Dubbo Regional Council's Old Dubbo Gaol secured an award at the 2022 IMAGinE awards, by taking out a win in the 'Exhibition Projects – Museums – Medium' category for their Upgrade Stage 1 of the Gallows Gallery.
The awards presentation took place at Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum last night, on Thursday, 24 November 2022.
The IMAGinE awards highlight the resilience, innovation and creativity of museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centres, raise their profile within the sector and the broader community, and recognise the people who work in them.
Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council, Councillor Mathew Dickerson is pleased about this achievement. "After a Silver win at the NSW Tourism Awards earlier this month, winning a Museums & Galleries of NSW IMAGinE award is another fantastic achievement for the passionate team at the Old Dubbo Gaol," he said.
"Dubbo Regional Council has been managing the state heritage site since 1973 and has invested significantly in maintenance and upgrades through Council funds and NSW grant funding, to ensure it remains one of the Dubbo region's favourite places. The Stage 1 Upgrade consisted of the restoration and conservation of the site's authenticity while modernising its infrastructure and exhibition spaces, including an upgrade of the Gallows Gallery," Councillor Dickerson stated.
Jane Bassingthwaighte, Director of Community Culture and Places said "We are excited about this win in recognition for the significant upgrades completed at the Gallows Gallery, transforming it into a state-of-the-art exhibition space. I would like to congratulate the team and thank them for their dedication to the Old Dubbo Gaol."
"The upgrades included innovative interpretive design, conservation, landscaping work, and free-standing signage systems. The developments also incorporated the reuse of gaol buildings and spaces, where ceilings and linings introduced to a former exercise yard were stripped and converted into the climate-controlled Gallows Gallery to conserve and display original gallows relics and related artefacts," Mrs Bassingthwaighte explained.
The IMAGinE awards are an initiative of Museums & Galleries of NSW, developed with support from the Australian Museums and Galleries Association NSW and Regional and Public Galleries of NSW. Museums & Galleries of NSW is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
A list of all 2022 IMAGinE award recipients can be found at https://mgnsw.org.au/sector/programs/imagine/winners/winners-2022/
