In 2005 Newcastle Region Art Gallery, in collaboration with ABC Radio National’s The Deep End, launched Australia’s first ever publicly curated exhibition. Radio and online audiences could vote for the works they wanted to see and the results of the poll formed the basis of a real-life exhibition.

Each week radio and web audiences were invited into a virtual boardroom to hone the selection and curatorial process. This process was enticing and entertaining and it also has a subtle didacticism – the general public, both local and national, got to know the Gallery’s collection.

The real-life exhibition opened on May 13 2005 at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery. Some parts of the exhibition can be viewed online at ABC Deepend 2005