Dr Anna Edmundson

MPhil Oxon, PHD ANU
Lecturer, Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
T: 0403 980 884

Areas of expertise

  • Museum Studies 210204
  • Curatorial And Related Studies 2102
  • Visual Cultures 190104
  • Social And Cultural Anthropology 160104
  • Historical Studies 2103

Biography

My work involves connecting communities, archives and objects (predominantly in Australia and Papua New Guinea) across a wide range of disciplinary fields including heritage and museum studies, history, visual anthropology, digital humanities and curatorial practice.

 

Researcher's projects

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, 2013 - 2014

Exhibition Curatorship:

Piksa Inap Tok (pictures can talk): Recent Art from PNG, School of Art and Design Gallery, Australian National University, 16 Sept – 18 October, 2019

Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, 2004 –ongoing

Geraldton Midwest Gallery, Geraldton Museum, WAM, 2003 – ongoing

70% Urban: Exploring urban Aboriginal cultures, National Museum of Australia, 30 March 2007 – 10 March 2008

Dhari a Krar: Masks and Headdresses from the Torres Strait, National Museum of Australia, 15 July 2006 – 8 July 2011

Goolarri: Indigenous media in Australia, National Museum of Australia, 11 October 2005 – 8 June 2011

Pooaraar: The art of Bevan Hayward, National Museum of Australia, 30 June 2005 – 15 June 2006 (toured nationally 2006-7)

Wandjina - Bringers of Rain, Western Australian Museum, 1 September 2003 – 15 January 2004

Bardipwarrang An / Stories to Tell: Laurel Nannup , Perth International Arts Festival, 6 January –  20 April 2003

Sojourners to Settlers: Chinese Migrations to Western Australia, Western Australian Museum (in conjunction with the Chung Wah Historical Association), 22 September – 1 December 2002

Paintings by Punmu Kids, WAM, 19 October – 13 November 2002

Wagyl: Andrea Williams, WAM & Perth International Arts Festival, 26 January – 18 February 2002

Shedding Skin: Australian Asylum Seekers, Western Australian Museum, 15 March – 12 April, 2002

Designs on Silk: Tidda Lauree, Western Australian Museum,  May– July 5 2002
Nyoongar Kadadjiny Kulark Kart Art , Western Australian Museum, 8  July – 4 September 2002

WA: Land and People, Western Australian Museum, 2000-ongoing, permanent

Behind the Mask, (supported by the National Youth Festival for the Centenary of Federation), Western Australian Museum, 17 September – 1 October 2001

From the Past to the Present: Julie Weekes, Western Australian Museum, 26 July – 29 October 2001
Thurdu / Wildflowers: Christine Latham, Western Australian Museum, 26 April - 23 July 2001

Wanderlust, Museum of Sydney, 1998-1999

Adorned: Traditional Jewellery and Body Decoration from Australia and the Pacifc, Macleay Museum, University of Sydney 1998 – 2001

 

 

Piksa Inap Tok (pictures can talk): Recent Art from PNG, School of Art and Design Gallery, Australian National University, 16 Sept – 18 October, 2019 (upcoming)

Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, 2004 –ongoing

Geraldton Midwest Gallery, Geraldton Museum, WAM, 2003 – ongoing

70% Urban: Exploring urban Aboriginal cultures, National Museum of Australia, 30 March 2007 – 10 March 2008

Dhari a Krar: Masks and Headdresses from the Torres Strait, National Museum of Australia, 15 July 2006 – 8 July 2011

Goolarri: Indigenous media in Australia, National Museum of Australia, 11 October 2005 – 8 June 2011

Pooaraar: The art of Bevan Hayward, National Museum of Australia, 30 June 2005 – 15 June 2006 (toured nationally 2006-7)

Wandjina - Bringers of Rain, Western Australian Museum, 1 September 2003 – 15 January 2004

Bardipwarrang An / Stories to Tell: Laurel Nannup , Perth International Arts Festival, 6 January –  20 April 2003

Sojourners to Settlers: Chinese Migrations to Western Australia, Western Australian Museum (in conjunction with the Chung Wah Historical Association), 22 September – 1 December 2002

Paintings by Punmu Kids, WAM, 19 October – 13 November 2002


Wagyl: Andrea Williams, WAM & Perth International Arts Festival, 26 January – 18 February 2002

Shedding Skin: Australian Asylum Seekers, Western Australian Museum, 15 March – 12 April, 2002

Designs on Silk: Tidda Lauree, Western Australian Museum,  May– July 5 2002
Nyoongar Kadadjiny Kulark Kart Art , Western Australian Museum, 8  July – 4 September 2002

WA: Land and People, Western Australian Museum, 2000-ongoing, permanent

Behind the Mask, (supported by the National Youth Festival for the Centenary of Federation), Western Australian Museum, 17 September – 1 October 2001

From the Past to the Present: Julie Weekes, Western Australian Museum, 26 July – 29 October 2001
Thurdu / Wildflowers: Christine Latham, Western Australian Museum, 26 April - 23 July 2001

Wanderlust, Museum of Sydney, 1998-1999

Adorned: Traditional Jewellery and Body Decoration from Australia and the Pacifc, Macleay Museum, University of Sydney 1998 – 2001

Past student projects

Doctor of Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Cross-Cultural Research program, research thesis “For Science, Salvage, and State: Official Collecting in Colonial New Guinea”, 100,000 word, Australian National University (ANU) 2013- The thesis examined a unique colonial collection assembled between 1907 and 1938 by government officers of the Australian administration of the Territory of Papua. Known as the ‘Papuan Official Collection’, it represents the first instance in the Anglophone world where a colonial government made ethnographic collecting a requisite duty of its field officers. The story of the ‘Papuan Official Collection’ and its formation, interpretation, and display over the course of the twentieth century, provides an excellent case study for examining the shifting relationship between colonialism, collecting and museums, across the colonial and postcolonial eras.

M.Phil. Oxford University. (Ethnology & Museum Ethnography), 1996- 60,000 word thesis submitted trinity term 1996. Thesis title: Tourist Art and Tribal Images. The thesis examined the impact of European discourses on authenticity and 'tribal' art in Borneo – and how these ideas have infiltrated and influenced contemporary Dayak art production and art markets.

Publications

Projects and Grants

Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.

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Updated:  29 March 2024 / Responsible Officer:  Director (Research Services Division) / Page Contact:  Researchers