Uncurated

A thesis, glass tubes, a bronze plaque. This is the evidence left to remember world-class atmospheric physicist Jean Laby. She was the first woman to achieve a PhD in the School of Physics in 1956. But on a campus that lacks recognition of historically significant women, this prompts the question: how would Laby have been commemorated if she was a man? Jade Murray explores the University of Melbourne Parkville campus to search for the forgotten stories of women in science. 

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Interviewees:

• Elisabetta Barberio – Professor of Physics and Director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence
• Katie Wood – Senior Archivist at the University of Melbourne Archives
• Em Bawden - Immunologist from the Peter Doherty Institute
• Joe Pascoe - Poet and co-curator of the Jean Laby exhibit 

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Music and sound effects for this episode of Uncurated were sourced from Pixabay

This is a story about an artwork illustrating a Chinese camp in Ballarat, Victoria, depicted by Percy Lindsay. This is a story about a painting that carries within it the joy, tears and fears of Chinese gold miners. This oil canvas is hidden and locked away in a black suitcase at the Ballarat gallery with its paper sketch stored at the University of Melbourne. This week on Uncurated, Caitlin Duan and Isabella Vagnoni take you on a road trip to uncover the forgotten history of Percy Lindsay. And along with it, capture the story of Chinese-Australian migrants during the gold rush era all the way into the 21st century. 

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Interviewees:

• Alyssa Bunbury - Curator of the Grimwade Collection at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne
• Juanita Kwok - History and Heritage consultant with an interest in local histories in Australia and Chinese communities in rural Australia
• Charles Zhang - Committee member of the Chinese library and President of the Chinese Australian Cultural Society of Ballarat

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For First Nations people, art has been a vehicle to tell personal and universal stories for over 60,000 years. Ngarrindjeri artist Trevor Nickolls’ story is complex, exploring the history of dispossession and loss, and the hope and beauty of finding a way back to knowing. Breaking free of the assumptions and prejudices placed on First Nations artists by white society, his ground-breaking career inspired artists across the country to express their own identities. This week on Uncurated, Sean Ruse and Prealene Khera explore Nickolls’ life and legacy through his long-lost painting “Tightrope Walking”.

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Interviewees:

• Judith Ryan - former Senior Curator of Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Victoria
• Angelika Tyrone - Director and Owner of Australian & International Arts
• Tiriki Onus - Head of the Wilin Center for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne
• Richard Bell - Renowned Artist and Activist 

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Music and sound effects for this episode of Uncurated were sourced from freesound.org, freemusicarchive.org, Blue Dot Sessions and ABC News under relevant licensing agreements.

The thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian Tiger, remains one of Australia’s most identifiable animals despite having gone extinct almost 100 years ago. In its time, it was hunted, mishandled and neglected, yet people are still captivated by it today. They desperately hope the animal still exists in hiding, and one scientist at the University of Melbourne is on the brink of a discovery unlike any other...one that could reverse the fate of the thylacine and right the wrongs of the past. This week on Uncurated, Aania Tandon and Sasha Gattermayr explore the story of this mystical animal and why it has not been forgotten.

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Interviewees:

• Rohan Long - Curator, Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology at The University of Melbourne
• Professor Andrew Pask - Professor in Epigenetics at The University of Melbourne

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Music and sound effects for this episode of Uncurated were sourced from SoundCloud, Incompetech, Adobe Sound and Youtube under relevant licensing agreements:

Our city streets are filled with statues of men who did things, with little permanent reminder of the women who have shaped Australian society. Julia (Bella) Guérin is one of these women. Famous in her time for her achievements as Australia’s first female university graduate and a noted teacher, writer, orator and political organiser, Bella Guérin has been all but forgotten by the history books. This week on Uncurated, reporter Meghan Dansie sets out on a journey to examine the power of legacy and the politics of forgetting. 

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Interviewees:

• Katie Wood – Senior Archivist at the University of Melbourne Archives
• Professor Clare Wright – Award-winning historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator. Current Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement at La Trobe University. 

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