My two-cents worth on the current topic

New South Wales is an amazingly culturally diverse society, representing
well over 100 different ethnic and language groups - more if you consider
each different Aboriginal tribal group.  Despite hiccups like the horrible
Pauline Hanson (a deeply racist red-neck independent politician in Federal
parliament), we mostly manage to respect and work with one another.  Our
state has a Charter of Principles for a Culturally Diverse Society, and it
is incumbent on all institutions, including, of course, museums, to work
within its statement of principles.  The Charter is a reworking of a
long-standing policy, and the Powerhouse Museum's commitment to its
principles in terms of access, collection policy, staffing, exhibitions and
public programs goes back to the late 70s.

Principles for a culturally diverse society

1.  All individuals in NSW should have the greatest possible opportunity to
contribute to, and participate in, all levels of public life.

2.  All individuals and public institutions should respect and accommodate
the culture, language and religion of others within an Australian legal and
institutional framework where English is the primary language

3.  All individuals should have the greatest possible opportunity to make
use of and participate in relevant activities and programs provided and/or
administered by NSW government institutions.

4.  All NSW public institutions should recognise the linguistic and cultural
assets in the NSW population as a valuable resource and utilise and promote
this resource to maximise the development of the state.

Nobody's perfect, and nothing happens without debate, but on the whole I
think we've done fairly well. - Special events such as the Festival of
Australian-Asian artists, Salaam, Sydney and Shalom, Sydney, exhibitions
such as Pirating the Pacific and the Pacific Islander cultural festival that
went with it,  the new Asian gallery, Community access exhibitions such as
Migrants from the Mountains featuring the lives and arts of the Hmong people
 - to mention a few recent examples.  Contemporary Aboriginal work is well
represented in the Decorative Arts collection (especially textiles), as is
the work of many other talented NSW craftspeople of all kinds of origins -
even American.  (couldn't resist that).

Diversity as an issue, and debate on how to make it happen is an on-going,
and sometimes acrimonious rather than sanctimonious part of every museum
conference and symposium I've ever attended - as it should be.  Nice to see
it turning up on Daemon.

Heleanor
Sydney Mint Museum (a branch of the Powerhouse)
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