ASSEMBLY is a national collaborative initiative exploring how museums and galleries can better value, enable and practise collaborative research in changing public contexts. Over the past two years, the project has convened national and local conversations, workshops and collaborative inquiry involving museums, galleries, universities and other partners across Australia.

Those conversations have revealed a sector navigating significant change. Museums and universities alike are operating in increasingly complex cultural, political and economic environments, while being asked to demonstrate public value, community relevance and social impact in new ways. At the same time, collaborative research involving museums, galleries, universities and communities is becoming increasingly important—yet often difficult to support, recognise and sustain. Practitioners describe tensions around resources, ownership, decision-making, legitimacy, impact and the visibility of different forms of expertise and knowledge.

ASSEMBLY was established in response to these challenges. While museums have long been sites of research and knowledge production, the landscape in which that work takes place is changing. Practice-led inquiry, community engagement, collaborative creation, evaluation, interpretation and organisational learning are increasingly central to how museums fulfil their public purpose. Yet these forms of knowledge practices are not always well recognised within dominant research systems, creating questions about what counts as research, whose knowledge is valued and how collaborative work can be appropriately supported.

Across ASSEMBLY’s national conversations, three interconnected themes emerged as critical to strengthening museum collaborative research: Knowledge Practice, Collaborative Process and Organising Purpose. Together, they provide a lens for understanding how questions of people, power and politics are shaping collaborative research across the sector today.

This session offers a snapshot of what ASSEMBLY has learned so far and invites discussion about the conditions, capabilities and collaborations needed to support the next evolution of museum research practice in Australia.

Guest speakers

Vince Dziekan A senior academic and practitioner-researcher at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), Monash University, Australia, and an honorary research fellow of the Institute for Digital Culture at the University of Leicester, UK. Vince’s work engages with the transformation of contemporary curatorial practices at the intersection of emerging design practices, creative technology and museum culture. The scope of these interdisciplinary investigations is reflected in his books, including most recently Museums and Digital Confidence (co-edited with Ross Parry and Karin de Wild; Routledge, 2025) and Museums and design practices (co-authored with Marco Mason; Routledge, 2025). Vince has also published widely in non-traditional modes through his independent curatorial practice. His engagement with the Institute for Digital Culture has involved establishing a set of international research observatories and academies focusing on cultural sector challenges and needs, including ASSEMBLY.

Maya Haviland is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Research School of Humanities and the Arts, Australian National University, a Fellow of the ANU McCusker Institute for Social Change, and an adjunct research fellow at the Nulungu Indigenous Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia. Her research explores co-creation methodologies, collaborative practice, and cultural change. As Founder and Research Lead of Cobeo, she develops tools, methods, and learning resources that support collective work across community, cultural, educational, and organisational contexts. Maya's work draws on more than 20 years' experience as a collaborative social researcher and community development practitioner in Australia, the Pacific, and North America. It is grounded in listening, experimentation, and adapting processes to the needs of diverse groups and communities. Maya previously led the international Scaffolding Cultural Co-Creativity Project, which developed curriculum and practical frameworks for co-creative practice. Maya is also the founding producer and co-host of the Collaboratory Podcast.

Sejul Malde leads Collaborative Research Initiatives for the College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University. He develops programmes and partnerships that build capacity to enable meaningful collaborative cultural research for public value. He is also Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives Lead for Cobeo, helping people work together across difference and address complex challenges through shared action. Previously, Sejul was Research Manager at Culture24, a UK strategic agency focusing on digital leadership and capacity building for the UK arts and heritage sector. Sejul oversaw Culture24’s research and knowledge functions, leading a range of collaborative action research programmes and projects, focusing on helping the sector become better at understanding and responding to digital cultural change. Sejul has worked across several sectors, exploring creative knowledge collaborations with diverse stakeholders including cultural and community organisations, academia, large corporates, think tanks, policymakers and charities.

ZOOM details:
https://anu.zoom.us/j/89904694774?pwd=90gBbHXQh2diwsgVLusL4lFW1zAH7D.1&jst=1 
Meeting ID: 899 0469 4774     Password: 483641