The Museum of Australian Democracy acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.

The museum respectfully acknowledges the role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to play in shaping Australia’s democracy.

xClose
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
  • About
  • Blog
  • Prime Ministers
  • Websites
  • Venue hire
  • Visiting
  • What's On
  • Collection
  • Learning
  • Democracy
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
  • Visiting
    • Planning your visit
    • Families at MoAD
    • Access
    • Group bookings
    • Cafe
    • MoAD Shop
    • UNSW Canberra Howard Library
  • What’s On
    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Collection
    • The Building
    • Objects and rooms
    • Oral Histories
  • Learning
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Parents
  • Democracy
    • Democracy 2025
    • Defining democracy
    • Australian democracy: an overview
    • The democratic audit of Australia
    • One thing I like about democracy
    • Links
    • Quotes
    • Notes
    • About
    • Blog
    • Prime Ministers
    • Websites
    • Venue hire
    From the blog

    Be Spoken To: re-mixing words from Old Parliament House

    5 minute read

    Mon 7 Aug 2017 by
    Melinda Smith and Caren Florance

    An artist and a poet walk into the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House …

    Bespoke and Be Spoken To

    In 2014, the Museum of Australian Democracy and Craft ACT invited several artists to respond to the furnishings of Old Parliament House and create artworks for Bespoke: Design for the People. The artworks were destined to be displayed alongside the furnishings in the exhibition, Furnished: Suites, seats and suits. We jumped at the chance to participate, completely inspired by the group of eight hand-lettered timber signs which were displayed in Furnished.

    We created a unique and engaging installation called Be Spoken To. Bearing in mind that parliament is a place for debate, discussion and occasionally protest, Melinda, the poet in our duo, copied and then cheekily remixed the text on the signs. Serious warnings like Strictly Members Only and Take Care on Polished Floor were transformed into phrases like Members are not about to be polished for the visitors.

    Caren, the artistic one, hand-printed the re-mixed phrases using wooden and metal type adopting the colour scheme of the original signs and motifs from the building’s distinctive architectural style. The prints were then carefully mounted on more signs from the museum’s collection and displayed across from those already on display, as if in conversation with them.

    • 1 of 4
    • 2 of 4
    • 3 of 4
    • 4 of 4

    While intentionally playful in tone, the re-mixed signs encouraged visitors to also think about more serious concepts such as ‘representatives’, ‘members’ and ‘visitors’, and the temporary nature of parliaments and the buildings that house them. Several visitors nominated Be Spoken To as their favourite work in the exhibition.

    Still speaking - between covers

    When the exhibition finished in December 2015, we were so inspired by the experience that we continued to collaborate. Together we created an artist’s book, re-using the text from the Bespoke signs, and adding new poems and design elements, all inspired by the nationally heritage-listed building and its extraordinary history.

    The result, 1962: Be Spoken To, is centred on the year 1962 and uses the calendar of the parliamentary sittings as a window into the life of the building. Melinda ransacked the Hansard speeches along with contemporary newspaper articles and other sources to craft extra ‘found’ poems. Caren hand-set, hand-printed and hand-sewed the whole into five enormous artist’s books (one spread covers half a kitchen table!). Each one slides into its own Tyvek ‘ghost bag’, inspired by the material the museum uses to store much of its collection, and one of the books is now in the National Library of Australia collection.

    • 1 of 3
    • 2 of 3
    • 3 of 3

    We have also partnered with Canberra publisher Recent Work Press to produce a chapbook version of the work called Members Only. The chapbook includes all the poems and rearranged sign text from 1962: Be Spoken To in a format that can be easily held in the hand.

     


    The cheeky signs, the artist’s book and the chapbook will be on display from 17 August until 3 September 2017 in Lines of Site: Finding the Sublime in Canberra at the M16 Artspace. We would love to chat with you about our work at any of the following events. No RSVPs required.

    • Exhibition opening, Thursday 17 August 2017, 6 pm
    • Launch of Members Only by Kate Armstrong of MoADOPH,Sunday 20 August 2017, 2 pm
    • Artists’ Q&A, Sunday 27 August 2017, 2pm (including nibbles)

    5 minute read

    Mon 7 Aug 2017 by
    Melinda Smith and Caren Florance

    Canberra poet Melinda Smith won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for her fourth book of poems, Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call. Her work is widely anthologized both inside and outside Australia and has been translated into many languages. She is a former poetry editor of The Canberra Times.

    Canberra artist Caren Florance plays with all forms of the book using old and new technologies, but mostly with her beloved hand-set letterpress equipment. She works at the ANU School of Art, the University of Canberra and teaches public workshops. Caren’s work is collected by institutions all over the world, particularly libraries.

    Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

    18 King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600, Australia

    PO Box 3934
    Manuka ACT 2603

    9am to 5pm daily 
    Closed Christmas Day

    ABN: 30 620 774 963

    Telephone: 02 6270 8222

    Enquiries:
    info@moadoph.gov.au

    Please note: video surveillance is used 24 hours a day around and throughout the building and may be used for research purposes

    Visiting

    • Planning your visit
    • Families at MoAD
    • Access
    • Group bookings
    • Cafe
    • MoAD Shop
    • UNSW Canberra Howard Library

    What's On

    • Events
    • Exhibitions

    Collection

    • The building
    • Objects and rooms
    • Highlights
    • Oral histories

    Learning

    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Parents

    Democracy

    • Exploring democracy
    • Documenting a democracy
    • Australian democracy
    • Defining democracy
    • Democracy 2025

    About

    • OPH Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Budget
    • Corporate documents
    • Disability Inclusion Action Plan
    • Employment
    • Freedom of information
    • Public Interest Disclosure
    • Media
    • Newsletter
    • Support us
    • Partnerships
    • Our prime minister patrons
    • Donate to our collection
    • eCommerce terms and conditions
    • Online house rules

    Blog

    Prime Ministers

    Websites

    Further information

    View our recruitment opportunities.

    View our copyright policy.

    View our privacy statement.

    View our ticketing terms and conditions.

    Questions about the website:
    website@moadoph.gov.au

    The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House is a Corporate Commonwealth Entity within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts