Ruins of the Garden Palace after the fire, 1882 (State Library of NSW, SPF / 273, Digital Order No. a089273)
The final in a series of three symposia, Spot Fire 3: Loss and resilience is a Kaldor Public Art Projects and Australian Museum event, curated by Ross Gibson, Centenary Professor of Creative and Cultural Research, University of Canberra, and Jonathan Jones, in anticipation of the 32nd Kaldor Public Art Project, Jonathan Jones’s barrangal dyara (skin and bones), which will transform the site of the historic Garden Palace in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden from 17 September to 3 October 2016.
When the grand Garden Palace burned down in 1882, vast stores of archival and cultural material were lost, including an ethnological collection assembled by the Australian Museum – a loss that is felt to this day. But out of the void, new modes of display and public cultural engagement developed and Sydney began to recover. The burning palace was generative too, causing the growth of several fledgling organisations that may well have failed to emerge if the great centralised vision of the post-exhibition palace had managed to prevail. Spot Fire 3: Loss and resilience will celebrate the resilience of the many cultures impacted by the Garden Palace fire, showing how communities can heal and then find ways to thrive after catastrophe.
When: Saturday 6 August 2016, 10am-4pm
Where: Hallstrom Theatre, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney
Find out more: This event is FREE, and bookings are essential. Contact Kaldor Public Art Projects, antonia@kaldorartprojects.org.au or 9351 1180. For more information, see the Kaldor Public Art Projects website.
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