Namatjira story

Albert Namatjira (28 July 1902 – 8 August 1959) was a Western Arrernte-speaking Aboriginal artist from the MacDonnell Ranges, west of Alice Springs in Central Australia. His Western-style landscapes, different from traditional Aboriginal art, made him a celebrated pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art in the 1950s and the most famous Indigenous Australian of his generation.…

The story of Judy Watson’s ‘tow row’

The story of Judy Watson’s tow row transcends its physical form and speaks of cultural retrieval and community activation. This stunning work, generously funded by the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation, Cathryn Mittelheuser AM and others, is a fitting acknowledgment of the ancestor spirit of Kurilpa. Public art has the power to change the cultural…

Albert Namatjira’s legacy celebrated

‎Albert Namatjira occupies a significant place within Australian art history, being the first widely recognised Indigenous artist. His work Western MacDonnells c.1945 was the first by an Aboriginal person to enter the QAGOMA Collection in 1947. The Hermannsburg School art movement that began at the Lutheran mission of Hermannsburg in Central Australia in the 1930s,…

Morning Star Poles

The dramatic group of 76 Banumbirr (Morning star poles) from Galiwin’ku, Arnhem Land resemble those used annually in north-eastern Arnhem Land ceremonies that celebrate the morning star (the planet Venus). RELATED: Read more about Australian Indigenous Art SIGN UP NOW: Subscribe to QAGOMA Blog for the latest announcements, acquisition highlights, behind-the-scenes features, and artist stories.…

Judy Watson introduces ‘tow row’

Judy Watson’s work is deeply connected to concealed histories, the significance of objects and the power of memory and loss. In tow row, Watson has responded to a site close to the Brisbane River by referencing woven nets used by Aboriginal people of the area, acknowledging the traditional owners of the site and their everyday fishing activities…

Visit Makarrki, Sally Gabori’s brother’s country

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori lived an entirely traditional life for her first 23 years, moving between her family’s main homeland sites and living according to an unbroken ancestral culture. In 1948, following devastating drought, storms and a near four-metre tidal surge, she and her kin were moved to nearby Mornington Island. In our series on her work…