Pop-Up Museum

The CCWM ‘Pop-Up’ Museum is where curators and researchers bring real museum objects, craft replicas, activities and giveaways into the heart of communities who might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit the Museum, or access our research.

We are rolling out twice-monthly ‘Pop-Ups’ in surprising venues across Western Sydney, including shopping centres, hardware stores, public thoroughfares, clubs and a hospital.

Through this project, we aim to connect with communities where our collections originate and share in a two-way knowledge exchange.

Venues

Coming soon

2025 dates coming soon.

Past 'Pop-Ups'

Bunnings Northmead
15 December 2024

Westfield Parramatta
5 December 2024

Westmead Children's Hospital
29 October 2024

Westfield Parramatta
24 October 2024

Westfield Parramatta
16 October 2024

Wentworth Point Community Centre and Library
3 October 2024

Lidcombe Shopping Centre
10 October 2024

Club Parramatta
20 September 2024

Bunnings Northmead
14 September 2024

Westfield Parramatta
11 September 2024

Westfield Parramatta
10 August 2024

Bunnings Northmead
20 July 2024

Westfield Parramatta
18 July 2024

Auburn Community Centre
18 October 2023

Auburn Library
11 October 2023

Bankstown Central Shopping Centre
18 November 2022

Museum research and 'Pop-Up' themes

Ancient Egyptian stelae

This ‘Pop-Up’ focuses on the way in which ancient Egyptian stelae were made and decorated from the way in which they were quarried and carved to the different types of pigments and paintbrushes used in their decoration.

For this ‘Pop-Up’ we will be bringing the c. 2000-year-old stela of Wasnefer called Paes-shy from the Ptolemaic Period (NM95.12), and craft replica tools including tin bronze chisels, a mallet, bow drill, try square, and saw modelled from original surviving examples.

We will also offer an activity where you can paint like an ancient Egyptian by making your own paintbrush from plant fibres and paint using original pigments.

Repair, reuse, recycle

To understand the history of reuse and recycling practices we are re-investigating the Museum collections for patterns of multiple use wear and examining how objects are modified to accommodate secondary (and more) uses.

This 'Pop-Up' illustrates the way in which the practice of repairing, recycling, and reusing materials and objects has its roots in antiquity, and is a phenomenon known throughout human history and across cultures. Among the objects travelling in this 'Pop-Up' are a life-sized Bronze thumb from ancient Greece left over from metal recycling, a green glass hunting implement made from a reused bottle fragment (from the Kimberley region, Western Australia, during the late 19th-early 20th century), and an ornate silver box, made with reused porcelain pottery fragments in 19th century China.

In this ‘Pop-Up’ Museum we have partnered with Anney Bounpraseuth for an enriching making activity to up-cycle textile waste into new toys or personalised soft sculptures. Anney Bounpraseuth is a multidisciplinary artist working mainly in drawing, painting, and textiles and has been a dedicated recreational community art educator across Sydney for 20 years, with 10 years of experience in art event and education programming. Learn more about Anney's art practices.

A kids activity table at the Chau Chak Wing Museum Pop-Up Museum at Northmead Bunnings — Northmead Bunnings

A CCWM Staff Member and a Bunnings Staff Member pose with a tote bag at the Pop-Up Museum activation — Northmead Bunnings

Three CCWM Staff Members pose at Northmead Bunnings as part of the Pop-Up Museum — Northmead Bunnings

Three staff members smile behind the display as part of the Pop-Up Museum at Westfield Parramatta — Westfield Parramatta

A kids activity table at Westfield Parramatta as part of the Pop-Up Museum — Westfield Parramatta

Two CCWM Staff Members smile behind the display of a Pop-Up Museum at Bankstown Central — Bankstown Central

A range of models of ancient tools on display as part of the Pop-Up Museum — Bankstown Central

A presentation as part of the Pop-Up Museum at Auburn Library — Auburn Community Centre

Three people take part in the artist activity as part of the Pop-Up Museum experience — Pop-Up Museum at Westfield Parramatta, Wednesday 16 October

The Pop-Up Museum at Westfield Parramatta — Pop-Up Museum at Westfield Parramatta, Wednesday 16 October

Two people and a baby take part in a doll making activity as part of the Pop-Up Museum — Pop-Up Museum at Westfield Parramatta, Wednesday 16 October

A man approaches the Pop-Up Museum desk at Bunnings Northmead — Pop-Up Museum at Bunnings Northmead, Saturday 14 September

Contact

To find out more about the ‘Pop-Up’ Museum, or enquire about having us visit you, please contact Melanie Pitkin, Project Coordinator: melanie.pitkin@sydney.edu.au or Ali Ibrahim, Museum Conservator, Western Sydney: ali.ibrahim@sydney.edu.au