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 form 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 Kam Kngwarray, 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.
Earlier this year, this exhibition was shown at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, where it was seen by over half a million visitors.
