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                    City Gifts

                    City Gifts exhibition catalogue  cover featuring elaborate vase, bust, wooden dolls, coin, presentation box and key
                    This exhibition showcases the gifts received and collected by the City of Melbourne during the 20th century.

                    19 May to 15 August 2010

                    It aims not only to share the enormous variety and beauty of these objects but also to interpret them in order to illustrate how the giving and receiving of gifts has been a significant benefit to the people of Melbourne. It relates how these gifts are a key element in building international alliances and – through the telling of selected gift-exchange stories – how many result in tangible social, cultural and economic benefits.

                    City Gifts illustrates the wide variety of occasions on which elected representatives and officials of cities meet and mark the occasion with the exchange of gifts. There are some extremely high-status gifts, often produced for a specific occasion to mark an important visit or a relationship with a new city. A few of these astonishing gifts greet visitors as they enter the gallery.

                    Next in the hierarchy of gifts are ‘objects of virtue’, exchanged at lower level meetings but chosen to showcase the specialist crafts or industries of the donor city. Melbourne has received many gifts of fine silver, ceramics, glass and art, and a range of these exquisite pieces are on show.

                    Then there is a fascinating group of objects that represent the city corporations themselves, and these take the form of keys to the city, architectural models and specially struck medals. Glancing at these, one immediately appreciates that Melbourne is a truly global player, with connections and friendships made all around the world.

                    Last, but by no means least, is the intriguing range of souvenir wares brought out largely by visiting officials to exchange with their Melbourne counterparts. Often quirky and surprising, these act as icebreakers and conversation pieces for the long-distance travellers and their hosts!

                    Curated by Adrian Franklin

                    Professor Adrian Franklin trained as an anthropologist in the UK and has held professorial positions at the University of Bristol, UK, and the University of Oslo, Norway. He is currently Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania, a panellist and presenter on ABC’s Collectors show and a regular commentator on Radio National’s By Design.

                    Adrian is the author of several books, including City Life (2010), Collecting the 20th Century (2010), A Collector’s Year (2008), Animal Nation: the true story of animals and Australia (2006), Animals and Modern Cultures (1999), Tourism (2003) and Nature and Social Theory (2002). He is currently writing Retro: a connoisseur’s guide to international design 1950–1980.

                    City Gifts was a partnership with ABC TV Collectors.

                    Download exhibition catalogue

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