New Exhibition Explores Mabo Legacy
Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery is delighted to present ‘Legacy: Reflections on Mabo’. This is the first major art exhibition to explore the Mabo legacy from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives, and the first to incorporate significant curatorial direction by the Mabo family.
The exhibition will launch at Saturday 27 March at 2pm, with Nukunu Elder Lindsay Thomas honouring us with a Welcome to Country and artist Sonja Carmichael providing a preview artist talk from 1-2pm. The exhibition will run until 13 June 2021.
Co-curated by Gail Mabo, Dr Jonathan McBurnie and Kellie Williams (Director of Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts), this exhibition features both established and emerging artists from around Australia.
‘Legacy: Reflections on Mabo’ celebrates the man behind the game-changing Native Title Act, Eddie Koiki Mabo, and the ongoing influence and impact he has had on Australian society and culture. This travelling exhibition brings together 25 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists in the spirit of reconciliation, almost three decades after this historic achievement. Each artist has responded to an aspect of Mabo they were drawn to, whether it was his life, politics, activism or legacy. The artworks come together in surprising ways, with reverence, compassion, anger, sadness and respect, celebrating a man who was both a rebel and a dreamer.
Co-curator Kellie Williams highlights the significance of the exhibition. “Last year marked 25 years since the landmark ruling and this exhibition will celebrate Mabo’s legacy through a diverse cultural cross-section of artists in the spirit of reconciliation, progress and diversity,” she said.
The exhibition will showcase the works of 25 established, mid-career and emerging contemporary artists working in a variety of media, including sculpture, print, video, installation and painting.
Artists: Blak Douglas & Adam Geczy, Elisa Jane Carmichael & Sonja Carmichael, Toby Cedar, Dian Darmansjah, Katina Davidson, Shane Fitzgerald, Hayley Megan French, Marion Gaemers, Patricia Hoffie, David Jones, Ian Kaddy, Talitha Kennedy, Jo Lankester, Veronica Lulu & Kim Mahood, Ron McBurnie, Arone Meeks, Jim Paterson, Tommy Pau, Obery Sambo, Anneke Silver, Ken Thaiday Sr. and Judy Watson.
Museums & Galleries Queensland is touring this exhibition nationally including Redland Art Gallery, QLD; Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW; Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, NSW; Bunbury Regional Art Galleries, WA; Burnie Regional Art Gallery, TAS; Burrinja, Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre, VIC; Nautilus Arts Centre, Port Lincoln, SA; Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery, SA; Bundaberg Regional Galleries, QLD; and the Australian National Maritime Museum, NSW.