This week artists are arriving in Trangie and Gilgandra, tasked with reimagining the history of each town and using their art to help locals reconnect with their museum. 

It’s early days for the enCounter project, an Orana Arts program that is seeing artists and writers deployed to museums around the state to draw out stories, find new voices, and create new and transformative experiences for visitors. 



Project Manager for EnCounter Andrew Glassop said that Orana Arts has been looking to work in the museum space for a while.

“(We’ve) been talking to Trangie for quite a while, then went to Gilgandra and invited them to be involved and they took it on,” Mr Glassop said. 

In Gilgandra, photographers and multi-media artists Nat Ord and Vanessa Keenan have just arrived and will spend time in town getting to know the community and its history before they get to work on a special project.

Program curator Fiona MacDonald said the project remains a mystery and could take any form. 

“Nat and Vanessa will spend three days here and then go away and come up with something. Then next year, for eight weeks, whatever they come up with will be on display at the Gilgandra museum,” Ms MacDonald said. 

“The idea is to attract a different audience and to change the profile slightly so that both museums will become known for having a more open attitude towards the arts and other things,” she said 

In Trangie, Brewarrina-raised artist Rob Salt is due to arrive any day at the Wungunja Cultural Centre. 

He’s set to use his work in digital art, writing and photography to create a piece that captures the community. 

Wungunja Cultural Centre manager Terry Milgate said that she doesn’t know what to expect from his visit. 

“It comes back to the community as to what they want to see. He’ll be here to talk to the communities and get some ideas off them as to what they would like to see,” Ms Milgate said. 

Mr Glassop said that the works - in whatever form they come - will be on display for two months.

“We’re not intending for it to be permanent but the artists will have discussions with the museum about what the long term future will be,” he said. 

Following the artists’ week of residency, both communities can expect the installation in early 2023.