The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts ....The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts infrastructure. This study is of regional benefit and will interest art and cultural historians and policy-makers in heritage management, cultural policy and cultural tourism. The outcomes will include a major book and a database of archival sources.Read moreRead less
Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy in Australia: an analysis of the influences on Australian literature of British and Australian publishing. Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy is concerned with the complex relationship between colonialism and nationalism within the context of Australia as a settler society and involves an exploration of the powerful but complicated interplay between literature, law and commerce as expressed through the production of the Australian novel. The pr ....Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy in Australia: an analysis of the influences on Australian literature of British and Australian publishing. Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy is concerned with the complex relationship between colonialism and nationalism within the context of Australia as a settler society and involves an exploration of the powerful but complicated interplay between literature, law and commerce as expressed through the production of the Australian novel. The project proceeds from an assumption that for much of the twentieth century literature was the flagship of national creativity in an industry worth around $1 billion pa at century's end. From that perspective, it engages directly with the cultural capital and heritage of the nation.Read moreRead less
Fathers and Friends: Patronage and Patriarchy in Renaissance Florence. This study of patronage and patriarchy in Renaissance Florence, analysing social networks and structures and the relationship between politics, the state, personal behaviour and cultural innovation, addresses issues central to understanding how cultures are constructed. Since the entwined structures and discourses of power, state, and culture that shaped our nation were laid down in Renaissance Europe, the quality of life in ....Fathers and Friends: Patronage and Patriarchy in Renaissance Florence. This study of patronage and patriarchy in Renaissance Florence, analysing social networks and structures and the relationship between politics, the state, personal behaviour and cultural innovation, addresses issues central to understanding how cultures are constructed. Since the entwined structures and discourses of power, state, and culture that shaped our nation were laid down in Renaissance Europe, the quality of life in our multi-cultural communities, the negotiation of our changing relation to the global community, and current public discussions about philanthropy and the investment of cultural capital would benefit from this project, which will add to Australia's investment in international research at the highest level.Read moreRead less
From Sarah Wills Howe to Thomas Wentworth Wills: An Australian Family Biography. This project will be the first biographical study of the Wills family, a significant yet forgotten colonial family. Across three generations, from 1798 to 1880, the project will use the innovations and insights of family biography to reassess key turning points in Australian history in which the Wills family figured prominently. From the economic success of its matriarch Sarah Wills, to the tragic decline and suicid ....From Sarah Wills Howe to Thomas Wentworth Wills: An Australian Family Biography. This project will be the first biographical study of the Wills family, a significant yet forgotten colonial family. Across three generations, from 1798 to 1880, the project will use the innovations and insights of family biography to reassess key turning points in Australian history in which the Wills family figured prominently. From the economic success of its matriarch Sarah Wills, to the tragic decline and suicide of her grandson, the sublimely gifted sportsman Tom Wills, the project will bring a new perspective to those years. Through the illustrative capacity of family biography this project will not only uncover some forgotten historical figures but will also offer new interpretations of critical aspects of Australian colonial history.Read moreRead less
Minutes of Evidence project: promoting new and collaborative ways of understanding Australia's past and engaging with structural justice. Bringing together researchers, theatre performers and education experts, this project heightens awareness of Australian history and sparks public conversations within, and between, Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, placing Australia at the forefront of international ways of addressing the questions of structural justice and reconciliation.
Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will incre ....Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will increase community awareness of how stage comedians during and after the First World War focused these tendencies into a distinctive emphasis on the comedy of everyday experience, and on maintaining a tough-minded optimism in adversity. Read moreRead less
The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples ....Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples illustrates complex and changing ideas about relationships between the sexes. Equally complex are depictions of the goddess, androgynous figures such as the form of Shiva as half male, half female, and same sex partnerships. Expected outcomes are a major publication, a symposium and an exhibition.Read moreRead less
Popular Cultures and Social Change: Case Studies from Rural Queensland. Two APAI students will study patterns of popular cultural participation and performance in rural/regional Queensland based on selected case studies. The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Queensland Museum and the State Library of Queensland. Two independent but complementary PhD topics will analyse contrasting forms of popular culture and contrasting rural/regional places across periods of major social cha ....Popular Cultures and Social Change: Case Studies from Rural Queensland. Two APAI students will study patterns of popular cultural participation and performance in rural/regional Queensland based on selected case studies. The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Queensland Museum and the State Library of Queensland. Two independent but complementary PhD topics will analyse contrasting forms of popular culture and contrasting rural/regional places across periods of major social change in the 1960s-70s and 1990s-present. The research will examine the major dynamics affecting old and new forms of popular culture in rural/regional Queensland and the role of popular cultures in identity and community building.Read moreRead less
Multicultural Australia in national and state libraries. This project aims to develop strategies to assist major Australian libraries to enhance their library collections of histories of Australia as a multicultural nation. The project will develop a new methodology for evaluating multicultural collections, and new policies and strategies to develop and provide access to these collections. Benefits will include enhanced understanding of Australia’s history and heritage, and Australia’s identity ....Multicultural Australia in national and state libraries. This project aims to develop strategies to assist major Australian libraries to enhance their library collections of histories of Australia as a multicultural nation. The project will develop a new methodology for evaluating multicultural collections, and new policies and strategies to develop and provide access to these collections. Benefits will include enhanced understanding of Australia’s history and heritage, and Australia’s identity as a multicultural nation.Read moreRead less