Ralph Appelbaum Associates

Australian Democracy: More than 2,000 Years in the Making presents Australia’s vigorous history of democratic innovation. Established as a penal colony but steeped in the traditions of parliamentary democracy, Australia evolved into one of the world’s great democratic nations, dedicated to human rights and repairing past injustices.

The exhibition is located in the Old Parliament House, the site of 60 years of Australian parliamentary history from 1928 to 1988. As an important national heritage site, the existing building fabric could not be modified, so exhibits were carefully fitted into the existing architectural conditions.

The Living Democracy exhibit reveals in a lively and accessible way how ordinary citizens can make their voices heard in a democracy. RAA adapted the Museum’s existing Australian Prime Ministers exhibit, chronicling the lives and achievements of all 26 Prime Ministers since 1901 to the present day, in a new gallery location with numerous new features and functional improvements.

The Australian Democracy Gallery, centrally located in what was the Parliamentary Library, features an interactive timeline of Australian democratic history. The timeline is set on a canted surface that evokes the reading tables that once occupied the space.

Object-based exhibits tucked into the eight alcove bays of bookshelves lining the room tell key thematic stories. Throughout the project, custom-printed wallpaper, which can be removed with water without harming the walls, was used to marry content to the “house of the people.”