MONTHLY OPEN DAY
The Gentle Arts ‘Textiles’
Saturday 14 November
10.00am—4.00pm
Join us on Saturday 14th November when the Powerhouse Discovery Centre presents an Open Day celebrating the ‘gentle arts’, focused on embroidery, quilting and needlework in the Powerhouse Museum’s collection. Highlights of the Open Day include; a lecture by Powerhouse Museum Conservator, Suzanne Chee, on textile preservation and how to display needlework; displays and demonstrations of fine embroidery and patchwork quilting and a hands-on workshop where visitors can take part in embroidering a convict bonnet as part of the ‘Roses from the Heart’ convict bonnet project, developed by Tasmanian artist, Christina Henri. Visitors can also spend time in the Centre’s Collection Lab to view a selection of quilt panels from the Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt Project and meet some of the Discovery Centre volunteers involved in the conservation of the quilts. The Discovery Centre Open Day in December (Saturday 12th December) will complement the November theme of The Gentle Arts with more displays and demonstrations celebrating creativity and design through porcelain and ceramics.
OPEN DAY PROGRAM
ILLUSTRATED LECTURE
Care and Display of Your Treasured Textiles
11.30am (Duration: 30 minutes)
Presented by Suzanne Chee, Powerhouse Museum Conservator
Suzanne Chee has been a conservator specialising in textiles at the Powerhouse Museum for many years. Find out more about how to store, display and care for textiles such as samplers and treasured garments, as well as how to choose materials for your textile-based works and the preparation required for displaying these works in a variety of ways, including mounting needlework and displaying 3-dimensional works. FREE with General Admission.
FUN FOR KIDS & FAMILIES
How to Make an Australian Quilt: A Cut-and-Paste Activity
10.00am—2.00pm
Young visitors can use their creative design skills to make and create a paper quilt block, inspired by the fabric arts on display at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre this open day. Using patterned, plain or recycled papers, children will learn how squares, triangles, rectangles or circles come together to form beautiful patterns such as ‘Red Star’, ‘Four in Block’ or ‘Bow Tie’, or they can create their own original designs to then be taken home for display. FREE with General Admission.
OBJECT SHORT TALK
The Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt Project
12.30pm
Join Discovery Centre volunteers for an object talk on a selection of quilts made to commemorate loved ones or groups of people who have died of HIV AIDS since 1980. The Quilt documentation project started at the Discovery Centre in October 2007 as preparation for permanent storage and future display on a rotational basis at the Centre. The volunteers will speak about the interesting use of materials, the making of the quilts and the themes evoked in the creation of these very personal quilt panels. Visitors will have the opportunity to view a selection of the quilts in the Collections Lab from 12.30pm—1.30pm. FREE with General Admission.
DISPLAYS AND DEMONSTRATION
Arcadian Quilters
10.00am—2.00pm
Meet members of the Arcadian Quilters Society as they demonstrate the art of quilting. This group of enthusiastic ladies commenced quilting primarily as a social activity in the early 1990s. They are a non-profit organisation supporting many charities, including the Melanoma Foundation for Cancer Research, Juvenile Diabetes Research, The Galston Community Health Centre and St Vincent De Paul. For the past 13 years, the Arcadian Quilters have hosted an annual quilting show in celebration of Mother’s Day at Swane’s Nursery, Galston, in northwest Sydney. FREE with General Admission.
DISPLAYS AND DEMONSTRATION
The Embroiderers’ Guild NSW Inc.
10.00am—2.00pm
The Embroiderers’ Guild NSW Inc. was formed to promote the practice, study and appreciation of embroidery in all its forms and to encourage excellence by practice and example while maintaining a high standard of excellence in embroidery design and technique. The Embroiderers' Guild NSW Inc. started with a core group of women, led by Margaret Oppen, who established the Guild in Sydney in 1957, as a branch of the London Embroiderers’ Guild. The Embroiderers’ Guild NSW Collection is based in Concord West and includes examples of diverse types and styles of embroidery ranging from the late 1600s to the present, and from all parts of the world, as well as needle-work accessories, tools, embroidery patterns, and books. For our Open Day, members of the NSW Guild will demonstrate and display fine examples of embroidery. FREE with General Admission.
