Maritime Archaeology Association of Western Australia (MAAWA) Shannon Reid recording underwater MMAPSS 2016-17. MMAPSS is an annual outreach program of grants and internships, offering funding of up to $15,000 for projects and up to $3,000 for internships, for not for profit organisations that actively care for and display and promote Australia’s maritime heritage. Image: MAAWA.
Are you part of a not for profit organisation which helps preserve Australia’s rich maritime heritage? What are your organisation’s priorities for the year ahead?
Applications are now open for the 2018–2019 round of the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS). MMAPSS is an annual outreach program of grants and internships jointly funded by the Australian Government and the museum. Funding is available, up to $15,000 for projects and up to $3,000 for internships, for not for profit organisations that actively care for and display and promote Australia’s maritime heritage.
Whether you are planning to tackle Conservation, Collection Management or Presentation and Public Programs, support is available. Maybe, as in the case of Lake Macquarie City Council, you plan to collaborate with other heritage organisations in your area to implement an interpretation program to raise the profile and engagement of your region’s unique maritime heritage? Good news: Joint applications are welcome!
Applications are welcome for joint or partnered projects. A boat named Miami Toronto NSW circa 1950. Photographer unknown. Lake Macquarie Community Heritage Photography collection.
In-kind (non-cash) support: site visits and guidance
Perhaps your organisation would benefit from a site visit from one of the museum’s expert staff, for example, to have a look at your collection? Do you need on-site advice and direction? Valuable connections with the museum can be made through the MMAPSS program as is the case of the City of Whyalla, home to the HMAS Whyalla and Maritime Museum.
As a result of a MMAPSS internship to the museum, this organisation welcomed Fleet Manager, Damien Allan, and Team Leader Steel Vessels, Jeff Hodgson, for a two-day on-site visit. This visit provided advice and assistance to maintain this historic vessel. Although addressing the physical condition of the vessel was the foremost consideration, the visit also allowed discussion of other important and related aspects of museum vessels.
Fleet Manager (right) and Team Leader Steel Vessels (left) onboard HMAS Whyalla, where they offered onsite advice and expertise on the care of the vessel. Image: ANMM.
Internships
Speaking of internships – You can apply to spend some time with experts in the area you need more information about. Internships are open to volunteers and staff of regional and remote organisations and are a great way to make connections, learn new skills and discuss your museum’s activities. Over the last two years, MMAPSS has arranged for the interns to be held the same time and so visit as a group, meaning more connections and sharing with others in the same ‘boat’.
Robert van den Helm, Volunteer Co-ordinator with the Eden Killer Whale Museum, and Cathy Mann, Volunteer Curator at the Holbrook Submarine Museum, spent one week together at the museum in April 2017. Robert’s advice for anyone thinking of applying is: ‘If you’ve got any questions about any facet in the running of a museum, you are not alone…someone else has more than likely asked that question before, and got an answer for it, or better still several, answers. It is a great environment to explore all things Museumy…a brilliant resource of knowledge and contacts’.
Cathy Mann and Robert van den Helm, with Conservators Jeffrey Fox and Agata Rostek-Robak, in the museum’s Conservation lab during their MMAPSS internship (2016-2017 round), discussing solutions for the care of historical artefacts. Image: ANMM.
Applications for MMAPSS 2018-2019 close 31 March 2018. Why not simply apply via the online application system? Internship applications can be made via a downloadable form.
For more information visit anmm.gov.au/grants or call the MMAPSS Coordinator on 02 9298 3743.
– MMAPSS Coordinator.
The Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme is funded by the Australian Government through the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Department of Communications and the Arts.