Festival Hub @ TMAG: Lucky Door Prize
Fri 4 Aug | Sat 5 Aug
WIN!
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Experience: Connect | Free
Themes: Conversation Starter | Fact Finding
Access: Seated Option | Wheelchair Access
You might’ve noticed – we love science! Sorting fact from fiction, testing hypotheses, and backing up ideas with evidence. We’re curious, and we know that you are too.
Each year we try to bring even more of what you love to Beaker Street Festival. And this doesn’t happen by chance – it happens by data. To encourage you to give us yours, we’re offering a brilliant lucky door prize – a Duncan Meerding cracked log lamp valued at $385. To be in the running to win, all you have to do is complete the Festival Hub @ TMAG survey. Sneaky, huh?! You’ll find cards on the tables at TMAG telling you how to enter.
About the prize:
Duncan Meerding is lighting and furniture Designer/Maker based in Tasmania, and the current President of Blind Citizens Australia – Tasmania Branch. He’s also one of the heroes of Beaker Street Festival 2023, including being a panelist for Unseen By Design, a debater for the Great Debate, and the artist behind the superb light installation at the entrance of the Festival Hub @ TMAG.
Duncan says: “Much of my work is inspired by the natural environment. Concentration on overall form, rather than intense detailing, with an interest in how light performs through and around these forms and materials, is of interest to me. This light emanating from the periphery reflects the alternative sensory world in which I design, being legally blind with less than 5% vision. I try to avoid quick moving trends in my work, but instead focus on designing and making things to stand the test of time, both metaphorically and physically.”
The Cracked Log Lamps are made from salvaged logs which would otherwise have been burnt. These lamps embrace, rather than avoid the naturally occurring cracks in refuse logs. By turning them into a vessel for light, we can bring the outside in, and be reminded of our intrinsic connection with nature.
The warm yellow light coming through each lamps unique light pattern highlights the fiery fate that the salvaged timber would have otherwise been exposed to. Being legally blind, this vision of light emanating from the peripheries and the highly tactile nature of Duncan’s work, reflect the alternative sensory world within which he designs.
These lamps embrace the cracks often avoided in timber based designs – pushing the light through the things often associated with darkness. Before turning on the Cracked Log Lamp, often a person would think it is purely just a log of wood.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Located on Hobart’s historic waterfront, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is the second oldest museum in Australia. The museum incorporates more than 2,000 square metres of public and exhibition spaces with a rich blend of permanent collections, touring and temporary exhibitions and special displays.
Eat and drink
The Festival Hub at TMAG will have a range of excellent local food and drink options, catering for everyone. Plan to eat dinner at the Hub! Why would you go anywhere else?
Accessibility
There is level access to all public areas of our site and elevators are available for movement between levels. Loan wheelchairs are also available from the Visitor Information desk. For particular accessibility concerns please contact [email protected]
The entrance to TMAG is via Dunn Pl, which includes a carpark. TMAG is down from the corner of Macquarie Street and Campbell Street and the corner of Davey Street and Campbell Street.
There is an info booth to the right of the pathway as you go to enter TMAG. This info booth is staffed by Beaker Street Festival volunteers who have programs and know the layout of the festival. Behind the info booth, in the Welcome Garden to the left of the museum there is a light installation by Duncan Meerding.
As you enter TMAG there is a food truck called Chan Bao on your left selling bao and hot chips. Once you’ve entered through the gates there is a large tent to your left with music and the main bar- at the bar you can get wine, beer, hot cider and a raspberry and peach cocktail.
Straight past the tent you can turn left to go to the Bondstore Basement to see the CoLab exhibition and hear stories about Wardian Cases. You can continue straight there are three steps up onto the veranda which take you to the automatic doors which are the entry to the main museum building. Or turn right to use the ramp up onto the veranda
Once you go up the ramp the Fab Coats and Merch are on your right, your next right are the glass doors to the cafe and straight ahead are the Migrant Resource Centre doing a vegan soup, malaysian arancini and curry puffs. Follow the veranda to the left and turn right after the dinosaur to gain entry into the main museum
One inside the glass automatic doors the front desk is to your left with cloaking and information. Continue straight down the ramp and turn left to get to the lifts and toilets, including accessible. Or turn right to go up two flights of stairs to get to level 1
Level one has another info booth, and the entry to the central gallery.
Central Gallery is straight ahead from the lifts, one in the central gallery the Roving Scientist Bar and Speakers Tables is immediately on your right. The Science Photography Prize is on your left along the silver wall. There is a band stage straight ahead with jazz bands playing all night, and in the centre right hand wall is the stage with Powerpoint Karaoke at 9pm and live dissections during the night.
You leave the Central Gallery the same way you came in and straight ahead in are the stairs up to the Lab- workshops until 8:30 then a theatre performance called Spaceclock1 from 8:30-9pm- and the Speakers Lounge- short scientific talks. You can also access the Lab and the Speakers Lounge via the lift, go to level 2.
On Level 2 there is also a bar selling cans of beer and glasses of wine.