Thematic studies and regional surveys

Thematic studies and regional surveys of collections are important ways of collaborating across domain and collection boundaries to identify significant items and analyse the strengths, weaknesses and omissions in collections that share a common theme or geography. This facilitates more strategic collecting, coordinated planning for collections and many other exhibition and promotional initiatives.

Significance assessment is used within these cross-collection projects to better document and understand the importance of items and collections, to build skills among participants in the project, to support a case for enhanced funding, and to communicate the meanings of the items and collections in exhibitions, publications and online.

Thematic studies and regional surveys use themes as a framework to analyse the scope of collections and to identify gaps and omissions. Historical themes are tools to analyse collections and places. These themes are generally drawn from the contextual history, commissioned as part of the study. In regional surveys the themes may come out of a heritage study of the district, or they may be from the thematic frameworks used by state or national heritage agencies. As analytical tools they are used in a different way from themes used for interpretation in an exhibition.

Thematic studies in the Hastings, NSW

Collecting organisations in the Port Macquarie Hastings region on the mid-north coast of NSW are using thematic studies to collaborate on collection analysis and interpretation in projects that link museums, heritage places, the Regional Gallery and history, heritage and community groups. The thematic studies are undertaken with the support of Council and the regional museum curator.

Cover of thematic study: Her Story — a collection of women’s stories, places and objects in the Hastings, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, 2008.

Reproduced courtesy of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.

Her Story explored women’s places and items and culminated in a series of linked exhibitions and a book revealing the often hidden history of women in the Hastings.[1] Other thematic studies include timber and the agricultural history and collections of the region.

[1] L Gillroy & D Sommers (eds), Her Story: a collection of women’s stories, places and objects in the Hastings, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Port Macquarie, NSW, 2008.