From as far away as Kalumburu in Western Australia’s far north, to the tiny community of Kalka on the WA/NT/SA border, an exhibition featuring nine remote community art centres will open at Council House on Monday 8 July, in celebration of NAIDOC Week.
Paired with a selection of Aboriginal artworks from the City of Perth Cultural Collections, the exhibition titled OUR LAND | OUR PLACE will showcase the huge talent and varied styles of over forty artists and include a slideshow presentation of remote community artist’s lives, both in the studio and in country.
Co-curated by South Fremantle’s Artitja Fine Art Gallery and the City of Perth, the exhibition is a collaborative endeavor to bring together Indigenous art from the whole of the State to display in the one place.
“NAIDOC week, with this year’s them of Voice, Treaty, Truth is the perfect time to begin such an exhibition. The paintings are very much about the voice of Aboriginal Australia, and the themes about country and history, whether it be an ancestral story or depiction of the land. In themselves they are a great visual communicator,” says Anna Kanaris from Artitja Fine Art Gallery.
Coming from regions as remote as Balgo and Warmun in the Kimberley, to Punmu in the Pilbara and Tjukurla in the Goldfields/Esperance region, the areas covered in the exhibition are vast and widespread, including WA’s southwest.
The exhibition will also incorporate the WA launch of the Indigenous Jewellery Project (IJP), Australia’s first and only national Indigenous contemporary jewellery project, based in Victoria though working nationally to develop the platform of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jeweller artists.
“This selling exhibition is a great way for lovers of art to get a good grasp of the different styles and themes of paintings produced in our State’s art centres, whether the medium is ochre or acrylic” says Anna Kanaris. “There will definitely be something for everyone, and there is always an educational aspect to our exhibitions.”
The exhibition will continue through to the end of September.
Where – Ground floor foyer, Council House – 27 St George’s Tce, Perth
Dates – 8 July – 27 September
