Media release from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
DFAT's International touring Indigenous Art Exhibition
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is proud to present
the art exhibition Seasons of the Kunwinjku by artists from the Kunwinjku
clans of West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
This collection of contemporary Indigenous Australian art reflects the stylistic
techniques that have been employed by the Kunwinku people for over 50,000
years.
The collection of 13 paintings and 13 photographs tells the traditional
stories of the Kunwinjku clans' ancestors. While many stories relate to the
Dreamtime, the time of creation, the exhibition also provides an insight
into Indigenous culture and the collective knowledge about the seasonal cycles
of West Arnhem Land.
The exhibition was purchased by the Department in 1994 from the Hogarth
Galleries Aboriginal Art Centre, Sydney, and continues to enjoy a successful
international touring program. To date, the exhibition has travelled to many
cities around the world including Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul,
Dhaka, Karachi, Mexico City, Manila, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Maracaibo, Bogota,
Wellington, Harare, Nairobi, Port Louis, Pretoria, Lagos, Rome, Ottowa and
Port Moresby.
In 2002, the exhibition travelled to Sao Paulo (Brazil), Hanoi (Vietnam),
Vientiane (Laos), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Rangoon (Burma). The exhibition will
be in Indonesia until the end of June 2003.
The exhibition is managed and owned by the Department's Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Program, Images of Australia Branch and the tour is being
supported by Australia's diplomatic missions abroad.
Media Inquires:
Tracey Haines, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program, Images of
Australia Branch (Tel: 02-6261 3942)
Anthony Murphy, Manager, Injalak Arts and Crafts, Northern Territory (Tel:
08-8979 0190)
Djon Mundine, Indigenous art specialist, based in Canberra (Mobile: 0415
522 020)