Opening Weekend: Ever Present
First Peoples Art of Australia
Paul Girrawah House. Image courtesy of Paul Girrawah House.
Celebrate the opening of Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia with artist talks, workshops and performances.
To attend on Saturday, simply book a free Gallery entry ticket. We encourage you to book ahead of your visit.
To attend Creative Conversations on Sunday, advance bookings are required as places are limited.
All talks and performances will be Auslan interpreted. Contact access@nga.gov.au or +61 2 6240 6632 for further information or assistance.
Saturday Program
| Time | Activity | Venue |
| 10.30–11am | Welcome and Smoking Ceremony | Main Entrance |
| 11–11.30am | Performance: Dhamuw-Koedal Cultural Group | Main Entrance |
| 11.30am-12pm | Artist Talk: Paul Girrawah House | Main Entrance |
| 12–4pm | Workshop (Drop-in) for Kids & Families with Artist Billy Bain (12-1pm & 3-4pm) | Tim Fairfax Learning Studio (Level 2) |
| 1.30–2.30pm | Artist Talks: Billy Bain, Alick Tipoti, Yhonnie Scarce | In the Gallery |
sunday program
Alfred Lowe and his work Crossing the Line. Image courtesy APY Art Centre Collective. Photograph Andy Francis.
Creative Conversations: Alfred Lowe
11am–2.30pm
Australian Garden
Free, bookings essential, limited capacity
Join Arrernte artist, Alfred Lowe, in conversation with Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples, Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, followed by a workshop with the artist to make your own ceramic vessel.
Creative Conversations is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. All children must be accompanied by a participating adult. No previous ceramics experience required.
This program can be Audio Described for people who are blind or with low vision, and Auslan interpreted. Please email access@nga.gov.au to book this service.
artists
Billy Bain in studio: Photo provided by the Artist
BILLY BAIN
Billy Bain is a contemporary First Nations artist from Dharug Country in Greater Western Sydney. His work challenges traditional views of Australian identity, often using humour to offer fresh perspectives on these narratives. Growing up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Billy explores his experiences as an Indigenous man in urban Australia, creating new stories through ceramic sculpture, oil painting, etchings, and installations.
Families can drop into the Tim Fairfax Learning Studio on Level 2 anytime between 12pm and 4pm on Saturday to participate in workshop activities inspired by his installation Plan B (Dog Walker) (2023). Billy will talk about his work in the Gallery at 1.30pm.
Paul Girrawah House
PAUL GIRRAWAH HOUSE
Paul Girrawah House, Ngambri (Walgalu), Wallaballooa (Ngunnawal), Pajong (Gundungurra) and Wiradjuri (Erambie) Peoples, is a senior Ngambri-Ngunnawal custodian of the Canberra region. Paul celebrates his cultural ancestry through traditional tree carving and has extended his practice into carving ancestral designs into glass, and other materials.
Paul will open the weekend with a Welcome and Smoking Ceremony at 10.30am on Saturday, followed by an artist talk at 11.30am about Mulanggari yur-wang (alive and strong) (2021-2022), made in collaboration with his mother, Ngambri-Ngunnawal Elder Dr Matilda House.
Alfred Lowe and his work Crossing the Line. Image courtesy APY Art Centre Collective. Photograph Andy Francis.
ALFRED LOWE
Alfred Lowe is an Arrernte artist from Snake Well in the Central Desert, north of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. He is now based in Tarndanya/Adelaide working at the APY Studio Adelaide, operated by the APY Art Centre Collective. Alfred’s practice is focused on ceramics and fibre sculptures, using these materials to explore the intersection of cultural practice and the modern world.
Join Alfred Lowe in conversation with Tina Baum (Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples), Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, on Sunday followed by a workshop with the artist to make your own ceramic vessel.
Yhonnie Scarce, Kokatha/Nukunu/Mirning peoples, Silence part 2, 2014, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2016. Yhonnie Scarce, Kokatha/Nukunu/Mirning peoples, Silence part 2, 2014, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2016
YHONNIE SCARCE
Yhonnie Scarce, Kokatha/Nukunu/Mirning peoples, is a glass artist whose practice is grounded in experimental glass blowing techniques. In Yhonnie’s work, glass becomes a lens through which to represent Aboriginal people and connection to Country and to filter historical events, government policies and the legacies of colonisation.
Yhonnie will give a talk about her work in the Gallery at 1.30pm on Saturday.
Alick Tipoti, Maluilgal nation, Kala Lagaw Ya people on Badhu Island in the Zenadth Kes/Torres Straits, Queensland, Australia
ALICK TIPOTI
Alick Tipoti, Maluyilgal nation, Kala Lagaw Ya people, is a multidisciplinary artist from Badhu Island in the Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait. Alick’s art practice includes painting, linocuts, mask making and the performance of traditional songs, chants and dances. His work details stories about the history and culture of his people and is an important living archive of contemporary Torres Strait Islander cultural expression.
Alick will perform with Dhamuw-Koedal Cultural Group at 11am on Saturday and will give a talk about his work in the Gallery at 1.30pm.
Dhamuw-Koedal Cultural Group. Photo provided by the artists.
DHAMUW-KOEDAL CULTURAL GROUP
Dhamuw-Koedal Cultural Group is a family performing group from Badhu Island in the Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait, led by Alick Tipoti, Maluyilgal nation, Kala Lagaw Ya people. Dhamuw-Koedal is all about storytelling with the aim of language preservation through songs and dance.
Dhamuw-Koedal will perform at the Main Entrance of the Gallery at 11am on Saturday.
