The relationship between Universities and their host community has often been problematic, but over the past decade, since the Howard Government established a more rigorous climate of accountability, universities have been required to embrace community engagement along with teaching & learning and research & development as part of their contract.
Building links with the cities they share and contributing to the cultural life of that community, while offering a critical examination of its intertwining histories, is becoming an increasingly important role adopted for many university galleries.
University art galleries serve many communities: their host university, most importantly: the arts community in general; the expanded national and international communities, and the local community in which they reside. While their fundamental service agreement is with the university, their role in documenting and interpreting those local histories, attitudes and responses, and their additional role as a catalyst and collaborator in generating new work, must be accommodated within that primary contract.
The expectations of these other communities are increasing and university galleries are aiming to meet those agendas while ensuring that the core responsibilities of a professional gallery located within an educational institution are not compromised.