Josh Tarrant

Josh Tarrant is part of the Queensland Museum’s Museum Development Officer (MDO) Program and based in Ipswich, Queensland.

Josh assists community-focused organisations with the management and interpretation of their museums and collections.

He has worked in a range of regional and metropolitan museums throughout Australia and uses his curatorial and collection management experience support help groups to engage communities and unlock the potential of their collections. His approach is outcome oriented and is responsive to the unique environments and dynamics of the groups he works with.

Josh has a particular interest the histories of fraternal societies and the alternate lifestyle movement in Australia.

Projects

Exhibitions

• ANZAC: A day in the life of (Lead curator for Scenic Rim Council project, 2015).
• Black Diggers (Lead curator for Scenic Rim Council project, 2015).
• Women in War (Lead curator for Scenic Rim Council project, 2015).
• Gold Coast Rediscovered pop-up museum (Lead Curator for City of Gold Coast project, 2016).
• From Cables to Commemoration: The Gold Coast Home Front 1914-18 (Lead Curator for City of Gold Coast project, 2017).
• From the mountains to the sea: Sunshine Coast stories (Co-curator for Sunshine Coast Council and University of Sunshine Coast project, 2017).
• The South Coast Railway (Lead Curator for at Mudgeeraba Museum, 2021).
• Coming to Light: the life and work of Guy Hunt (Lead curator, Gold Coast Historical Museum, 2021).

Significance Assessments

• Yandina & District Historical Society Collection (Whole of collection significance assessment, 2020).
• Maroochydore RSL Subbranch (Whole of collection significance assessment, 2016).
• Pomona Museum (Whole of collection significance assessment, 2016).
• Buderim Pioneer Cottage (Whole of collection significance assessment, 2017).
• Peachester Heritage Centre (Whole of collection significance assessment, 2021).

Reports

• Community collections council support study (2018).
• Gold Coast Small Museum Collections Audit (2017).
• Sunshine Coast Regional Council Shared collection facility governance and operation: Cases studies and recommendations (2021).
• Noosa Shire Museum situation analysis and recommendations (2017).
• Community consultation and theme development for Scenic Rim Story Marker project: interpretative approach and thematic framework (2018).

Workshops

• Deaccessioning.
• Exhibition Development.
• Deaccessioning.
• Environmental Conditions and Monitoring.
• Collection policy and management.
• Collection storage and enclosure.