MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS
SENATOR THE HON MITCH FIFIELD
MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PACIFIC
SENATOR THE HON CONCETTA FIERRAVANTI–WELLS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR LEICHHARDT
THE HON WARREN ENTSCH MP
Australian Indigenous art at the United Nations on World Oceans Day
The Australian Government is proud to support a major exhibition of Indigenous art from Cape York and the Torres Strait opening today at the United Nations headquarters in New York to mark World Oceans Day.
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts have a powerful and distinctive presence, which lie at the heart of Australia’s diverse contemporary culture and national identity.
Twenty-eight new ghost-net sculptural works by artists from the Pormpuraaw Art and Culture Centre on the west coast of Cape York will feature in the exhibition, Australia: Defending the Oceans.
Brian Robinson will exhibit his sculpture Stingray: Ocean Guardian, which relays the creation story of the Great Barrier Reef and acknowledges his heritage and the stingray as one of his family’s totems.
This ambitious exhibition celebrates the creativity and dynamism of contemporary Indigenous cultures and highlights the important role that Indigenous artists and communities play in protecting coastal environments.
The exhibition reflects the environmental message of World Oceans Day to encourage solutions to plastic pollution and prevent marine litter for a healthier ocean and a better future.
8 June 2017
Media contacts:
Senator Fifield: Geraldine Mitchell – 0407 280 476
Senator Fierravanti-Wells: Carolyn Jack – 0436 411 375/