Being in and of local communities: An Australian regional gallery’s response to climate disasters

In Australia, environmental catastrophe is part of our identity: the country and community have all been shaped by repeated droughts, floods and fires.The experience of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires was, however, unprecedented.It destroyed vast swathes of country, impacting places, lives, livelihoods and communities, and its duration and severity caused untold grief.These catastrophic fires occurred in close succession to sustained droughts and devastating floods and by March 2020 the community was dealing with the new and dramatic changes brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic.This health crisis highlighted the vital role that museums and galleries can play in supporting communities during difficult times.Lockdowns exacerbated isolation leaving a considerable role for local services, often provided by local government, to support communities.In this context, regional museums and galleries remained a trusted and enduring presence.Such cultural institutions have the potential to become community hubs or, as Ian McShane and Brian Coffey argue, 'anchor institutions for addressing vulnerability [and] building community resilience'. 1 This idea accords with the more philosophical position of museologist Robert Janes in relation to the civic function of museum and galleries.As Janes has noted, museums, as 'civil society organizations' have the capacity to 'generate the networks, norms, trust and shared values' of a society. 2 In doing so, they help 'to hold society together' by 'facilitating an understanding of [its] interconnectedness' and the shared interests and experiences within it. 3 Building on these theories and extending them through the analysis of a case study, this article hypothesises that regional cultural institutions are uniquely placed to understand, and respond to, the needs of their communities because they are structurally embedded within those communities in terms of physical location and governance.Research prior to the pandemic showed how regional cultural facilities were embedded within local government structures, demonstrating their integral role within communities. 4 Investment in culture was seen as 'vital to community identity, inclusion, liveability, reconciliation and 1