GOLD

Alan Pert, Andrew Simpson and Michelle Smith

GOLD is an extension of the 33rd Annual SAHANZ Conference theme of 2016. The theme will be explored in the context of Ballarat and in partnership with the Gold Museum.

“GOLD, for millennia, has fascinated humanity and possessed an extraordinary value amongst most civilizations. It was the favoured ultimate currency in many cultures and served as the signal form of capital: both its accumulation and its waste. It was the catalyst of wars, and constituted its spoils. Gold is the adjective to describe mythical lands: for Marco Polo, Japan was ‘Zipangu, the Land of Gold’. There have been venerated building types celebrating religious and cultural beliefs like ‘golden’ temples and ‘golden’ houses like Nero’s Domus Aurea. There have been buildings to protect gold, buildings, which openly display it. In art and architectural historiography, there have been ‘golden’ periods and ‘golden ages’. Gold is about luxury, glamour and excess. It also has as its direct opposite objects of no value, things that might be described as worthless”. Philip Goad

Ballarat is arguably the most significant Victorian era Gold rush boomtown in Australia. Opened in 1978, the Gold Museum cares for around 150,000 items, covering a diverse range of collections from mining and military history through to costume and photography. The studio will focus on regenerating and renewing an emblematic site at the heart of Australian history, which is presently occupied by the Gold Museum. Students are invited to explore the sub-themes and papers produced for SAHANZ 2016.

Studio Leaders:

Alan Pert, Andrew Simpson in partnership with Michelle Smith, Senior Curator and Manager of the Gold Museum.

ST1/01 Wednesday 12pm - 3pm, Boyd House
ST2/01 Wednesday 4pm - 7pm, Boyd House

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