Tweed Regional Museum has taken out top honours at the prestigious 2025 IMAGinE Awards for its groundbreaking exhibition How to Draw a Dinosaur, which achieved the highest visitation in the Museum’s history and redefined what a regional cultural institution can deliver.
Late last month, museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural organisations from across NSW gathered at the University of Sydney, to celebrate the announcement of the Awards. Tweed Regional Museum won in the Exhibition Projects category, joining an impressive line-up of organisations recognised for excellence and innovation.
Combining authentic fossils, cutting-edge paleontological research and extraordinary artworks by acclaimed artists, How to Draw a Dinosaur blurred the lines between science and imagination to create a dynamic, world-class experience in a regional context. The exhibition’s playful, hands-on approach made complex scientific ideas accessible for all ages, with interactive installations inviting visitors to design and project their own dinosaurs.
It also included experiential digital artwork, Encounters by Craig Walsh, which projected prehistoric creatures into the Tweed River from Murwillumbah Bridge, transforming the river into a landscape extinct for countless millennia.
Museum Director Molly Green said the award was a testament to the team’s ambition and creativity.
“This project was about more than dinosaurs: it was about curiosity, creativity and connection. We wanted to show that regional museums can deliver bold, innovative experiences that rival metropolitan institutions, and the response has been incredible,” Ms Green said.
The impact of the exhibition was remarkable:
- 40, 000 visitors to the exhibition – a 131% increase in Museum visitation
- 55% first-time visitors, with 42% travelling from outside the Tweed Shire, driving regional tourism and economic growth
- 4,000+ unique dinosaurs created through interactive installations
- 1,200 participants engaged through workshops, family programs and a sold-out Museum Up Late: Dino Party
- 891% increase in digital reach across key platforms
“We are deeply honoured to receive this award and thank the judges for recognising the ambition and creativity behind this project. It’s a proud moment for our small team, who have achieved so much and for the Tweed community, and we look forward to sharing this experience with audiences across NSW as the exhibition tours,” Ms Green said.
Supported by a Create NSW Regional Touring Grant, How to Draw a Dinosaur is now touring NSW, with stops in Newcastle, Albury, Wagga and Bathurst, ensuring its legacy continues across the state.
Also awarded was the recent Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali exhibition, which has been recognised with the IMAGinE Award for Exhibition Projects – Galleries (Medium).
Presented by Museums & Galleries of NSW, this statewide award celebrates the collaborative exhibition led by Arts Northern Rivers and toured through Grafton Regional Gallery, Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, and Lismore Regional Gallery.
The project, curated by Bundjalung artist Kylie Caldwell, honoured cultural continuity through the return of ancestral woven objects to Country and the revitalisation of weaving traditions across the Northern Rivers.
The IMAGinE Awards are an initiative of Museums & Galleries of NSW, developed with support from the Australian Museums and Galleries Association NSW and Regional and Public Galleries of NSW. The 2025 Awards were made possible through the generous support of sponsors, including International Conservation Services as the Major Sponsor, and Verge Gallery, University of Sydney, as the venue partner.
For a full list of the winners and highly commended visit https://mgnsw.org.au/sector/programs/imagine/winners/winners-2025
For more information about Tweed Regional Museum and its programs, visit museum.tweed.nsw.gov.au
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