The late Mr Johns, who died in Boorowa earlier this year, received the ‘Inspiring Museums & Galleries in Excellence” (IMAGinE) award for Individual Achievement.

The IMAGinE award website reads: “Glen Johns contributed tirelessly to the museum sector across New South Wales from the late 1990s through to his death on 31 January 2011.

“Within museum circles, Glen is probably best remembered as the man behind the Working Spaces conferences held at St Clements, Galong.

As a man who believed anything was possible, Glen approached Museums & Galleries NSW in 2006 with an idea for a volunteer museums conference with “no talking heads” and plenty of practical workshops.

“In no time, Glen had convinced the major cultural institutions in Canberra to contribute staff to run the various workshops and the Working Spaces conference was born.”

The award was accepted on Mr Johns’ behalf by his partner of 25 years, Elizabeth Masters, at a gala event hosted by television personality Libby Gore at the Australian Museum in Sydney on Friday night (September 30).

Among the other award winners and nominees were Edmund Capon, director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales who received an award for lifetime achievement and, in the organisational categories, the Powerhouse Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney University Museums, the Australian Museum of Democracy, the Australian Museum, the State Library of New South Wales, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.