Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Editorial
The cultural blend of Australia is nowhere more pronounced than in the Northern Territory - Darwin is closer to Asia than it is to Australia's southern capitals, and Indigenous Australians make up about one third of the Territory's total population - compared with about 2% in the rest of Australia.
It was fortuitous that MAGNT's first Director, Dr Colin Jack-Hinton had the foresight to set a bold and unique direction for the institution, specifically concentrating on Aboriginal culture, South East Asian and Pacific cultures and contemporary artistic responses to the Northern Territory. He also began the museum collection, dedicated to the region's fascinating maritime history and boundlessly diverse natural sciences.
Although significantly increased in size, the collection remains essentially true to Jack-Hinton's original vision.
MAGNT's first decade ended in the most dramatic of circumstances in 1974 when its newly renovated home, The Old Town Hall in Smith Street, Darwin, was almost obliterated by Cyclone Tracy and a significant proportion of the collection was lost. For a few years visitors would be directed to various donated spaces throughout the city and the current building, aptly completed as one of the first building projects after the Northern Territory was granted self-government in 1978.
Within the MAGNT complex are five major permanent galleries, a touring gallery, a theatre, shop and cafe, as well as educational facilities for school groups. MAGNT also hosts the annual Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award established in 1984, a significant cultural event in the Northern Territory's cultural calendar.
Robert Stevenson, Citysearch
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