EMBROIDERY WORKSHOP
‘Roses from the Heart’ Convict Bonnet Workshop 10.00am—3.30pm
Tasmanian artist Christina Henri’s project, Roses from the Heart, began in 2005 as a visual expression of the grief experienced by convict women after they were shipped to unknown parts of the world, facing many hardships and receiving little recognition. The project has now grown internationally, with people from the UK, the Republic of Ireland, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Africa, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark and Switzerland taking part in the creation of 25,666 embroidered calico bonnets to symbolise every convict woman transported to Australia. For the Open Day, visitors can embroider a convict bonnet for the project during the workshop. Bonnet kits will be available for purchase with materials or alternatively, the pattern can be downloaded at http://www.rosesfromtheheart.com.au/pattern.pd, and visitors can bring along their own materials and embroider their bonnet during the workshop. Cost of bonnet kits: $9.00 (includes pattern, sewing materials and uncut calico) or $12.00 (includes pattern, sewing materials and finished calico bonnet ready for embroidery). FREE with General Admission.
MUSEUM STORAGE GLIMPSE
Museum Storage Glimpses are FREE with General Admission. As this session is strictly limited to 20 people, pre-booking is strongly recommended (ph: 02 9762 1300). Limited to visitors aged 12 and over. Conditions apply.
Highlights of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Furniture and Music Collections:
10.00am (Duration: 30 minutes)
Led by Discovery Centre volunteer guides, go behind-the-scenes for a sneak peek into collection storage areas not normally accessible to the public. Marvel at Sydney 2000 Olympic Games ceremony costumes and the needlework skills of the makers, Jenny Kee and Lisa Ho and view a selection of objects from both the Museum’s furniture and music collections. FREE with General Admission.
COLLECTION TOUR
The Gentle Arts
10.30am (Duration: 30 minutes)
Led by Discovery Centre volunteer guides, Sandra Dyer and Maggie Habgood, this new tour focuses on the delicate work crafted by Australian women. The tour will include the shell work from the Indigenous women of La Perouse, Miss Goddard’s doll from the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition, Isabel Buist’s early Australian embroidery sampler, Marion Gibson’s crazy patchwork tablecover, and Isabella Murray’s valances and a selection of tea cozies. Bookings not required. FREE with General Admission.
HIGHLIGHTS TOURS
The Display Store:
11.00am or 2.00pm (Duration: 30 minutes)
FREE with General Admission.
STORYBOOK ACTIVITY & DISCOVERY TRAILS
Young visitors can create their own personalised storybook of their visit to the Powerhouse Discovery Centre with stories, drawings and stickers as a souvenir to share with friends and family. Enjoy our self-completion activity trails that take young visitors on a journey of discovery, focused on critters and creatures, wheels or wings in the Display Store. Suitable for visitors 4–10 years. Bookings not required. FREE with General Admission.
FOOD & DRINK: RAVE MOBILE COFFEE
Rave Mobile Coffee provides a full range of fresh speciality espresso coffees, as well as high quality teas, hot chocolate and a range of soft beverages from a professionally trained barista. Fresh, locally produced sandwiches, wraps and warm pastry products including homemade pies, sausage rolls and quiches, and a selection of cakes and snacks will also be available.
Open Day Hours
10.00am—4.00pm
General Admission
$8 adult / $5 concession/ child / seniors and pensioners, $25 family (2 adults + 2 children). Free entry to PHM Members and children under 4.
Parking and Access
On-site parking available. Vehicle and pedestrian entry via 172 Showground Road, Castle Hill.
For further information or to make a booking please contact us on 02 9762 1300.