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Budget and location have been no barrier to recognition in the 2017 ServiceIQ New Zealand Museum Awards, with the best and most innovative exhibitions, programmes and museum projects were celebrated at a gala event in Palmerston North tonight (23rd May).

Guest MC - and self-confessed museum enthusiast - Te Radar hosted the proceedings as part of the MA17 Museums Aotearoa conference, He Waka Eke Noa – Museums Of Inclusion.

The judges found that winners included a wide range of museums, galleries and some truly inspired approaches to engaging New Zealand’s communities in art, science, history and culture.

Lego and yoga inside the museum, and art and community projects outside the walls featured among the winners.

Auckland Museum won both the Te Reo and new museum retail categories, and volunteer-run Mokau Museum won the Visitor Experience Award. Otago Museum combined the wonder and delight of its butterfly house with yoga practice into a new physical and spiritual museum programme.

Gisborne's Tairawhiti Museum took community engagement a step further, supporting Rongowhakaata to claim ownership of the taonga in its care. Nelson Provincial Museum brought history to a younger audience with CSI-type crime investigation, and Auckland Museum brought science concepts to life through innovative use of Te Reo. Te Tuhi had two exhibitions in the finals of the Art category, and won with Share/Cheat/Unite, a meta-exhibition responding to global and social concerns.

The museum project award went to the beautiful and carefully redeveloped Suter.

This project was fully embraced by the people of Nelson, who are justly proud of both the historical and contemporary aspects of their much-loved gallery.

Te Manawa, hosts of the Museums Aotearoa conference, were deserving winners of the inaugural Arts Access Aotearoa Award. Te Manawa's ongoing NOA Open Studios project, and Inspired By, the exhibition that the NOA members created with Te Manawa, demonstrate their total commitment to being a place for learning and enjoyment for all.

Presenting the Visitor Experience Award, Dean Minchington, Chief Executive of Awards backed ServiceIQ congratulated all the finalists and winners for their commitment to museums which are truly in the service of society.

Winners in the ServiceIQ 2017 New Zealand Museum Awards

Exhibition Excellence - Art
Te Tuhi - Share/Cheat/Unite
At the leading edge of curatorial practice and exhibition making within Aotearoa and internationally, this project is an example of Te Tuhi being real innovators and risk takers. Pushing their modest size staff and budget to capacity, to achieve an ambitious and responsive exhibition, with programming that reflects current methodology and consciousness around art practice and community.

Exhibition Excellence - Science and Technology
Locales / Stardome Observatory - Stardome Exhibition

The Lego History of Space is innovative and massively popular, bringing space travel to a younger audience. The genius use of Lego created opportunities for audiences to engage through hands-on displays and interactive hydraulic levers. With the world’s most popular toy at the core,
this exhibition is at the interface between toys, science and technology.

Exhibition Excellence - Social History
Nelson Provincial Museum - Murder at Maungatapu
This innovative exhibition focussed on a very specific event, utilising images, re-contextualising objects and information resources held by the Museum. Reaching a younger audience with a range of access points including local history, local artists, theatrical display, digital media and a fascination with murder and CSI type investigations.

Exhibition Excellence - Taonga Māori
Tairāwhiti Museum - Ko Rongwhaakata
The methodology of this series of exhibitions is significant, an exemplar for how hapū and iwi are engaged and empowered throughout the exhibition process. A museum allowing the expert voices within its community to be heard, the community claiming ownership of their taonga and their
museum, and the open-hearted and supportive team at the museum is awe-inspiring.

Most Innovative use of Te Reo Māori
Auckland War Memorial Museum - Mana Aotūroa
An incredibly rich and well thought through programme which has carefully regarded early childhood pedagogies to teach the wonders of natural sciences in Te Reo Māori and incorporating mātauranga Māori elements. 
The educators worked with experts at the museum to develop new language for scientific concepts and models of delivering content, based on collections. This programme has the potential to create aspirations for tamariki to become global leaders in science.

ServiceIQ Museum Visitor Experience Award
Mokau Museum - ‘Save Mokau Museum’

The story of a small museum, run by volunteers endeavouring to save their museum with a strong focus on the visitor. By connecting with the local marae and working with local council and tourism they achieved a lot with very little, using buckets of ingenuity and being very open to input
from others. With nearly 500% increase in visitor numbers, positive feedback and multiple channels undertaken to make the change, this could serve as a model analysis and approach that other volunteer museums could adopt.

Most Innovative Public Programme
Otago Museum - Yoga with the Butterflies
Museum spaces can be used for a variety of purposes, through this unique, innovative and 'out of the box' public programme the visitor experience goes from passive observation to a more involving interaction with the exhibit. 
Yoga as an exercise combines the physical and the spiritual - not areas with which museums regularly get involved. A new and refreshing way to encourage interactions with the butterflies and the space, comments from visitors were outstanding and their responses deep.

The Tote Bag Project
Otago Museum - Yoga with the Butterflies

Museum Project Excellence Award
The Suter - The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Redevelopment Project
The design is visionary and clever, retaining the feeling of the old and a connection with the gardens, keeping the essence of what was there before, and adding modern elements. A very innovative refresh, adding a new state of the art storage centre and other facilities to create multiple uses and welcoming spaces. The redevelopment not only involved community, but gave them a sense of ownership. This 20-year project shows perseverance and commitment to building a legacy, aiming for the future.

Museum Shops Association of Australia & New Zealand - Best New Range (new award)
Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum - Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa
The range presents a wide variety of price points and product types, catering to a broad range of customers. All products have been produced using suppliers local to Auckland where possible, or at the least within New Zealand. 
Environmental consciousness has been recognised through the
use of organic and unbleached fabrics. Very clear and cohesive design with minimalistic black and white style across all products. The work of producing a CD specific to the exhibition is a great innovation in the industry and the clear process to establish credits to the musicians is commended. The relevance of the exhibition merchandise to the museum and the exhibition is clear, and the many artists and musicians donating fees back to the museum shows community support for the initiative.

Arts Access Aotearoa Museum Award (new award)
Te Manawa - NOA Open Studio and Inspired by
NOA Open Studio demonstrates a commitment to open access for all, proudly putting this front and centre at Te Manawa. Inspired By takes this a step further by giving otherwise unseen and unheard creative voices professional curation and high-quality exposure as an integrated part of the exhibition programme. These projects are the product of an ongoing commitment to inclusion across Te Manawa - from governance to front of house staff, fully embracing community ownership of the museum. 

Images: Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Redevelopment Project (top), The Lego History of Space at the Stardome Observatory (middle) and Mokau Museum (below).

16th May 2017 - 2017 MUSEUM AWARDS FINALISTS COVER NEW ZEALAND’S SOCIAL DIVERSITY

28th April 2017 - WAIKATO MUSEUM RECOGNISED FOR TOURISM EXCELLENCE

21st May 2016 - CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY WEBSITE SCOOPS MAJOR MUSEUMS AWARD

22nd March 2016 - MUSEUMS AOTEAROA AND MUSEUMS AUSTRALIA COMBINE TO STAGE FIRST EVER JOINT CONFERENCE 

2nd July 2015 - 2015 NEW ZEALAND MUSEUM AWARDS RECOGNISE A YEAR OF COMMEMORATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS

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