A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital Curators Talk

Join Joe Eisenberg, Cheryl Farrell and Janis Wilton in conversation about the stories and objects that were uncovered during the Collected Memory Project and that inspired the artists in the exhibition A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital.

The aim of the Collected Memory Project is to document as much as possible of the old Maitland Hospital’s stories and objects before the move to the new Maitland Hospital in early 2022, and to share the discoveries through art and heritage displays. As a companion to Collected Memory, the exhibition A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital invited ten artists to respond creatively and in depth to encounters with the people, places, things and stories that are being collected.

About the speakers

Joe Eisenberg OAM is the founding Director of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery with over forty years’ experience in curating art exhibitions in public galleries.

Dr Janis Wilton OAM is an award-winning public and applied historian and an Adjunct Associate Professor in History at the University of New England. https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/hass/jwilton

Jointly, Joe and Janis have realised a number of projects that combine history and art including Maitland specific projects on the Maitland Jewish Cemetery, Maitland’s 34th Battalion and Passchendaele, the Maitland Showground, and Open Museums, Open Minds, a report to Maitland City Council about the nature, significance and future of Maitland’s cultural collections. They are currently the consultants to the Collected Memory Project which is putting art and history into the new Maitland Hospital.

Cheryl Farrell is the Collection Management Curator at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG). Cheryl has an extensive knowledge of the MRAG Collection and has curated more than thirty exhibitions from the gallery’s collection including the touring exhibition, Lionel’s Place. Cheryl’s curating experience also extends to exhibitions curated from the private collections of artists and collectors and is the co-curator of A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital alongside MRAG Emeritus Director Joe Eisenberg OAM and historian and Dr Janis Wilton OAM.

Exhibition dates -16 October 2021 to 6 February 2022

For more information about the exhibition visit the companion website https://aconspicuousobject.com.au/

If you would like to share:

a new story or memory about The Maitland Hospital, a memory or details to add to a story already on the website, a photograph, object, sound or video recording, or a question or comment – visit https://aconspicuousobject.com.au/share

A Conspicuous Object is presented in partnership with Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) and Health Infrastructure (HI).