Indigenous Australian art exhibition opens in Jakarta

The Australian Ambassador for Indonesia, Greg Moriarty is at the Indigenous Australian art exhibition, Message Stick: Indigenous Identity in Urban Australia in Jakarta (credit: Australian Embassy Jakarta).

An exhibition of Indigenous Australian visual art opened last night at D’Gallerie in South Jakarta.

Message Stick: Indigenous Identity in Urban Australia tells the stories of some of the complex perspectives of contemporary Australian Indigenous identity.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty said he hoped the exhibition would help deepen understanding in Indonesia of modern Australia.

“It is a great privilege to introduce Indonesian audiences to work produced over the past 25 years by some of Australia’s leading Indigenous artists,” the Ambassador said. “The artworks explore a range of issues in Australian society, including stereotypes and cultural identity.”

“Personal and cultural relationships really are the foundation of the Australia-Indonesia relationship and Message Stick provides a powerful medium through which Indonesians can deepen their understanding of contemporary Indigenous Australia,” he said.

Australian singer- songwriter Phillip Walley-Stack performs at the Indigenous Australian art exhibition, Message Stick: Indigenous Identity in Urban Australia in Jakarta (credit: Australian Embassy Jakarta).

Message Stick features a selection of significant work from Artbank created by 11 Indigenous artists living in urban areas across Australia. The artists include Reko Rennie, who will this year undertake an Asialink arts residency with Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta.

The exhibition coincides with NAIDOC Week, which is held from 6-13 July in Australia. NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Message Stick is also one of the Australian Government’s activities to mark the 40th anniversary as a dialogue partner with ASEAN. Mr Simon Merrifield is Australia’s first ASEAN Ambassador resident in Jakarta.

“Australia has a deep relationship with ASEAN, across ASEAN’s three pillars of political-security, economic and socio-cultural,” Mr Merrifield said.

“It’s a great pleasure to include this exhibition of Message Stick as part of a program of events to be held in Australia and South-East Asia to mark this important anniversary. Jakarta is home to the ASEAN Secretariat, so I am particularly pleased we’ve been able to bring the exhibition here,” he said.

Guest at the Indigenous Australian art exhibition, Message Stick: Indigenous Identity in Urban Australia in Jakarta (credit: Australian Embassy Jakarta).

Ambassador Moriarty said Indonesia was the final leg of Message Stick’s international tour, which started in Turkey in September 2012 and has included stops in South Africa, India, Thailand and the Philippines.”

“Many people are familiar with the Indigenous contemporary art movement of the Western and Central Deserts. The pieces that comprise the Message Stick exhibition are quite different: they tell personal stories about life in urban Australia over the past three decades,” he said.

The exhibition will be on show at D’Gallerie in Kebayoran Baru until 9 July 2014. It will then travel back to Australia. The artworks have already been seen by Indonesian audiences in Denpasar and Bandung.

The exhibition is a part of the Australian Embassy Jakarta’s Arts and Cultural Program 2014. The program includes concerts, visual art exhibitions, dance, literature, fashion and a science research seminar series.

The Arts and Cultural Program 2014 is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Arts and Cultural Program 2014 is generously supported by the ANZ Bank, the Australia-Indonesia Institute, Queensland University of Technology, Curtin University, Deakin University, Ernst and Young, Flinders University, Macquarie University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Queensland and the University of Tasmania.

The artworks can be viewed online at:
http://gallery.dfat.gov.au/Indigenous/MessageStick/21102881_XRRSQb#!i=1678501445&k=RKL7Gh3.

Media Enquiries:
Vicki Miller, First Secretary (Cultural) tel. (021) 2550 5260, mob. 0811 959 0304