State Library of NSW organises onsite exhibitions on a variety of themes. One such exhibition is Eight Days in Kamay, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the Endeavour's eight-day visit to Kamay (Botany Bay) in 1770, to explore the events that unfolded during the visit and their continuing impact.
The project was planned as a temporary exhibition, but 'pivoted' to an online exhibition due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. In July 2020, the onsite exhibition opened to the public and the online exhibition continues to provide access during and after, aa well as to people unable to visit on site.
The exhibition connects contemporary audiences with these much-lauded primary sources and to complement European narratives with Indigenous voices and perspectives, particularly those of the descendants of the Gweagal people of Kamay, who were there at the time of the Endeavour's visit. The online exhibition seamlessly incorporates rich media including text, commentary, photographs commissioned for the exhibition, oral history interviews with Indigenous Elders, image galleries of collection items and contemporary artworks, and provides a rich, interactive experience for the online visitor.
The website integrates links to learning activities, produced by the Learning Services team for teachers and students to interrogate the content in the context of the curriculum. The online exhibition also encourages people to explore the Library collection, by providing 'deep dive' catalogue links to the original materials for people to view the digitised copies and transcripts of the original journals and artworks.
The online exhibition delivers this contemporary exhibition beyond the onsite building and allows for this contemporary interpretation and discussion to be available to audiences and researchers of NSW both city and regional, Australian and international. It also provides an enduring link to the content.
