Aboriginal Art in Modern Worlds

World of Dreamings

Exhibition
8 Sept – 8 Nov 2000
Photographic series of staged tableaus

Tracey Moffatt, Something more series, 1989, Commissioned by the Albury Regional Art Centre with assistance from the Visual Arts/Crafts Board of the Australia Council and the Exhibitions Development Fund of the Regional Galleries Association of NSW, Courtesy of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney

About

Two centuries ago, when Europeans first began to settle in this country, Indigenous Australia comprised many distinct cultural groups, each with their own language, customs, laws, spiritual beliefs and artistic traditions.

The coming of the Europeans has led to great social, political and cultural upheavals among Indigenous Australians, the courses of which have varied from place to place and over time.

Aboriginal Art in Modern Worlds celebrates some of the highest achievements of Aboriginal artists working in recent decades whose peoples confront widely differing circumstances.

To varying degrees, the art of Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Nym Bandak, Rover Thomas, John Mawurndjul, Fiona Foley, Tracey Moffatt, the Ramingining and Wik artists, is based in age-old traditions, yet it is a vital and dynamic expression of the contemporary realities of Aboriginal Australians who today live and work from Arnhem Land to New York.

Partners and Sponsors

  • Art Exhibitions Australia
  • National Museum of Australia, Canberra
  • Australian Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including Australia's participation in World EXPO 2000
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Canberra
  • Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra
  • Australia Council, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board, Sydney
  • The Thomas Foundation
  • Northern Territory Government through the Department of Arts & Museums and the Northern Territory Tourist Commission

The content on this page is sourced from: Aboriginal Art in Modern Worlds. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 2000.

Touring dates and venues

  • State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
    2 February – 9 April 2000
  • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
    8 June – 8 November 2000

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