Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

Collection
Currently closed due to lighting maintenance
a person in blurred motion is walking through a gallery space

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander galleries.

GALLERY CLOSURE UPDATE:

Due to lighting maintenance the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Galleries will be closed until further notice.

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.

Related

Collection

Tjanpi Desert Weavers

Past Exhibition
Two Indigenous Australian woman are on Country sitting with their sculptures of small animals woven from native and dyed grasses

14 Nov 2020 – 4 Jul 2021

The Aboriginal Memorial

Three men standing among a Bruce, Djon and Nick hollow log coffins from central Arnhem Land

On the eve of our 40th anniversary, the Gallery re-examines The Aboriginal Memorial.

Read Time 11 minutes
Touring Exhibition

Ever Present
First Peoples Art of Australia

On Tour

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, New Zealand
29 Jul – 29 Oct 2023

Drawn from the national collection and Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Kelli Cole reflects on Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s life and shares highlights from the collection.

Read Time 10 minutes
First Nations

Mind your language

A wide long photograph / still from a film with a First Nations man, wearing a yellow singlet and black shorts signing

With the decade of Indigenous Languages beginning in 2022, find out how the Gallery will contribute to this vital global conversation.

Read Time 19 minutes

Blak power

A soft sculpture depiction of Parliament House surrounded by soft sculptures of people and native Australian animals and protest signs

Artists Marlene Rubuntja and Nanette Sharpe explain their connection to their work Blak Parliament House and Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

Read Time 10 minutes