The first installment in the exhibition project Lake Macquarie: Living Cultures focussed on local Aboriginal history and influences across various mediums.

“The exhibition is the first of an ongoing series that will explore stories related to the original Aboriginal people and the people who have joined them here since the early 1800s from cultures and countries all over the world,” the gallery’s marketing and audience engagement officer, Laura Wilson, said.

The idea was not to present “definitive historical research”, she said, but a “museum with a difference – a space where history, memory and culture intersected with contemporary art and artists to convey a broader picture of Lake Macquarie.”

The first exhibition held in November and December last year focused on working watercraft on the lake – everything from cargo vessels and ferries to a traditional canoe made by the local Aboriginal community.

Stories were told through objects, photographs, maps and works from the gallery’s collection and commissioned artworks by Luke Beezley and Maggie Hensel-Brown.

The IMAGinE judges said by engaging with community groups and cultural workers as consultants and co-creators, the gallery accessed their valuable knowledge and objects.

“This enabled the gallery to develop a multi-faceted exhibition relevant to many sectors of the community,” they said.

It’s not the first time the gallery has featured in the IMAGinE awards. In 2015, the gallery was recognised for its (in)visible: the First Peoples and War exhibition, and in the Sustainability Programs category, for its new energy-efficient lighting system.

In 2016, the gallery won an IMAGinE award for its Lore & Order exhibition.

The awards recognise innovation and excellence in 500 museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centres across NSW.

The second exhibition in the Lake Macquarie: Living Cultures series features beach culture. It opens on December 9.