In honour of the thirtieth anniversary of the Commonwealth’s recognition of Australian South Sea Islanders as a distinct cultural group, Rockhampton Museum of Art and the Australian South Sea Islander United Council (Rockhampton) have collaborated on a brief project titled “Recognition: We Are Not the Forgotten People”.
On display in the Margaret Olley Art Trust Collection Study Room throughout August, the works and objects in this exhibition describe the lived and layered experiences of South Sea Islanders in Central Queensland including two works by Aboriginal and South Sea Islander artists in the RMOA collection – Mabel Edmund and Daniel Boyd.
This exhibition brings visibility to the art practices and cultural objects that exist within the Rockhampton South Sea Islander community. Adornments and artefacts retain generations of memories and memorialise the ongoing impacts of Australia’s Blackbirding history (the practice of enslaving often by force and deception).
South Sea Islander histories and experiences are part of the region and art spaces have rarely provided an opportunity for those silenced stories to be curated. “Recognition” is more than an accomplishment; it is a responsibility to never forget South Sea Islanders.
Related public programs
Saturday 31 August, 11.00am - 12.00pm - Australian South Sea Islanders Elders talk
FREE