FIRST Nations curator at Bendigo Art Gallery, Isobel Morphy-Walsh, wants to connect patrons to the Indigenous artists behind some of the gallery\u2019s best works.<\/p>\n
The Taungurong woman has been in the role for about four months and on Monday will begin a series of tours highlighting gallery\u2019s the First Nations Collection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my first time speaking to the public and introducing myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know most of the visitors who come here are really engaged and love the gallery, so at this stage I\u2019m really learning off all our visitors and guides and I\u2019m really interested in that engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Morphy-Walsh said she is currently doing an audit on the collection, but believes 10 per cent of the gallery\u2019s works are done by Indigenous artists such as Kamilaroi creative Professor Brian Martin and Gunditjmara artist Hayley Millar Baker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that many regional galleries have quite the First Nations collection we have,\u201d Ms Morphy-Walsh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that stands out to me is the consistent interest in First Nations stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said it\u2019s important for Indigenous artists to be able to present their works themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst Nations art is a way for First Nations people to start telling our own narratives and our own stories,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime has moved from where we were, but for a very long time we were not the tellers of our stories. People were telling our stories for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never needed an intermediary, we\u2019ve always been able to connect when given the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The curator said she is excited for the Bendigo Art Gallery\u2019s expansion plans, which include a dedicated space to keep Dja Dja Wurrung pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all learning about how to honour the place that we live on, the place we love and work and that shapes us as people as we walk around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am really excited that there will be dedicated place to that for the traditional owners, it\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe objects that are historic that we\u2019ve taken should be back on the country they were taken from.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of finding that context and story is actually putting them back in that context and back in that place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FIRST Nations curator at Bendigo Art Gallery, Isobel Morphy-Walsh, wants to connect patrons to the Indigenous artists behind some of the gallery\u2019s best works. The Taungurong woman has been in the role for about four months and on Monday will begin a series of tours highlighting gallery\u2019s the First Nations Collection. \u201cThis is my first […]<\/p>\n