2024 IMAGinE Award winners recognise exceptional achievements of cultural institutions and individuals

Museums, galleries, and Aboriginal cultural organisations from across New South Wales gathered in Sydney at Paddington Town Hall on 21st November to celebrate the announcement of the 2024 IMAGinE Awards.

This prestigious annual event recognises the exceptional achievements of cultural institutions and individuals, with this year's winners showcasing outstanding excellence in exhibitions, community engagement, and accessibility initiatives.

The IMAGinE Awards are an initiative of Museums & Galleries of NSW, developed with support from the Australian Museums and Galleries Association NSW and Regional and Public Galleries of NSW.

Judges were especially impressed by the strong focus on community engagement, inclusivity, and accessibility - particularly among smaller and regional organisations achieving meaningful outcomes with limited resources.

Brett Adlington, Chief Executive of Museums & Galleries of NSW noted "the IMAGinE Awards continue to celebrate and champion the extraordinary efforts of our cultural sector. The work recognised this year reflects an inspiring commitment to creativity, inclusivity, and community impact, strengthening the cultural landscape of New South Wales and enriching the lives of our communities."

Blue Mountains Cultural Centre secured the winning award for ‘sensorial’ in the category ‘Accessible Arts award for Access and Inclusion’ (Exhibition Projects) - ‘sensorial’ was a fully immersive exhibition designed for and by neurodivergent and disabled creatives, encouraging visitors to engage multiple senses beyond sight through touch and play. With soft furnishings to reduce noise, accessible signage, and trained volunteers, the exhibition aimed to create an inclusive experience. A neurodivergent writer contributed to the catalogue, offering an experiential reflection, while visitors were empowered to nurture their sensory needs.

Hawkesbury Regional Museum was also among the award winners securing recognition for ‘11 Stories From the River Dyarubbin’ in the ‘Engagement’ category. ‘11 Stories From the River Dyarubbin’ was a community engagement project resulting in 11 audio walks that share the river's stories to enhance its care and understanding. Dharug narrators guide the listener through stories from 80+ contributors, underscored with original music, and made available through a collaborative exhibition and website.

Ngununggula, Southern Highlands Regional Gallery secured the award for Exhibition Projects – galleries and visual arts (Small or Volunteer Galleries) for their exhibition ‘New Dog Old Tricks’.  Dogs have been our companions for centuries. For just as long, artists have been drawn to these emotional, complex beings, using them to explore questions of bravery, loyalty, and compassion. New Dog Old Tricks aimed to re-examine these thematic issues and most importantly, to imagine the dog as a key to other worlds.

The Australian Museum won the award for Exhibition Projects – Major Metropolitan Institutions for the temporary exhibition ‘Her Name is Nanny Nellie’ which featured an historical Australian Museum Collection sculpture of a supposedly nameless Aboriginal woman. The Museum collaborated with several members of the sculpture model Nellie Bungil Walker’s family to appropriately reintroduce their Nanny Nellie to the Australian public and reclaim her identity and story.

The IMAGinE Awards highlight the resilience, innovation and creativity of museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural spaces and recognise the people who work in them.

The museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centres of NSW provide historical, contemporary and future context. They tell stories about their communities and reflect on what they might become. Their programs record history and grow ideas; they generate and support creative processes that contribute to economic, social and health related wellbeing. They help build resilient and sustainable communities.

IMAGinE celebrates all institutions and pays homage to those organisations run by volunteers, with limited budgets and minimal resources. These Awards offer a unique opportunity for museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural spaces in NSW to advocate, promote their achievements and raise their profile within the sector and the broader community.

Other award winners included:

EXHIBITION PROJECTS – GALLERIES AND VISUAL ARTS
Medium
New England Regional Art Museum
Fluid Flax
Fluid Flax featured six artists who identify as queer and / or non-binary, working with crafts such as crochet, embroidery, knitting, quilting and textiles. Using techniques historically considered ‘women’s work’, these artists claim space within their mediums and subvert heteronormative assumptions. The exhibition interrogated how these craft techniques are used as explorations of identity, politics, nostalgia, and modes of storytelling.

EXHIBITION PROJECTS – MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE
Volunteer Organisations
Batemans Bay Heritage Museum
A Tale of Two Valves
This exhibition celebrates the oyster fishing history of Bhundoo / the Clyde River, from the Walbunja Yuin people to modern commercial farmers. A Tale of Two Valves uses artefacts, photos, and multimedia to showcase the industry’s cultural significance. By honouring past and present harvesters, the project promotes sustainable practices, strengthens community ties, and highlights the role of oysters in preserving the river’s health and local heritage.

EXHIBITION PROJECTS – MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE
Small Organisations
Tweed Regional Museum
Supertonic
Supertonic showcased the vibrant contemporary music culture of the Northern Rivers through a multi-sensory exhibition featuring augmented reality and interactive elements. With programs like a satellite installation at Splendour in the Grass, the exhibition’s innovative fusion of art, technology, and community engagement redefined the regional museum experience. Achieving a 350% increase in visitation, it set new benchmarks for interactive storytelling.

EXHIBITION PROJECTS – MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE
Medium Organisations
Yarrila Arts and Museum
Yaamanga Around Here
Yaamanga Around Here is a permanent exhibition exploring the history and identity of the Coffs Coast through themes of place, community and belonging, with Gumbaynggirr culture at its heart. It features hundreds of historical artefacts, photographs, artworks and digital media from Yarrila Arts and Museum’s collections. The exhibition invites visitors to deep dive into local stories that are surprising, thought provoking, playful and inspiring.

ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Medium Organisations
Wagga Wagga Art Gallery
Green 2023: Year of Environmental Exhibitions and Programs
Green 2023 – Year of Environmental Exhibitions and Programs positioned the gallery and contemporary artists at the forefront of community reflection and discussion on the climate induced environmental challenges we face as an agricultural region, and as a global community. This program was delivered through innovative, integrated programming and extensive community partnerships.

ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Large Organisations
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Blacktown Arts
Lifting the Tapu
Lifting the Tapu engaged Blacktown’s diverse Pasifika community members in a partnership project that sought to address the importance of kinship to intergenerational healing and wellbeing. Artist Greg Semu worked with community members to create a large-scale photographic, video and sound installation presented at Dawson Mall, Mount Druitt.

ACCESSIBLE ARTS AWARD FOR ACCESS AND INCLUSION
Engagement Projects
Gosford Regional Gallery
Studio Gossie
Studio Gossie is an inclusive arts program that provided local Central Coast artists with disability a safe space to develop their skills and learn professional practices. Culminating in the Here and Now exhibition, the program emphasised accessibility through inclusive exhibition design, accessible paths, and artist statements at varied heights. Artists were also supported with audio statements and opportunities to speak at public events, promoting inclusivity and professional development.

View all award winners and highly commended at mgnsw.org.au/sector/programs/imagine/winners/winners-2024/

Image top: Credit: IMAGinE Awards; Image below credit: Blue Mountains Cultural Centre