Is 2025 destined to be an annus mirabilis for Aboriginal art? As ever with Australian culture, the enthusiasm of foreigners is oft regraded as the benchmark of success at home. So the appearance of not one but two First Nations art exhibitions in an American list of the top eleven shows to see around the world next year looks pretty neat.

The two, of course, are the big Emily show moving from the National Gallery to the Tate Modern in London as a centrepiece of its 25th anniversary celebrations; and the National Gallery of Victoria’s ‘The Stars We Do Not See’, the claimed “largest international exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented”, which hits Washington DC in 2025, then four other North American institutions.

This puts our guys in the field alongside Anselm Kiefer; the ‘Five Friends’ – Robert Rauschenberg John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, and Cy Twombly – celebrating the first’s centenary; ‘Turner and Constable’, and Lee Bul, who’s even bigger than Lee Ufan at the Art Gallery of NSW.

But how big and influential is the website Artsy? It claims, “Everything you’ll ever need to collect art, you’ll find on Artsy”. And another arty site calls them “a global powerhouse, supporting over 4,000 galleries, auction houses and art fairs in 100 countries”. So quite big.

And, in a sense, its selections are backed up by Australia’s own master of the international market for Indigenous art – D’Lan Davidson. Having accounted for the 2024’s combined auction results for Aboriginal art at A$13.5 million in total, and highlighted the appearance of Emily Kngwarreye in a Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction at Sotheby’s in London alongside such modern masters as Picasso and Matisse, Davidson then modestly completes his annual report with his own activities in Melbourne, NY, London and Sydney, such as the revelation that he turned over $29,975,000 in art sales. Emily Kngwarreye alone totalled $11,420,000!

Clearly, much will depend on how enthusiastically the commercial world of auctions and art galleries like Davidson’s back up the institutional efforts.

Which doesn’t happen here in Australia it seems when institutions challenge us with contemporary masters like Cao Fei at the AGNSW and Julie Mehretu at the MCA, both currently showing in Sydney. Both artists appear exceptionally high on another online site, ArtReview’s ‘Power 100 list’ – Cao Fei at 13 and Mehretu at 26. There are actually only seven artists above Cao Fei, for the Power 100 is headed by a curator. Not just ‘a’ curator but the curator of the next Sydney Biennale.

No wonder the BoS was excited: “We’re thrilled to celebrate Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, the 25th Artistic Director of the Biennale of Sydney, for claiming the number one spot on ArtReview’s Power 100 list, which highlights the most influential figures in the global art world.

“The Power 100 is an annual ranking that showcases the individuals and organisations shaping contemporary art over the past year. It’s a reflection of the people and ideas driving creativity and innovation in the contemporary art landscape.

“Hoor Al Qasimi’s recognition comes as no surprise, given her remarkable contributions to the art world. She has been the Director of the Sharjah Biennial since 2003 and founded the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009 (in the Emirate where her father is the Sultan). Her expertise has extended beyond the UAE, with recent accomplishments including curating the Lahore Biennale (2020) and her appointments as Artistic Director for both the Aichi Triennale 2025 in Japan and the 25th Biennale of Sydney in 2026”.