VJA was indeed privileged to receive a visit from the Victorian Government Planning and Environment Minister the Hon. Rob. Hulls on Thursday 6th July 2006. This was in relation to the new Victorian Heritage Strategy announced recently.

In his address to the assembed politicians, media personnel and Archive volunteers, Minister Hulls stressed among other things the importance of collecting and preserving memorabilia of our heritage for future generations. He mentioned he was very aware of the excellent work done in this area by VJA over the past 10 years, and in support of this achievement he announced a grant of $10,000 from the Victorian Government through Heritage Victoria. Such funding will go towards the development of a 'Travelling Exhibition' which will be used to better acquaint the general public with the work of the Archive, the historical importance of jazz in this state and its heritage significance to Australia. Minister Hulls expressed the desire for the first 'airing' of the exhibtion to be at this years Wangaratta Festival of Jazz which is now recognised as the premier jazz festival in Australia. This would be followed by a display at suitable locations in the state's regional areas of Shepparton, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and the Latrobe Valley.

The Traveling Exhibition will consist of a number of display panels, each approximately 2.2 metres high by 0.9 metres wide on self-supporting telescopic frames with independent lighting attached to the top of each frame. Six panels will be of a generic nature relating to a) the work at the Archive, and b) Melbourne being recognized as the hub of jazz in Australia, whilst the remainder will be more specifically related to jazz bands and musicians - with a couple of these devoted to the vibrant contemporary jazz scene. The panels will be printed on either plastic or silk screening, and together with the frames all fit into a suitable carry case for easy transportation and assembly.