Locations visited by Travelling Exhibitions 1988–2003 locations visited between 2002–2003 shown in red

Goal 5: Provide and promote access to the national collection

To promote understanding and enjoyment of the national collection by making it accessible locally, nationally and internationally

Key strategies

• Make the national collection more accessible locally, nationally and internationally through loans, partnerships, travelling exhibitions and joint ventures
• Enhance access for people with particular needs
• Promote the national collection through educational, multimedia and membership programs and events and strategic marketing, and through the provision of published material and merchandise
• Facilitate research, provide information and publish material (also online) about the national collection and the visual arts
• Stimulate and promote discussion on art, art museums and issues relating to the visual arts and art scholarship in Australia and overseas
• Align and integrate IT services to enhance communication with the public through the use of technology
• Create an environment which enhances visitor experience by providing high quality facilities and services

Our success will be measured by

• Level of access to the national collection achieved through partnerships, travelling exhibitions and joint ventures
• Number of works of art loaned locally, nationally and internationally including those in travelling exhibitions
• Number of visitors to the Gallery and its exhibitions and their level of satisfaction with its programs and activities with specific reference to visitors with particular needs
• Extent to which research is facilitated, information is provided, and material published about the national collection
• Extent to which the national collection has been accessed by the public via electronic means
• Amount of media coverage of the national collection and Gallery programs and activities.

Our recent achievements

We have stimulated interest by providing multiple points of access to the national collection through education and public programs, travelling exhibitions, loans, publications and the Internet.
In 1998 we launched our website, nga.gov.au, with 17,000 images of works of art now available online. During 2003–04 more than 1.8 million people (representing 6.7 million page views) accessed information online.

We encouraged a broader visitation to the Gallery by removing the general admission charge in 1998. We also removed the charge to major exhibitions for children under 16 in 2003. The public has warmly welcomed these access initiatives.

Access to promotional and scholarly information about the national collection has been enhanced through the Gallery's extensive publications program. We are now releasing an average of 13 publications a year including our quarterly magazine artonview, which is distributed free to members and sold in the Gallery shop.

Sharing our knowledge: our curators and other staff host talks and lectures, write papers, publish works, talk to the media and education institutions throughout Australia and overseas.
We have nurtured young visual art ambassadors via our annual schools Summer Scholarship program, which brings two Year 11 students from each state and territory to the Gallery for a week of intensive study.

Our highly trained and capable Voluntary Guides improve access for visitors, including those with special needs, and also by hosting tours in a variety of languages. Voluntary Guides conduct outreach services to members of the public who do not have access to the Gallery and provide Discovery Tours to thousands of primary school students annually.

We have established partnerships with 23 regional galleries and museums throughout Australia. During 2002–03 the Gallery lent 2550 works of art from the national collection.

Other access achievements include:

• the Australasian Art Obituaries Index on the Gallery website