Connecting the Dots: First Peoples Art from the NGV with Tony Armstrong

Armstrong talks to contemporary artists Tony Albert and Keemon Williams, whose works both look to reframe First Nations histories in different ways by appropriating found materials, language, and symbols of their culture. Williams is the youngest artist in the Wurrdha Marra exhibition, while Albert is a senior figure in the art world, known for using what he calls ‘Aboriginalia’ in his work. Both artists explore the intersection of queerness with Aboriginality, with a particular fondness for the aesthetics of camp.

Armstrong meets Aunty Gail Smith, Wurundjeri Elder and Language Custodian who shares the meaning behind the Wurrdha Marra name, meaning ‘Many Mobs’. Armstrong also speaks to Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV and Myles Russell-Cook, Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art, NGV about commissioning, collecting and presenting First Nations Art at NGV, and the role of galleries as custodians of material culture, and in storytelling for audiences. They also discuss how the exhibition, and NGVs Collection, celebrates the diversity of First Nations art and design through the work of First Peoples from around the Country.