Season’s greetings from the Museum of Australian Democracy

It’s been an action packed year of exhibitions and activities for the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.

There’s always something new to see or do

From the annual Behind the Lines ‘best-of’ political cartoons, to the pop up exhibitions Crown, Sword and Sceptre – The Replica Crown Jewels and the 1901 election papers, from room interpretations that bring our heritage and history to life, to the series of exhibitions positioning the artist as activist: Insurgence, 2013 has been marked by activity and energy. New caterers, new government, new chairperson, new partnerships, new activities and a new strategic plan have enabled us to position our much loved destination as a place to connect with family and friends

Something for everyone

Without doubt the highlight of the year was the Election Festival - with over 6,000 visitors choosing to visit museum to be part of history in the making by voting in Kings Hall. But there’s also been comedy and satire, live broadcasts from the House of Reps chamber, dialogue and debate, family programming, the wonderful Hansard Monologues, new websites, fabulous learning programs and kid’s activities, the reintroduction of Friday night drinks, and of course regularly changing temporary exhibitions that encourage reflection, engagement and conversation.

So how’s it going? Our visitor numbers are up, significantly. We’ve increased online traffic and are continuing to engage with our Facebook and Twitter followers. We are near capacity in our schools visitation and have had substantial growth in touring attendance and have extremely high levels of visitor satisfaction. The House is alive and buzzing.

What’s on now

And over the Christmas period, we have more on offer - in the downstairs gallery you can reflect on the madness of 2013 through the eyes of our best political cartoonists with our Behind the Lines 2013 exhibition. And upstairs in the In Focus Gallery is a provocative exhibition Insurgence from the ProppaNOW collective exploring the art as a vehicle for protest. We have choirs performing in Kings Hall, great coffee on the front terrace of the building, regular tours of the building and special school holiday programs. There truly has never been a better time to visit Old Parliament House and the Museum of Australian Democracy.

Thanks

And finally, I’d like to thank the Advisory Council, the wonderful staff and volunteers and most of all, our visitors who share in the experience that is Old Parliament House. We look forward to exciting, inspiring and entertaining you in 2014. I wish you all a good festive season and a safe and happy 2014.

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