Celebrations for Subiaco Museum’s 50
th anniversary are well underway, after a big
golden-themed party earlier this month, and the opening of the museum’s latest exhibition:
50 Objects, 50 Years.
The driving force behind the museum is Curator Jessica Marantelli, who started working at the museum in March 2021.
To celebrate the 50
th anniversary and the long legacy of female curators at the museum, we caught up with Jessica to hear about her time at the museum so far.
What attracted you to work at Subiaco Museum?
Jessica
: Subiaco Museum is niche and small, which means you get to do a lot of different things. Because it’s small, I get to deliver talks, curate exhibits, do workshops and host school visits.
It’s a privilege to be a small part of the enduring legacy that is 50 years of the museum. I have worked in museums that have been around for centuries, but they only get to be that old with dedication and strong support in the early years – so 50 is an incredible milestone.
What sets Subiaco Museum apart from other local museums?
Jessica
: One point of different we have to other local government museums, in particular, is that we’re in a 110-year-old building that used to house the substation for the Subiaco Municipal Electric Supply.
Our building was the only manned substation, with engineer Walter Groom onsite most hours, because it powered the municipal buildings along Rokeby Road.
How did the 50 Objects, 50 Years exhibition come about?
Jessica:
It’s a common joke amongst curators that museums collect either “big things, small things, dirty things, paper things and pretty things”. Subiaco Museum has a combination of everything because it’s been around for so long, so we decided to celebrate our wide variety of objects in this special exhibition to celebrate our golden anniversary.
What is the most interesting donation you’ve received to the museum during your time as Curator?
Jessica:
At the end of my first year as Curator, a two-piece dress circa 1910 came in. We knew who the owner was but wanted to know what they might have worn it for.
The dress was owned by the donor’s great grandmother, and passed down through the family over the generations. It had been kept in impeccable condition for its age.
My grandmother was a dressmaker, and I have an interest in textiles, so it was a pleasure to do a lot of research into the stunning bodice and skirt – and to find out that it was likely a mourning dress from the Edwardian era that was very well conserved for being more than 110 years old!
Do you have a favourite museum event during your time as Curator?
Jessica:
Subi Blooms events outside the museum have always been incredible. We get such great attendance on our lawn.
However, my favourite was probably an intergenerational teddy bear storytime that we did in front of the museum, alongside the City’s Community Development and library teams. We had about 100 parents, grandparents and children with their teddies, and we brought out two teddies from our collection that are 100 years old. It was really nice to see all the generations enjoying the museum and coming inside to have a chat.
Is it true the museum has become a bit of a family affair to you?
Jessica:
Yes, my mum is now a volunteer at the museum. She came in to help during an all hands on deck project in 2022, and then I signed her up to help label our objects and make our slip cover bags for textiles. Her favourite thing to do is to number and label all of our badges and brooches in our collection.
The
50 Objects, 50 Years, which showcases 50 key objects from the museum’s collection, is now on display until early 2026. View the
museum’s opening hours here, and if you can’t make it in-person, you can
browse the exhibition online.