16 DECEMBER 2015

LEADING QUEENSLAND INDIGENOUS ART TO TOUR THE STATE

Highlights from the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s landmark 2013 contemporary Indigenous Australian art exhibition will tour to nine regional galleries around the state over the next two years.

‘My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art from Black Queensland’ begins its tour at the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery from 17 February to 3 April 2016, and goes on to visit venues at Logan, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Gympie, Redcliffe, Redland Shire, Townsville and Mackay.

QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said the touring version of ‘My Country’ would feature more than 25 works by 21 artists from Queensland.

‘The exhibition will include works from the Gallery's holdings of Indigenous Australian painting, sculpture, fibre art, prints and photography which explore the history, contemporary issues and geographic country of Queensland’s Indigenous peoples,’ Mr Saines said.

QAGOMA Curator of Indigenous Australian Art Bruce McLean said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists were instrumental in telling their own Australian stories.

‘This exhibition explores how these artists present views of history, assert their presence over country, respond to contemporary politics and highlight contemporary Indigenous experiences in Australia,’ Mr McLean said.

Among important works by leading contemporary Queensland artists are large paintings by Mirdidingkingathi Juwarrnda Sally Gabori and Arthur Koo-ekka Pambegan Jr that describe deep connections to country. Michael Cook evokes history through contemporary photography, while Vernon Ah Kee’s large scale charcoal drawing of his ancestor Annie Ah Sam 2008 offers a poignant personal connection to family history. Adrian King, Vincent Serico and Judy Watson explore life as an Indigenous person in Queensland, now and in recent history. The Torres Strait Islands are represented by Alick Tipoti, Destiny Deacon, Douglas Watkin and James Eseli.

The original exhibition’s publication is available, featuring artist interviews and essays by exhibition curator Bruce McLean, and leading Indigenous Australian curators and scholars Brenda L Croft, Hetti Perkins and Glenn Iseger‑Pilkington.

In 2014, ‘My Country’ toured to the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the largest selection of contemporary Indigenous Australian work ever to travel to New Zealand. In an ongoing commitment to make art accessible to all Queenslanders, QAGOMA works with a network of regional galleries and community centres to deliver exhibitions, talks, workshops and kids programs throughout the state.

Regional initiatives include an ongoing program of touring exhibitions from the Collection, annual Kids' on Tour programs to dozens of regional centres, artist workshops, and professional development opportunities.

In 2014, ‘My Country’ toured to the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the largest selection of contemporary Indigenous Australian work ever to travel to New Zealand.