News
Remembering ICOM 98
It's the 20th anniversary of the year when ICOM came to town, so let’s party! The 18th General Conference of ICOM was held in Melbourne in October 1998. Victoria was without gas because of an accident at the Longford plant, so many of us were up early to boil kettles for morning ablutions, and guests in some hotels found jugs or bowls of hot water outside their doors with the morning paper.
There were optional pre- and post-conference tours and an official Excursion Day for all delegates. There was also a ‘fringe’ seminar for students, new graduates and emerging practitioners. Lots of memories!
All people in the museum sector with an interest in ICOM — whether members or not — are warmly invited to attend a party (drinks & nibbles) on Wednesday 28 November 2018, from 6.30 to 8.30 pm, at the Savage Club in Melbourne. Information and bookings 
National Museum of Brazil fire
A devastating fire has destroyed the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Housed in the former Imperial palace of São Cristóvão since 1902, the museum was celebrating its 200-year anniversary this year.
It appears that the majority of the Museum's invaluable collection of natural history, mineralogical, paleontological, archaeological, ethnographic, and documentary collections has been destroyed.
Message of support
The Australian Committee of ICOM wishes to express its deepest sympathy and support for our colleagues at the National Museum of Brazil, following the terrible news of the devastating fire that consumed the National Museum of Brazil. The international museum community is stunned and saddened.
The facts before us are horrifying: Brazil’s oldest and most distinguished museum, situated in the former Imperial palace of São Cristóvão, celebrating its 200 year anniversary, destroyed along with its extraordinary and unique collections of some 20 million specimens and artefacts.
We wish to offer our heartfelt support to our international colleagues and the people of Brazil, a country that has, as a result of this fire lost, not only an integral part of its heritage and identity, but something of its soul.
This event is, literally, every museum worker’s worst nightmare: To our colleagues in Rio, and to all the Brazilian people, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Can you help?
There were over 20 million objects inside the National Museum of Brazil. Did you take a photo of any of them? Help preserve the memories of as many as we can and add them to WikiCommons. Here's how to do it from your desktop:
Conference news
Facing the new political realities: rethinking training for regional museums
(Auckland and Wellington, 4-9 November 2018)
Aotearoa New Zealand is hosting a joint conference of two ICOM groups. The International Committee for Regional Museums (ICR) and the International Committee for the Training of Personnel (ICTOP) have joined forces to consider how best to prepare those working in and with regional museums to manage their museums in constantly changing political environments. Australian colleagues are warmly invited to participate in the conference. Registrations are now open. More information
Cultural heritage: transition and transformation
ICEE-ICFA annual conference
(Spain, 11-17 November 2018)
A seven-day joint conference bringing together members of the International Committee for Exhibition Exchange (ICEE) and the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Fine Arts (ICFA) with museum and exhibition professionals from all over the world to explore the challenges and opportunities facing museum professionals in the presentation of cultural heritage in today’s complex cultural economy. The conference is a part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Conference information
At the centre: our people, our places, our practices
Museums Galleries Australia National Conference
(Alice Springs [Mparntwe], 13-17 May 2019)
Combining elements of recent conferences that focused on Museums and galleries in their cultural landscapes (Brisbane 2017) and Museums and galleries as agents of change (Melbourne 2018), in 2019 Museums Galleries Australia travels to the geographical centre of the nation to tackle some of the biggest thematic areas that occupy much of the national conversation. More information
For past ICOM Australia news and e-bulletins see:
For more news see ICOM international's newsletter:
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