5 July 2022: On Saturday 9 July, the NGV will present NAIDOC Week NGV Celebration at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, a free program of live music, dance performance, workshops, activities for kids, and guided tours of the Indigenous Art collection.
As part of the NAIDOC Week NGV Celebration the ground floor presentation Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection will be enlivened with performances and tours in English and AUSLAN sharing further insight into masterpieces and new acquisitions by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from the NGV Collection, with events and experiences for all ages.
Throughout the day, a diverse collective of First Nations’ talent will fill the ground floor of NGV Australia with vibrant live performances.
A Welcome to Country by representatives from the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation will officially begin the celebration at 10.30 am.
Kuku Yalanji, Jirrbal, and Zenadth singer Kee’ahn will perform their emotional combination of soul, R&B, and pop music at 12 pm in the Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection. The recipient of the 2020 National Indigenous Art Awards’ Archie Roach Award, Kee’ahn’s practice incorporates language and melodies symbolic of healing and heartbreak. Sets of RnB, and 80s and 90s hip-hop mixesGunai/Kurnai, Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri DJ Soju Gang from 12 pm in the foyer.
A live dance performance by First Nations female collective Wala Connections will bring to life the galleries inside Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection at 2.30 pm. Wala Connections explores the Yorta Yorta ancestral connections of co-founders Thara Brown and Natarsha Bamblett in a practice that inspires self-expression through movement and dance. The group will also facilitate a 30-minute meditation session from the WHO ARE YOU: Australian Portraiture exhibition space at 11 am.
A First Nations Community Tour will explore Indigenous art collections at the Koorie Heritage Trust and NGV Australia. Developed exclusively for First Nations community members, the program will begin with a tour of the Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection exhibition by NGV Senior Curator of Indigenous Art, Myles Russell-Cook followed by morning tea at NGV and a guided experience of current exhibitions at Koorie Heritage Trust.
Lama Lama artist, Rubii Red will lead a hands-on workshop, Character Design with Rubii Red, inviting young people to draw their own anime and comic book-inspired characters. Known for addressing issues important to her and her Community through her art, Rubii Red will share her passion for character illustration in this activity developed with teenagers in mind.
Drop-by activities will allow families to learn about possum skin cloaks through the work of Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Mutti Mutti, Boonwurrung artist Maree Clarke. Currently on display in WHO ARE YOU: Australian Portraiture, Clarke’s impressive 63-pelt possum skin cloak will invite people to learn about the history and cultural significance of possum skin cloaks.
Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV, said: ‘NAIDOC Week is an important time for the NGV to acknowledge and celebrate the rich history and significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to art and design. These celebrations offer visitors the opportunity to engage with the NGV Collection in new and nuanced ways through the creativity of local artists, musicians, and performers.’
NAIDOC Week NGV Celebration will take place on Saturday 9 July from 10 am – 3 pm at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. For further information about NAIDOC Week NGV Celebration please visit the NGV website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/naidocweek/
Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection is on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square, Melbourne. Free entry. Further information is available via the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE
NAIDOC Week NGV Celebration Schedule:
- 10.00 am – 3.00 pm | Drop-by Activities for Kids, Level 3
- 10.30 am | Welcome to Country, Ground Floor
- 10.00 am – 3.00 pm | Character Design with Rubii Red, Ground Floor
- 11.00 am | First Nations Community Tour, Ground Floor
- 11.00 am | Wala Connections Morning Meditation, Level 3
- 11.30 am | AUSLAN Tour of Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection, Ground Floor
- 12.00 pm | Kee’ahn live performance, Ground Floor
- 12.00 – 3.00 pm | Soju Gang DJ set, Ground Floor
- 1.00 pm | Exhibition Curator Tour of Indigenous Art from the NGV Collection, Ground Floor
- 2.30 pm | Wala Connection Dance Performance, Ground Floor