Tamworth Regional Gallery and Film and Sound Archive nominated for IMAGinE Awards

Volunteers for the Tamworth Film and Sound Archive thought they were going to be forced to box up their collection, and ship it out of the city when they were forced to move out of their long-term home.

"It's absolutely important this is not lost forever," archive secretary Ces Ledwos told the Leader.

"It's so important that we keep the history, the cultural, and the social history of this particular district and region.

"So people in the future can see what it is that makes it so special."

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The archive had to be moved out of Ray Walsh House when the discovery of asbestos relocated 180 staff members out the building indefinitely.

With the help of the council, the volunteer group sought out a new location to house the archive, but ran into a number of issues with finding an appropriate place.

Now, the archive is back up and running, and spread across three locations in Tamworth.

On the back of the hard work and determination of the volunteers, Tamworth Regional Council's museum operation and visitor engagement officer Naomi Blakey nominated the group for an IMAGinE accolade.

The state-wide awards recognise the resilience, innovation, and creativity of museums, galleries, and cultural spaces, while showcasing the people who work in them.

Ms Blakey said the archive's ability to take everything thrown at them was a glowing example of resilience.

"It's about the massive effort and collaboration that the volunteers had ... and now being at a point where they can work operationally, and continue to meet weekly," she said.

Since moving into their new homes, Mr Ledwos said the archive volunteers had been able to get back into digitising old rolls of films to help preserve history.

He said the group had done commissioned work for people who had discovered VHS tapes at home, and had been involved with assisting Calrossy Anglican School with celebrating 100 years of its Brisbane Street campus.

And just recently, the group received a comment on social media to let them know the old film video they posted to Facebook was footage of a local's relative he had never seen before, which he would now treasure.

Mr Ledwos said if the archive manages to take home the award, he hopes it will help raise the group's profile, and bring in some new volunteers.

"Our volunteers act as quasi-curators," he said.

"Currently our space is very limited, so in terms of having open days and so forth, it's very difficult because we cant squeeze the people in there."

Tamworth Regional Gallery director Bridget Guthrie said the nomination, and a potential award, highlights the significance, and the uniqueness of the archive.

"The only other really big sound archive is in Canberra, so the significance of what is held here, and the dedication of the volunteers is really important," Ms Guthrie said.

The gallery itself is also nominated for its own IMAGinE award to recognise the inclusivity of the annual Trans Day of Visibility event.

The event first launched in Tamworth in 2022, to celebrate and welcome the city's diverse community.

"We really want to ensure that education process is there, and that there's a presence and a voice within Tamworth," Ms Guthrie said.

"It's a real celebration. But we try to ensure there's also programs ongoing throughout the year to promote that inclusiveness, and opportunity for our community as well."

Ms Guthrie said the event would not be possible without the efforts of Tamworth Pride.

"Tamworth Pride are just the most generous, fantastic, joyous group of people to work with," she said.

The gallery is also nominated for a collaborative exhibition with the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre titled 'Looking For Gold'.

Ms Guthrie said a win in the two categories would be the cherry on top for the hard work staff and volunteers do, enjoy, and love.

The winners will be announced at an awards night hosted in Sydney in November.

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