New ‘Friends’ group to support Orange Regional Museum
Orange residents will have more opportunities to support the work of the Orange Regional Museum with a new ‘Friends of the Museum’ group set to be formed.
The chair of a new interim committee that’s been working on the new project, Cr Neil Jones, has welcomed the decision to form the new group.
“Since it opened in November, it’s been fantastic to see so many taking their first steps inside the new museum,” Cr Neil Jones said. “As the next step, the establishment of a ‘Friends’ group will help the museum deepen its connections and build awareness. The friends group will seek to support the museum to fulfil its role in the community and raise public awareness of its activities and collections.”
Cr Neil Jones
An interim committee has been working closely together over recent months to establish the new community based group. The interim committee has drawn representatives from :
- the Orange Regional Museum Advancement Association,
- the Orange and District Historical Society,
- the Orange Regional Museum Fund Ltd,
- the Orange City Council Museum Community Committee and
- the Orange Regional Museum.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of many weeks of hard work by a small group of community representatives to develop the necessary background information and protocols to form this group. It’s been important to get the new group off to a good start, and so the committee has worked very closely with the museum to ensure that the Friends group can support the museum and bring together interested members of the Orange community."
“The regional gallery has had a very active friends groups for some time, and I’m expecting it could be a model of what the new friends groups could explore,” Cr Neil Jones said. “It could be fund-raising events to help acquire new objects for the museum. It might be other activities that help lift the profile of the museum in the wider community. There could simply be the social benefits of mixing with like-minded people.”
READY : Orange residents are keen to be a part of the new 'Friends' groups. Pictured (l. to r.) at the announcement of the new group are Phil Stevenson, Marie Hammond, Museum Director Brad Hammond and Elizabeth Griffin.
Director of the Orange Regional Museum and Orange Regional Gallery, Brad Hammond, said the development of the new support group is a very positive step.
“Orange City Council and the museum staff are very pleased to see the formation of this group,” Brad Hammond said. “Community input and support is vital for the future of museum.”
“For the last couple of years, the ‘Friends of the Gallery’ group has brought a high-profile speaker to Orange, like this week’s speaking visit by Shakesperian acting legend John Bell. I’m looking forward to close cooperation with the new friends group and seeing what kind of projects they might explore.”
The benefits of becoming a ‘Friend of the Orange Regional Museum’ include:
- Discounted (25%) entry to all ticketed Orange Regional Museum events and programs
- Priority booking for all bookable Museum events and programs
- Invitations to all exhibition openings and special events
- Free entry to Wentworth Mine
- Access to member exclusive events
- Email or posted (if requested) copy of Orange Regional Museum’s quarterly newsletter
The public launch of the Friends of the Orange Regional Museum will take place on Wednesday 5th April from 5.30pm at Orange Regional Museum.
Members of the community are invited to attend. RSVP to Jessica Dowdell at museum@orange.nsw.gov.au or 02 6393 8444 by Thursday 30th March.
Consultation has concluded
