Doors will open at the National Gallery this weekend to a major exhibition of First Nations art. ‘Ever Present’ celebrated the existence and persistence of Aboriginal culture through a diverse collection of works spanning over a century.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Ever Present is the largest exhibition of First Nations art ever to be displayed in
00:07Canberra. It includes more than 260 works, spanning from the late 1800s to today.
00:15The collection celebrates culture, country, community and ceremony, but there's also a
00:20strong theme of resistance too. It includes a number of new acquisitions, on display at
00:26the National Gallery for the first time.
00:29We challenge these notions of what is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, that it isn't
00:33just the dots that people may be familiar with from Central Australia.
00:37The exhibition features the work of some emerging artists too, including Darug man Billy Bayen.
00:43He created this sculpture during COVID and never expected it to end up in Australia's
00:48National Gallery.
00:49Career-wise, this is quite easily the biggest moment for me. Just seeing the work alongside
00:56all of your heroes and favourite artists, it's kind of weird and mind-blowing at the
01:02same time.
01:03The exhibition has been touring since 2021, travelling to Perth, Singapore and New Zealand.
01:09It'll open at the National Gallery this weekend and remain on display until August next year,
01:15giving audiences plenty of time to soak up the rich diversity of works.