Australian Country Style reader event at Murrurundi – Aboriginal Art in March
29th March 2008
The term ˜aboriginal art’ is a tricky one. Separating indigenous Australian art from the religious practices and social customs with which it has been intertwined for at least 30,000 years is almost impossible”people, country, belief systems and their art”all distinctly different facets of Aboriginal life and yet possibly one and the same. Acknowledging this, it could be said that much aboriginal art is connected to a chronicle of the creation of the universe by the Ancestral Beings and the living force that has nurtured successive generations.
Across Australia, from Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern Territory through the deserts of Central Australia to the Kimberley in north-western Australia to the coastal regions of the south west and eastern seaboard can be found rock wall painting, sand and earth sculptures, body painting, carving, sculpture and weaving. Styles and techniques vary from region to region; come join art-critics Wally Caruana and Michael Reid in a full day series of lectures devoted to the journey that is Aboriginal art.
When”
Saturday 29th March, 2008 “ 10am till 4pm
Venue”
Michael Reid at Murrurundi
Boyd Street, Murrurundi,
The Upper Hunter, NSW
Cost”
$120 pp, includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Seats for this Event can now be purchased online, from
the Purchase Seat/s link at the top right of the page.
Registration”
Please click on the link at the top right of this page.
Getting there”
Murrurundi is a small, early Colonial town of about 1,000 people situated 330 km north of Sydney (four hours drive) on the New England Highway and 45 km north of Scone at the very crown of the Upper Hunter Valley.
Motels”
Motel Murrurundi¨
16 Mayne Street, ¨Murrurundi NSW 2338¨
(02) 6546 6082¨ ¨
Valley View Motel
New England Highway,¨ Murrurundi NSW 2338¨
(02) 6546 6044 or motelvalleyview@bigfoot.com.au
Bed & Breakfast”
Pagers River Bed & Breakfast
Rear 149 Mayne Street, Murrurundi NSW 2338
(02) 6546 6730
Button’s Bed & Breakfast
18 Adelaide Street, Murrurundi NSW 2338
(02) 6546 6606
About the speakers….
Wally Caruana”
Wally Caruana was Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra from 1984 to 2001 during which time he oversaw the development of one of the most important collections of Indigenous Australian art in a public museum. During his time at the National Gallery, Wally curated several major exhibitions including The Aboriginal Memorial, also shown at the Sydney Biennale in 1988; Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition in 1989; Roads Cross: The Paintings of Rover Thomas in 1994: The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters Story 1937-1997; and World Dreaming at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg and the National Gallery, Canberra in 2000.
Caruana is also the author and editor of several publications and exhibition catalogues on indigenous Australian art including Windows on the Dreaming: Aboriginal Paintings in the Australian National Gallery in 1989, several major exhibition catalogues and Aboriginal Art, in the World of Art Series, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1993, updated 2003. Caruana is also a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Art History, Australian National University, and the Senior Consultant, Aboriginal Art, to Sotheby’s Australia and business partner with Michael Reid, in Caruana & Reid Fine Art.
Michael Reid”
After a decade of experience with Christie’s London and Australia, for nine years Michael Reid contributed weekly as Art Market Analyst to the Business Section of The Australian. Michael writes weekly on Australian art in the Sydney Morning Herald/Age newspapers’ Good Weekend magazine. Publishers Allen & Unwin released his second edition of How to Buy & Sell Art book in early 2007 and his Guide to Australian Art Galleries in 2005.
Michael advises private clients on the formation of their art collections and three times a year publishes a well-received client newsletter. He is approved to value Australian paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints after 1788 and Australian photography after 1900 for the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program. He is a member of the Law Society of New South Wales, The Australiana Society and the Art Consulting Association of Australia, and is a committee member of the Australian Antique Dealers Association.
