Revealed! Treasures from the Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery Collections

Our latest exhibition Revealed! Treasures from the Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery Collections officially opened to the public last week. Over 60 guests enjoyed the event, including a fascinating speech from ABC presenter, author, and collector Claudia Chan Shaw. Claudia, who describes herself an 'obsessive collector', has written a book entitled Collectomania : from objects of desire to magnificent obsession.

Also, check out what the staff from Museums & Galleries NSW had to say about the opening.

Don't worry if you missed the event. We have many other events and activities coming up including:

Kids Activity

Be a museum detective
Get your detective investigation book from the Museum & Gallery service desk and explore the exhibition. There are many questions to answer and mysteries to solve. Available anytime during exhibition opening hours. Free activity.

Museum & Gallery Talks

Join us for a series of exciting talks exxploring the theme collecting, collectors and collections. Free events, bookings essential on 9330 6444.

Sunday 3 March, 3.00pm - 4.00pm
Michael Lea
Curator, Powerhouse Museum
Collecting collections - the Clements Cabinets at the Powerhouse Museum

Sunday 24 March, 3.00pm - 4.00pm
Dr Birgit Heilmann
Curator, Hurstville Museum & Gallery
Holy relics turn into history - the different lives of objects

Sunday 7 April, 3.00 - 4.00pm
Michael Vardakis
Pottery collector
My pottery collection

Seniors Week Program

Revealed! Show and Tell
Monday 11 March, 2.00pm - 3.15pm
Free event, bookings essential
Discover artefacts, oddities and treasures at the Revealed! exhibition. Join the curator and hear the stories of a selection of items from the exhibition, followed by show and tell with your own objects. Participants are asked to bring an interesting item of their own to discuss with the group. Afternoon tea provided. Bookings on 9330 6444.

Workshops

Make your own time capsule
Sunday 10 March, 2.30pm - 4.30pm
Ages: 15 to adult
Cost: $10.00
Bookings essential
Learn about time capsules and what they are used for and then make your own. Time capsules are a great way to mark a special family celebration. Bring some items to put in your time capsule, e.g. photographs, newspaper cuttings, special mementos.

Model Making
Saturday 13 April, 10.30am - 12.30pm
Ages: 7 - 14
Cost: $5.00
Bookings essential
See what interesting designs you can makeout of simple craft items.

Exhibition Finale
Sunday 14 April, 2.30pm - 4.30pm
All welcome, free event, bookings recommended
Don't miss your last chance to see the Revealed! exhibition. Come and have your afternoon coffee at the Museum & Gallery. Our staff will be on hand to give you insights into some of the objects on display.

Call 9330 6444 or email us to book.

Design for the new Green Square Library

rh.

DVDs Coming Soon

The following list of DVD titles will be available for loan very soon. 

Drama:

Beasts of the Southern Wild - award winning drama from Sundance and Cannes
Arbitrage - nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama - Richard Gere; Official selection 2012 Sundance Film Festival
Ruby Sparks - Romantic Comedy starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan
The Mambo Kings - a musical originally produced in 1992, starring Armande Assante, Antonio Banderas and Cathy Moriarty.

Documentaries:

Parky's Picks - Michael Parkinson's personal selection chosen from a career spanning over a 40 years

Kingdom of Plants: David Attenborough

A Path To Happiness: a guide to living a balanced life - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

On Life & Enlightenment: principles of Buddhism with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and renowned spiritual leaders.

Keep checking this space for more exciting DVD titles arriving soon.

Author Talk Boyd Anderson

Penshurst Branch Library will be the venue for an evening with  author Boyd Anderson who will discuss his fourth novel, Amber Road set in colonial Singapore during the cataclysmic final months of World War 11. Resonating with intrigue, romance and suspense and written on the grand scale of a Gone with the Wind, Amber Road tells the story of Victoria Khoo a young woman of indomitable spirit who comes of age during the cruel occupation of Singapore by the Japanese.  This evening is a must for fans of historical fiction and anyone interested in a behind the  scenes glimpse into  the writing process.

