Christmas wishes from the First Nations Arts & Culture team at Creative Australia (the old Ozco) in the words of Franchesca Cubillo, Executive Director. It’s interesting to see what the official priorities are and were:
“As we close another milestone year, and our first year guided by the First Nations pillar of the National Cultural Policy, Revive, I want to celebrate the achievements of our First Nations arts community locally, nationally, and internationally. 2025 has been a year of growth in cultural leadership, community-driven innovation, and partnerships connecting artists, communities, and audiences across the globe.
“One of the highlights was the opening of Archie Moore’s kith and kin at QAGOMA in Brisbane. Gifted by Creative Australia on behalf of the Australian Government, this was kith and kin‘s first Australian exhibition since winning the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale in 2024 – the first time an Australian artist (and curator) has achieved this. The installation traces connections across 65,000 years of ancestry, offering an experience for all ages.
“This year also marked the 40th anniversary of the handback of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to the Anangu Traditional Owners. Communities celebrated with projects that revived Inma singing, engaged young musicians, and highlighted the richness of First Nations storytelling.
“First Nations fashion and weaving were celebrated with Miimi & Jiinda showcasing their work at Australian Fashion Week and launching mentoring programs, while Kurdinthi: National First Nations Weaving Symposium brought together over 100 weavers from across Australia for cultural exchange and public engagement.
“Across the country, grassroots projects, mentoring programs, and local festivals have strengthened language, arts, and culture. Major exhibitions and international showcases have highlighted First Nations expertise in storytelling and artistic excellence, including an Emily Kam Kngwarray (sic) exhibition at Tate Modern, the first major solo show of an Indigenous Australian artist at the storied London gallery.
“Looking ahead, I invite you to save the date for the 2026 First Nations Art and Culture Awards on 27 May 2026, coinciding with National Reconciliation Week. It will be a time to honour outstanding contributions and celebrate community achievements. More details will be shared in the new year.
“Thank you to my team, the staff of Creative Australia, and all artists, Elders, staff and community partners whose energy, commitment, and vision inspire our work every day. Wishing you a peaceful and restorative holiday”.
I wonder what your priorities might have been??? CA’s seem to have only been events funded or managed by them! Please throw your thoughts at our Comments section.
But looking through the lists of matters covered by AAD, I came up with the following for prime First Nations cultural consideration:
Nici Cumpston’s final Tarnanthi Festival as she flies to the Kluge/Ruhe Gallery in Virginia set a cap on her decade at this important event’s helm. Then a rival for curatorial prominence must have been in the radical conception of Tony Albert’s NGA Triennial. I haven’t seen it yet, but he’s persuasive on paper and on the radio. Did the NGV’s big effort to take more Aboriginal art to the US than ever before actually come off? I fear that if Sebastian Smee’s critique in the Washington Post is fair, it’s failure to open because of the government close-down in Washington may have been its highpoint.
So, that leaves the AGNSW’s Yolŋu Power show in Sydney as the indubitable triumph of sharing traditional culture in 2025.
And the Yolŋu have triumphed elsewhere too – Claire Wright’s magisterial book from the inside, Naku Dharuk revealed as much as the exhibition about the amazing culture that the people on Gumatj Country haven’t lost as she explained how the 1963 Bark Petitions came about. And then the High Court agreed with Galarrwuy Yunupingu that the land given away to miners wasn’t the government’s to give, just as the Bark Petitions had claimed. The other book of the year is John Carty’s Birrundudu Drawings which seizes on those unseen 1944 works to rethink the origins of Desert art.
Meanwhile, the NT’s CLP Government couldn’t get the simplest things right in the arts – both the long-debated National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice and the new art gallery in Darwin have fallen over as every cent spent on the arts is seen as rubbish in the Territory.
And that’s the Territory where the great artist John Mawurndjul died, and where the great actor/dancer David Gulpilil was buried.
