University museum spaces, soft power and cross-cultural communication

A recent national policy initiative in Australia has the potential to affect the nature of exhibition work in university exhibition spaces. The “Australia in the Asian Century” document encourages cross-cultural discourse particularly in higher education. It is this sentiment that informed the final show at the Macquarie University Art Gallery for 2012; China India – Imaginings and Transformations. The rationale for this exhibition is briefly outlined and the potential implications of using the university museum and gallery space as an interface to foster and promote cross cultural literacy to a diversity of audiences is explored.