Media Release
7 July 2023
The Australian Embassy is proud to launch the immersive digital installation Walking Through a Songline as part of NAIDOC Week 2023 celebrations.
NAIDOC Week is held annually in Australia in the first week of July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM said, “NAIDOC Week is an opportunity to learn about the cultures and histories of First Nations Australians, the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.”
Walking through a Songline, curated by the National Museum of Australia in partnership with Mosster Studio, is based on the internationally acclaimed exhibition Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters.
In Australian Indigenous culture, Dreamtime stories explain how Ancestral spirits who created the land and everything on it. Songlines, or Dreaming tracks, map the routes taken by Ancestral spirits as they travel across the land in Dreamtime stories.
“Indonesian audiences have the opportunity to immerse themselves in ancient knowledge using modern technology. Walking through a Songline takes you on a multi-sensory journey as you follow the footsteps of an Indigenous Australian Dreamtime story.” said Ms Williams.
As part of the program, experts from the National Museum of Australia will participate in an exchange of expertise with Indonesian museum counterparts at a series of museum management masterclasses in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Makassar and Surabaya.
Walking Through a Songline is on show from 4 - 23 July at Museum Sejarah Jakarta. The exhibition will also tour to Surabaya, Makassar and Bali.
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