How MoAD brought the Whitlam Dismissal to life, and kept building

At a glance

When The Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) launched The Dismissal; an exhibition marking 50 years since the Whitlam dismissal, they wanted to make the most of the moment and give visitors a truly enhanced experience.

MoAD didn’t try to digitise their whole venue overnight; they launched a pilot project for a feature tour and have kept building at their own pace. Today, the whole venue is being built out on Pladia Empower, and the MoAD team runs it entirely in-house, with support from the Pladia team.

Background

• The Museum of Australian Democracy is located in Old Parliament House, Canberra - a landmark that draws school groups, tour groups, and visitors with a keen interest in Australian political history
• With rich stories to tell, and The Dismissal as a milestone moment for MoAD, they wanted a digital solution that would enhance their visitor experience
• MoAD started with a single tour throughout their venue and a quarterly licence; a low-risk way to test whether Pladia Empower suited their venue, their audience, and their stories

Why MoAD chose Empower

• Personalised visitor journeys - offering chronological and nonlinear journeys to allow each visitor to go on their own journey and at their own pace
• Intuitive software - easy for the team to configure in house - this was key to MoAD’s needs who wanted ownership of their solution
• Accessibility - catering for different visitor needs
• Audio access - allowing a headphone-free visitor experience for users, while still maintaining a quiet space for exhibition visitors
• Wayfinding - enhancing visitor experience and allowing MoAD’s guests to explore at their own pace, and navigate easily around the whole venue

Setup was completed in 6 weeks, in time for exhibition launch, and the MoAD team have continued to build their institution out on Pladia over time

Scaling at their own pace

One of the clearest wins for MoAD has been the ability to grow their digital offering without it ever feeling overwhelming.

Since launching with The Dismissal, they have:

• Added Behind the Lines - a permanent exhibition with video introduction and audio descriptions for each artwork
• Built out information and wayfinding for every level of the venue, so visitors can orient themselves and explore with confidence
• Integrated Pladia's pathways feature for turn-by-turn in-venue navigation
• Added a brand new venue level recently when it reopened - managed primarily by their own team

Owned in-house, supported by Pladia

From the start, MoAD's team has been empowered to manage their own digital experience. After an initial venue setup by Pladia and focused training on the console, MoAD’s digital lead took the reins - populating content, testing, and launching in-house.

That in-house ownership has been key for MoAD’s needs, but support with the Pladia team is always available through calls, a responsive help chat, ongoing feature releases, and a team that understands the content structures cultural institutions work with.

The takeaway

You don't need to have everything ready to get started. MoAD proves that launching with one exhibition is enough to build from. Pladia Empower gives cultural institutions a flexible, scalable platform that grows with them, delivers personalised visitor journeys, and stays firmly in their hands.

"One of my first projects when I joined MoAD was making personal recollections of the Whitlam Government dismissal available to the public. With a tight timeframe, I needed a platform that would allow us to quickly deliver and manage audio content for visitors, which led me to Pladia Empower.

The platform was quick to get up and running, easy to use, and came with many of the features we needed from the start. The Pladia team has been responsive, supportive, and open to feedback throughout the process. Together, we've created an engaging experience that makes it easy for visitors to explore these important stories."

Rebecca Budworth
A/G Head of Digital Engagement, Museum of Australian Democracy