Boola Bardip means ‘many stories’ in Whadjuk Noongar. This short phrase summarises a monumental project that has been in the works since 2009, a true dedication and labour of love from the WA Museum team.
If walls could talk…
The site that the stunning new Boola Bardip sits on was once a system of wetlands, a meeting place for the Noongar people. Later, from the 1800s the site was built upon and developed over many years, including the Perth Gaol, the Geological Museum, Jubilee Building, Geologists’ offices, Beaufort Street building and Hackett Hall – all of which are still standing today, housing generations of stories underneath the new, colossal structure that encompasses the site into the united WA Museum Boola Bardip.
Publik were recommended to, and engaged by Multiplex in late 2018 to undertake the planning, production and installation of over 2600 graphics to the 7 permanent galleries within the Museum. In order to effectively manage a project of this scale Publik invested significant time and resources to ensure airtight systems were in place to oversee the receipt, production and installation of each single graphic that went into the Museum, including programming and extensive documentation of the individual attributes of each graphic. A crucial component of this system was the development of an online platform allowing Publik and the project’s major stakeholders transparent access to each graphic’s unique attributes as well as a real time update of where graphics were within the production and installation process.
Sustainability was an important factor that was considered at the onset of the project, as using existing manufacturing methods would have generated tremendous amounts of wastage. Publik invested in new printing technologies that prevented over 5400 square metres of non-recyclable waste entering landfill. The new printing technologies also greatly increased our capacity to produce, cutting production timeframes by over half to ensure that we were able to meet crucial deadlines. Publik worked tirelessly to install over 2600 square metres of graphics to the galleries before Boola Bardip’s grand opening at the end of 2020.
In addition to the graphics within 7 permanent galleries, Publik’s Brolga Suite makes an appearance throughout Boola Bardip, sharing the stories of its long history – learn about the grapevine planted in the 1850s that still lives in front of the Old Gaol, or the stunning architecture of the historic Hackett Hall from its prominent exterior and rooftop lantern viewpoint.
The new WA Museum Boola Bardip was opened in November of 2020 to much anticipation from Perth and all involved. It has become a treasured place for all Western Australians to share our stories with the world, from the cosmos to our unique wildlife, sharing unique WA innovations and reflecting on our State’s history.
WA Musem Boola Bardip in numbers;
- 2643 individual graphics, 2664 square metres produced.
- The tallest graphic produced and installed was the My WA Banner at 18 metres tall, installed 30 metres above ground level.
- The widest graphic produced and installed was the Shane Pickett artwork wallpaper in the Ngalang Koort Boodja Wirn gallery hallway at 25 metres wide, and 7 metres tall.
- Our smallest graphic? 75 millimetres tall and full of important facts!
- Almost 10,000 emails sent and received throughout the project.
