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Location

On-Campus
Building: 24
Other: Ann Harding Conference Centre

Organiser

Campus Estate

Wunderkammer

The University of Canberra Wunderkammer Exhibition is a display of objects, works of art and decorative items from across the different University Collections held on campus and brought together in a manner to resemble the origins of modern museums. 

About the exhibition

The University of Canberra Collections consist of the Art Collection, Matthias Geological Collection, Ecology Wet and Dry Specimens Collection, Indigenous Teaching Collection, Australian National Museum of Education, Rare Books Collection, Nursing Historical Collection and the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature. The exhibition features 50 items of significance from across all collections and some of the objects presented have rarely been on public display before. 

The Wunderkammer concept goes back to the 15th Century where private collectors, often princes of the realm, collected a wide range of objects or provided patronage for scholars who collected specimens on their behalf. The objects were often displayed in an eclectic but aesthetic manner in rooms and suites specifically set aside for them. The collections served as a projection of regal power as princes could demonstrate through their collections mastery of the world, knowledge and learning. Each display cabinet will have a selection of objects set out in an aesthetic manner to replicate the Wunderkammers of old. One of the most intriguing aspects of this form of display is how the placement of objects aesthetically will interact with both the viewer and each other. 

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