Need a grant? Or an internship?
Applications are now open for grants and internships through the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS).
The MMAPSS grants program assists Australian organisations that actively care for, promote, interpret or display collections that contribute to an understanding of Australia, its people and developments, which have influenced its maritime history. Grants of up to $15,000 each are available for projects in the areas of collection management, conservation, presentation, museological training and the development of education or public programs which make Australia’s maritime heritage more accessible to audiences.
As well as any project areas that are a priority for your organisation, this year we are also encouraging applicants to try to link their projects to the theme of ‘Remarkable Stories of Australians and Their Vessels’, exploring the legendary relationship between Australians and their boats.
The museum has a unique project going on at the moment, in collaboration with the Australian Maritime Museums Council AMMC (the network group that brings over 150 of Australia’s maritime heritage organisations together), pooling resources to co-create a national, easily portable banner display on a subject voted as of real interest to its member museums’ audiences. Submerged; stories of Australian shipwrecks – was the first collaboration of its kind and proved in spectacular fashion that the model works. In fact, the long term vision of the AMMC and the museum is for a bank, or library if you will, of such exhibitions to be available for organisations to borrow whenever they like. This means regional organisations can easily book and host a national exhibition, complementing it with their own objects and stories.
Sailboat 'Pip' sailing on lake, Speers Point, 1940, Neville Edwards, skipper, and Warwick Odgers, crew. Photographer unknown – Lake Macquarie Community Heritage Photography collection.
“What floats your boat? Remarkable stories of Australians and their vessels”, the winning title for the exhibition, embraces all the themes, boats and stories which are likely to feature once the AMMC gather them together and tell amazing stories of Australians and their relationship to boats. This exhibition will delve into some of the lesser known, personal stories and explore people’s unique connections with seafaring. The content is diverse: we may feature special boats for special places and the people that build, operate and keep them; leisure craft; and the coast and sea in Indigenous culture; or any story that portrays the special relationship between a person, a boat or a town.
To feed into this project, the MMAPSS program is keen to get you all thinking to see what remarkable stories of Australian’s and their Boats are out there.
So whether you have a Conservation, Collection Management or Presentation and Public Programs focussed project that you are thinking of applying for funding for, can you also link it to a significant story of an Australian and their boat? With over 36,000 kms of coastline, it’s no surprise that Australia’s history is populated with tales from the sea and maritime stories and we look forward to hearing yours and seeing how your project relates to it.
Are you eligible?
To those involved in the collection, promotion and presentation of Australia’s maritime heritage; up to $15,000 for projects and $3,000 for internships, plus in-kind (non-cash) support is available to assist with active care and display.
If your organisation has objects or collections that contribute to an understanding of Australia, its people and developments, which have influenced its maritime history, and you need support to care for and to provide quality public access to them, you could be eligible for a grant or an internship. Check the website for more details on how to apply.
MMAPSS 2017-18 interns to the Museum (Photographer Andrew Frolows) From Left to Right: Julie Thomas (Ballina Naval & Maritime Museum), Natasha Arnold (Norfolk Island Museum), Gordon MacMillian (Mission to Seafarers Victoria Inc), Rachel Chesmer (Friends of Tasman Island Wildcare Inc.), Katelyn Weinert (Albany’s Historic Whaling Station), Bethany Holland (Norfolk Island Museum).
Students and teacher’s aides from the Bwgcolman Community School, Palm Island at the Museum with Museum staff. (MMAPSS 2017-18) (Photographer Andrew Frolows)
If you have any questions about MMAPSS or want to discuss your project or if you are eligible, contact the MMAPSS Coordinator: (02) 9298 3743 or mmapss@sea.museum
Applications for grants close 31 March 2019.
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.