The University of Sydney’s flagship museums magazine earned a prestigious national award last night.
Museums Australia awarded MUSE the title of best magazine and newsletter (Level B) at a ceremony for the Multimedia and Publication Design Awards 2013 in Canberra, the university is reporting today. The awards recognize excellence in design and communication by institutions in the museums and collections sector across Australia and New Zealand, the university said.
According to the university, the judges said MUSE has “great covers and masthead and good communication of information with beautiful and consistent type. Nice choice of stock”.
Nicholson Museum Senior Curator Michael Turner, who coordinates the MUSE content with a team of unpaid contributors, told the university the award was a “fantastic thrill”.
He paid tribute to the collaborative efforts of Sydney University Museums staff and the university’s Marketing and Communications Division, who jointly produce the magazine three times a year.
“The division’s talented graphic designers and editors have transformed MUSE into a beautiful high-end publication that our readers rave about every time they receive it,” Turner told the University of Sydney. “MUSE has played an important role in enhancing the university’s community engagement, by boosting the museums’ profile and educating a broad audience about our cultural artefacts and activities.”
He told the university this is reflected in the steadily rising visitor numbers and the huge demand for public events at the Nicholson Museum, which have sold out for the first quarter of this year.
According to the University of Sydney, MUSE showcases the diversity and quality of the museums’ extensive offerings, which include the Southern Hemisphere’s largest collection of antiquities (the Nicholson Museum), Australia’s oldest natural history collection (the Macleay Museum) and more than 3,000 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Australian, Asian and European artists (the University Art Gallery).
The publication had modest origins in 2003 as an eight-page newsletter and has steadily evolved into a substantial and highly regarded magazine, the university noted. Last year the university completed a design overhaul and re-branding as MUSE, which has given the magazine a more attractive, consistent appearance and a clearer and stronger identity, the university said.
MUSE is distributed to Sydney University Museums’ supporters, media around the world and to the interested wider community. Hard copies are freely available at all three museum venues - or check out past editions of the magazine online by clicking here.
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