(Right) Craig Gough, St Kilda, 1984, acrylic on paper adhered to canvas, 152cm x 213cm Port Phillip City Collection. Viscopy members' © Licenced Viscopy Ltd, Australia 2004 LRN 5228.
Curatorial Services Unit
The City of Port Phillip values its cultural heritage and as custodian of the Port Phillip City Collection it documents, cares for and makes the collection accessible.
The Curatorial Services Unit manages the Port Phillip City Collection. Guided by the  Port Phillip City Collection - Management Policy, Curatorial Services coordinates the development, preservation and promotion of the collection, and provides access to its holdings. Curatorial Services staff are trained in museum studies and also have specialised art history and heritage knowledge.
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Collection Management
Collection management tasks typically include:
- Cataloguing objects
- Maintaining the database which holds records for each individual object
- Caring for and cleaning objects
- Organising for conservation work to be carried out on fragile or damaged objects
- Conducting research into the collection
- Preparing exhibitions and displays
- Administering loans of objects to other institutions, and
- Accepting and processing donations and acquisitions into the collection
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Donations and Acquisitions
The City welcomes bequests and donations of artwork or heritage material, that have the capacity to fall within the collecting criteria as outlined in the policy. The City is eligible to offer tax deductibility under the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. More information about the Cultural Gifts Program can be found at the government website Cultural Gifts Program.
Contemporary visual art acquisition is conducted by an Art Acquisitions Committee according to criteria in the Port Phillip City Collection Management Policy. At present acquisition is conducted every second year. The 2004/05 round of acquisitions was completed in August 2004. Fourteen artworks were acquired for this round and will be on display at Linden - St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts from 19 November - 18 December 2005.
The next round of Art Acquisition Committee meetings will begin in May 2006.
If you have an item you wish to donate and would like more information, please contact the Assistant Curator.
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Recent loans
Art galleries, museums and other exhibiting organisations may request the loan of an artwork or heritage item from the collection.
For example, Christine Morrow of the Victorian College of the Arts borrowed Alex Danko's "My Fellow Austra-aliens" for the VCA exhibition "Single Currency" held from the 2 March - 25 March, 2006.
Geelong Art Gallery also borrowed a painting by artist Elizabeth Parsons entitled "First Bathing Ship and Kenny's Bathing Ship" c.1855, for their exhibition More than a memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons 1831-1897 held at the Gallery from 10 April - 13 June 2004.
If you would like further information about loans please contact the Collections Registrar.
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Access Exhibition Space
The Curatorial Services Unit also manages bookings for the Access Exhibition Space, a free service for local artists and community groups to display their artworks at the St Kilda Town Hall.
To learn more about this service or to find details of current and past exhibitions in the space, visit the Access Exhibition Space page.
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Contact us:
For further information please use eServices to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback online. If you prefer call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713 and ask for the Assistant Curator or Collections Registrar.
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