About Us

The student program for the ICOM's University Museums and Collections Conference 2023 has been devised by six postgraduate students from the University of Sydney. With backgrounds in various disciplines including Museum Studies, History, Film Studies, Education, and Public Policy, the student committee has worked together for several months to create a program that responds to the themes of this year's conference. 

Departures is an interdisciplinary museum trail. Participants are encouraged to explore the Chau Chak Wing Museum in search of the ten objects listed in this online publication. The student committee has collected over 15 interpretations from artists, academics, museum professionals and students from different backgrounds to accompany these objects and demonstrate the varying ways in which any object can be seen or understood. 

The student committee has drawn on ideas of truth-telling and polyvocality to guide this program. The intention of the project is to expand the number of voices within the museum and demonstrate the multiplicity of meanings that a single object can hold.

Find out more about ICOM UMAC 2023.

Departures was developed by the 2023 UMAC Conference Student Committee

Edited and designed by John Fisher
Website and copyediting by Louisa Polson
Supported by Amy Mogensen

With input from Ruby Grant and Scott Liu