Boyd spent several years as a creative director in advertising, winning many awards in New York, Cannes, London, Los Angeles and Sydney. His other books are Children of the Dust, Ludo and the intrigingly named Errol, Fidel and the Cuban Rebel Girls

"For me, historical fact provides a strong backbone for a compelling narrative; compelling because it lends a degree of immediate plausibility." Boyd Anderson in an interview  reviewer Scott Whitmont

Wednesday 27 February @ 6pm

Penshurst Branch Library

630 Forest Road, Penshurst

Free event: Bookings 9330 6422

Copies of book for sale & signing

Free Online Music Collection Top Ten

Take a look at our free online music collection, Freegal.  You will be surprised at the variety of songs, artists and genre's available.
If you are a library member you are entitled to 3 free music downloads per week.  Find Freegal via the library website.  To log on type in your library card number and your pin number. 

For more information see one of our friendly staff at the Service Desk who will gladly assist you.

Freegal Top Ten Downloads

1. Suit & Tie (featuring Jayz) - Justin Timberlake
2. Hall of Fame - The Script
3. Try - Pink
4. Troublemaker - Olly Murs featuring Flo Rida
5. Best Night - Justice Crew
6. Just Give Me A Reason  - Pink
7. Wish You Were Here - Avril Lavigne
8. What You've Done To Me - Samantha Jade
9. Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig van Beethoven
10. Walking On Air (featuring Snoop Dogg & Bella Blue) - Anise

School Tragedy Reignites Debate over Gun Control in the United States

Source: ZORNICK, G 2013, 'Walmart: America's No. 1 Gun Source', Nation, 296, 1/2, pp. 15-20, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 February 2013.

Imagine walking into a retail chain store such as K-mart and being able to purchase a semiautomatic assault weapon. In Australia, we cannot do this, but in the United States, the retail chain store Walmart, is now the biggest seller of firearms and ammunition in the United States.¹

In the wake of the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, the issue of gun control is once more under debate in the United States. The US has the highest ranking of guns per capita, with an estimated 310 million firearms in US civilian circulation.² The percentage of US households with a gun in January 2013 was 49%.³

The fallout from the proliferation of these weapons is apparent - there were over 32,163 gun-related deaths (includes murder, suicide and other) in the US in 2011.⁴ While there is increased public support for new weapons regulation, there is also staunch opposition to gun control, in particular, from the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA).⁵

To read more about this important issue, login to Ebsco’s Australian/New Zealand Reference Centre, from home or in the library, with your library card’s barcode.

Rayyan

References
 1 ZORNICK, G 2013, 'Walmart: America's No. 1 Gun Source', Nation, 296, 1/2, pp. 15-20, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 February 2013.

2 SCHERED, M 2013, 'THE NEXT GUN FIGHT. (cover story)', Time, 181, 3, pp. 24-33, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 February 2013.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

Lunar New Year: One Celebration, Many Traditions

Exhibition on show 2 February – 3 March 2013

Next time you’re at the Museum & Gallery, make sure you take a look at our new exhibition Lunar New Year: One Celebration, Many Traditions. This exhibition looks at the symbols, customs and traditions of Lunar New Year across Asia. While you’re there, don’t forget to write a greeting, message or wish for our Lunar New Year tree.

January School Holidays at the Museum & Gallery

Take a look at the ‘crazy critters’ created as part of our Hands On clay and plaster school holiday program. As you can see, the kids were able to get creative with a range of materials including terra cotta clay, air dry magic clay, plaster, and paint.

Hurstville Museum & Gallery runs a range of school holiday programs for children aged 5 – 12 years, with additional activities for high school students aged 12 – 18 years. Contact us for more information, or if you’d like to make a suggestion for other activities you’d like to see run at Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

Revealed! Treasures from the Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery Collections

Discover artefacts, oddities and treasures as
Hurstville Museum & Gallery opened the vaults to reveal items from its historical collections.

The exhibition will be on show from 2 February - 14 April 2013.

The items on display in this exhibition come from a collection which began in the 1970s, when the Hurstville Historical Society started gathering objects relating to the history of the local area.

Official Exhibition Opening

Join us for the official exhibition opening on Friday 15 February 2013, 6.00pm for 6.30pm.

ABC TV Show Collectors presenter and fashion designer Claudia Chan Shaw will present her new book Collectomania.

Free event, bookings: 9330 6444 or museumgallery@hurstville.nsw.gov.au

Hurstville Museum & Gallery
14 MacMahon Street, Hurstville

Look out for our exciting programs and events about collectors, collecting and collections.