Collection Exhibitions, Cataloguing, Interpretation and Management

The 1980 Lewers Bequest stated that the Collection be displayed ‘from time to time’. Since 2001 the Collection has been featured in over 28 exhibitions, including:

Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest:

• Million $$ View (Feb-Apr 2002)
• Ceramic Connection (Apr-June 2002)
• Walter and Williams (May-Jun 2002)
• The Moment Forever 1 & 2 (2002)
• At The Time It Seemed Important (Aug-Sept 2003)
• Central Street Live (Nov 2002-Feb 2003)
• Flip-side. (Nov 2002-Feb 2003)
• Margo Lewers Retrospective (Feb-Mar 2004)
• Frank Hinder: Order from Chaos (May-Jun 2004)
• From the Collection (May-Jun 2004)
• Highlights from The Collection (Apr-May 2007)
• Frozen Gestures: The art of Peter Upward (Oct-Dec 2007)
• Modernist Sculpture in Focus: From the Collection (Feb – Apr 2008)
• Class, Classy, Classic (Aug-Nov 2009)
• New Acquisitions (Aug-Nov 2009)

An ongoing program of Collection based exhibitions forms part of the permanent history display in the Loungeroom area, including the following specialist exhibitions:

• Old Friends ( Dec 04-Nov 2005)
• The Modern Australian Home: Architectural Photography (Feb-Apr 2008)
• Adolph Plate (23 Aug – 2 Nov 2008)

Touring and/or Collection Loans:

• Margo Lewers Retrospective (2002 to 2004). S H Ervin Gallery (Sydney), Drill Hall Gallery (Canberra), Orange Regional Gallery, Tamworth Regional Gallery. Presented/toured by the National Trust
• Private View (Mar-Apr 2002). Macquarie University Art Gallery. Toured by PRG&TLB
• Shimai Toshi (Nov-Dec 2004) Fujieda City History Museum, Japan. Toured by PRG&TLB
• Women of Influence (Aug-Set 2005) Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney
• Yvonne Audette / Different Directions 1954-1966 (Sept 2007- Feb 2008). National Gallery
• of Victoria
• Modern Times: the untold story of modernism in Australia (Aug 2008 to Oct 2009). Powerhouse Museum, (Sydney), Heide Museum of Modern Art (Melbourne), State Library of Queensland, (Brisbane). Presented/toured by Powerhouse Museum
• Sydney Ball: The Colour Paintings (Feb 2009 to Feb 2010). McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park (Melbourne), The Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art (Adelaide)
• Tracksuits of St Marys (Aug 2009). CarriageWorks (Sydney)
• Cubism in Australia (Nov 2009-April 2010). Heide Museum of Modern Art, (Melbourne)
• Unreal Rock (June 2010) CarriageWorks (Sydney)

With regards Collection cataloguing and documentation, as 1 September 2010:

• 98% of the Collection has been catalogued onto the AdLib Collection Database system.
• Digital records of the Collection (excluding photographs, furniture and ephemera) have been completed.
• Re-cataloguing of the PRG&TLB heritage library has been completed.
• Approximately 80% of the Collection archival documentation (photographs, correspondence and newspaper articles) has been re-housed in archival standard folders.

The Gallery has also initiated a range of interpretation and signage, including the 2009 Michael Lindeman ‘Quotes’ Project. (more)

The current Collection Manager, Dr. Shirley Daborn, has a PhD from the University of New South Wales, and has tutored in the areas of Art and Architectural History and Theory at the University of Western Sydney and the University of New South Wales. She studied at the University of Western Sydney gaining a BA Art History and Criticism (Hons. First Class). As Collection Manager her duties include:

• Manage storage, documentation, archives, condition reporting of all Collection artworks
• Manage Collection conservation programs and activities
• Facilitate community and academic access to the Collection and archives