghai met with Council and
Museum groups as well as local iwi.
22 A Scholar's Programme,
also part of the wider anniversary celebrations, commenced on 25 August with Dr
Xionbo Shi – Assistant Professor in Institute of Aesthetics and Art
Criticisms at Shenzen University. Dr Shi introduced the scripts, genres and
artistic forms of Chinese shufa and concluded with an authentic calligraphy
presentation (there were 16 attendees).
23 In September the
Scholar's Programme featured a talk by Associate Professor James Beattie
entitled Creating the Cantonese Pacific: Trade, Migration, and
Environmental Change in the Pacific (1790-1920s). A second talk was offered
in the afternoon by co-authors Professor Beattie and Richard Bullen and the
launching of a new book entitled New China Eye Witness. These programmes
attracted approximately 40 people. The following day a talk by Professor:
A Garden on a Plate: Willow Pattern Design and World History (29
attendees).
24 Other talks in the
Scholar series during September included, China on Screens: From Shadow Play to
Digital Animation by Scholar Associate Professor Paola Voci (7 attendees);
Archaeological Investigations of Nineteenth Century Chinese Goldfield
Communities in Central Otago, by Professor Richard Walter (33 attendees);
Reading Chinese in the Garden: The Book, The Collection, and The Library by
adjunct Teaching Fellow with Victoria, Wellington, Mr Duncan M. Campbell (8
attendees); and The Language of the Flowers – The Role of Plants in
Traditional Chinese Culture also by scholar Mr Duncan M. Campbell (20
attendees).
25 The Moon Festival
was celebrated on 23 September. A family fun day included performers, singers
and dancers with story-time, a rabbit hunt and moon cakes offered for sale. 43
family passes, 156 day passes and 29 Annual passes were sold.
Approximately 531 people attended the Moon Festival day.
OPTIONS
26 There are no options
as this report is for information only.
NEXT STEPS
27 There are no next
steps as this report is for information only.
Signatories
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Author:
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Cam McCracken - Dunedin Public Art Gallery Director
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Authoriser:
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Nick Dixon - Group Manager Ara Toi
Simon Pickford - General Manager Community Services
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Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
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SUMMARY OF CONSIDERATIONS
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Fit with purpose
of Local Government
This report relates to providing a public service and it
is considered good-quality and cost-effective.
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Fit with strategic
framework
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Contributes
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Detracts
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Not applicable
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Social Wellbeing Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Economic Development Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Environment Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Arts and Culture Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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3 Waters Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Spatial Plan
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Integrated Transport Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Parks and Recreation Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Other strategic projects/policies/plans
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☒
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☐
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☐
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The activities in this report support the Arts and
Culture, Economic Development and Social Wellbeing Strategies.
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Māori Impact
Statement
There are no known impacts for tangata whenua. The Museum
consults with and works closely with the Kāi Tahu Advisory Group.
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Sustainability
No implications although the principles of sustainability
underpins all of the activity of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and the
Dunedin Chinese Garden.
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LTP/Annual Plan /
Financial Strategy /Infrastructure Strategy
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Financial
considerations
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Significance
In terms of the Council's Significance and Engagement
Policy, the matters in this report are deemed to be of low significance.
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Engagement –
external
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Engagement -
internal
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Risks: Legal /
Health and Safety etc.
There are no legal or health and safety risks related to
matters in this report.
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Conflict of
Interest
There are no known conflicts of interest.
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Community Boards
There are no specific implications for Community Boards.
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