National Gallery’s 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony begins national tour

Continuing across Country, the National Gallery of Australia’s Ceremony will tour until 2024 with more stops scheduled at Shepparton Art Museum (VIC), Araluen Arts Centre (NT), Samstag Museum of Art (SA) and Western Plains Cultural Centre (NSW).

Curated by Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman Hetti Perkins, in collaboration with National Gallery curators, the Ceremony touring exhibition showcases 15 new bodies of work by 35 First Nations artists from across the country.

Perkins says: ‘Ceremony is not a new idea in the context of our unique heritage, but neither is it something that belongs only in the past. In their works, the artists in this exhibition assert the prevalence of ceremony as a forum for artmaking today in First Nations communities.”

‘In each ceremonial action, artists make an individual mark in our history. Ceremony is the nexus of Country, culture and community, and the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial is another stitch in a timeless heritage,’ says Perkins.

From traditional painting to a soft sculpture in the form of a Blak Parliament House – an Aboriginal take on Australia’s political heartland – the expansive exhibition brings together a diverse range of artists working in a variety of art forms including sculpture, painting, ceramics, moving image, photography and more.

The touring exhibition includes works by artists Robert Andrew, Joel Bray, Kunmanara Carroll, Penny Evans, Nicole Foreshew with Boorljoonngali, Margaret Rarruu Garrawurra and Helen Ganalmirriwuy Garrawurra, Hayley Millar Baker, Mantua Nangala, S.J Norman, Dylan River, Darrell Sibosado, Andrew Snelgar, James Tylor, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, Tangentyere artists and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu.

Some site-specific works will not travel but remain essential to Ceremony – including Ngambri-Ngunnawal Elder Dr Matilda House and her son Paul Girrawah House’s Mulanggari yur-wang (alive and strong), a permanent public art installation of tree scarring in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden, Robert Fielding’s installation on Lake Burley Griffin Holden On, and Joel Spring’s architectural intervention, untitled (winhangarra). Although unable to tour, visitors can learn more about these works through exhibition documentation that will be on display at touring venues and through the digital exhibition catalogue.

National Gallery Director Dr Nick Mitzevich said that since the National Indigenous Art Triennial was established in 2007 it had become one of the most important exhibitions for First Nations art, artists, and culture in Australia.

‘Ceremony, the fourth iteration of the National Indigenous Art Triennial curated by one of the nation’s most respected curators and cultural voices Hetti Perkins, continues the legacy of First Nations excellence seen throughout its history,” he said.

‘We continue to find new ways for the Triennial to reach the widest possible audience and bring First Nations art and culture into the lives of all Australians and beyond. This touring exhibition, alongside the Gallery’s first digital publication – brings the stories of the artists to a global audience’ said Dr Mitzevich.

Hosting venues are also excited to share more First Nations perspectives with their audiences, with UQ Art Museum, Director Dr Holly Arden saying, ‘Our programming at UQ Art Museum has been increasingly focussed on the work of First Nations artists as critical voices in the national and international dialogue.’

‘By working with the National Gallery as a touring partner we're thrilled we can bring these extraordinary and powerful works to Queensland audiences’ said Dr Arden.

The Triennial is the National Gallery’s flagship exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. The 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony Touring Exhibition is made possible through the continued generosity of the National Gallery’s Indigenous Arts Partner Wesfarmers Arts and key philanthropic supporters.