Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Ongoing
Level 1, Gallery 1–6
Free with ticket
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on the continent of Australia since time immemorial and the art and cultural traditions that have developed in this place are simultaneously among the most enduring in human history and the most exciting in contemporary society.
The National Gallery is custodian of the world’s largest and most outstanding collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, comprising over 7,500 works, and presents the nation’s largest dedicated exhibition space for First Nations art and creativity.
Our collection and gallery spaces aim to embrace, reflect and amplify the brilliance and diversity of First Nations art, culture and experience.
Please book a free Gallery entry ticket to gain admission to the National Gallery. We encourage you to book ahead of your visit.
Utopia community
Presented in the display from the national collection are paintings by artists from the community of Utopia, which is situated within the Sandover region in Central Australia. Featured is Anmatyerr artist Emily Kam Kngwarray and her contemporaries from the Utopia art movement. These include Anmatyerr artists Poly Ngal, Gloria Tamerr Petyarr, Ada Petyarr Bird, Lyndsay Mpetyan Bird, Angelina Pwerl, and Alyawarr artist Lily Kngwarrey Sandover, Emily Kam Kngwarray’s lifelong companion.
The expansive Sandover region in Central Australia is abundant with billowing grassy plains and clusters of spinifex mounds. Water soakages and sacred springs dot Country and winding riverbeds traverse the hills and ranges.
Within the display, we delve into the heart of the Utopia community and associated homelands to explore the art movement that emerged in the early 1990s.
Revered in the paintings are topographical views of Country, ceremonial scenes, sacred grasses, bush medicine and associated Dreaming stories of the Anmatyerr and Alawyarr artists. All are connected through cultural ties, ceremony, language and Country. The hues that reverberate are reminiscent of the Country on which the Ancestors have walked for millennia.