Dr Anna Lawrenson
Doctor of Philosophy, Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National University
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Art History and Criticism, University of Western Sydney
Phone: +61 2 9351 5886
Address: Room 303, RC Mills A26
Email:
Consultation Times
Consultation by appointment
Anna joined the Department in March 2010. Her background is in Art History and prior to joining the university she worked in curatorial, research and management roles within commercial and public galleries. She completed her PhD in 2007 through the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research at ANU. Her thesis examined representations of Australian history in contemporary art practice. She argued that curated group exhibitions provided a unique mode of communication for changing notions of Australian history in the period from the Bicentenary of settlement in 1988 to the Centenary of Federation in 2001.
In addition to her experience in the sector, she has taught at a number of tertiary institutions including the Australian National University, the University of NSW, Charles Darwin University and the University of Western Sydney.
Anna is the Coordinator of the Museum Studies program in Hong Kong. She also teaches into both the Sydney and Hong Kong programs. Since joining the Department she has taught Exhibition Development, The Ethics of Cultural Property and Information and Collection Management.
Research Interests
Anna Lawrenson’s research is focused around a critique of curatorial practices in contemporary museums. Her research is concerned with the unique space that is cultivated by museums in which different modes of communication can be facilitated and by which more inclusive and participatory narratives presented.
Current Research projects
- Must See! Blockbuster exhibitions in Australia (with Dr Chiara O’Reilly)
- Touching Art: Curating Experience in Multi-sensual Exhibitions
- Democratising the Exhibition Development Process
Publications
Articles
- Lawrenson, A., “Nathalie Hartog-Gautier: Scanning Memories – An Exhibition of Memory, Journey and Utopian Dreams”, Imprint: The Quarterly Journal of the Print Council of Australia Inc., Autumn, vol.44 #1, 2009, pp.26-27
- Lawrenson, A., “The Public Face of an Artist: A Gallery Perspective”, NAVA Quarterly, March, 2009, p.5
- Lawrenson, A., “Lines in the Sand: Botany Bay Stories From 1770”, Art Monthly Australia, #216, December-January, 2008, pp.15-19
- Lawrenson, A., “Responding in Perspective: Historical narratives in the art of Gordon Bennett and Geoff Parr”, Crossings, vol.7 #3, [electronic journal: http://www.inasa.org/crossings/7_3/index.php?apply=anna], 2002
Chapters in Books
- Lawrenson, A., “Crossing Cultures / Crossing Times: Impersonation, Appropriation and Portraiture in Postcolonial Australian Art”, in Sylvia Kleinert (ed), Crossing Cultures: Art Politics and Identity, Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin, 2006
Catalogue Essays
- Lawrenson, A. & Bourke, A., Shifting Sands: Botany Bay Today, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, 2010
- Lawrenson, A., Finding Form: Creating Space Disrupting Space, University of Western Sydney Gallery, 2010
- Lawrenson, A., “Episode Guide”, in Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Reality Check: watching Sylvania Waters, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre, NSW, 2009, pp.86-87
- Lawrenson, A., [catalogue essay], Nathalie Hartog-Gautier: Scanning Memories – An Exhibition of Memory, Journey and Utopian Dreams, exhibition catalogue, 2008
Conference Papers / Presentations
- 2011 (with Dr Chiara O’Reilly), “The Cult of the Warrior: Visitor Experience at the Art Gallery of New South Wales”, Contact: Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference, Victoria University, Wellington
- 2011, “Touching Art: Engaging the senses in the experience of Western art in Hong Kong”, Contact: Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference, Victoria University, Wellington
- 2011 (with Dr Chiara O’Reilly), “Cross-Cultural Encounters at the Art Gallery of New South Wales: The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors”, Multiculturalism: Perspectives from Australia Canada and China, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney
- 2010, Invited paper, “An Integrated Approach to Exhibition Development”, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
- 2005, “Flesh and Blood: Exhibiting Contemporary Australian Histories”, Department of Art History & Theory Research Seminar Programme, Power Institute Foundation for Art & Visual Culture, University of Sydney
- 2004, “Monuments versus Memory: Remembering Bungaree”, Colonial Monuments Collective Memory, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University
- 2002, “Responding in Perspective: Historical narratives in recent Australian art”, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research Seminar Series, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University
- 2002, “Exhibiting Contemporary Histories”, Visiting Scholars Program – Presenting Indigenous Art: Meaning and interpretation in the exhibition, performance and marketing of Indigenous Australian arts, National Institute of the Arts, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research and Australian National University
- 2001, “Colonial Art and its Appropriation: Engaging Dialogue?”, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research Graduate Student Conference, Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University