VISUAL ARTS CLASSROOM:
CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS ART
-LINKS AND RESOURCES-
Links to general education resources for Visual Art classrooms:
*Click on the title button to follow the link.
"This online education kit for K-12 students accompanied the exhibition Yirrkala Drawings. It provides exhibition text along with questions and activities for four areas: an introduction to the exhibition and the kit, Yolngu art practice and two focus artists from the Gallery’s collection who featured in the exhibition. Each of these is linked to a video or videos created for the exhibition" AGNSW
This link to the Affirmations of Identity Teacher's Handbook connects to eight units of work that have been written to address the content of the NSW Visual Arts Years 7-10 Syllabus (2003). These units provide opportunities for students to study a range of artworks made by Indigenous artists using traditional and contemporary practices, and to investigate how ideas and interests are represented in artmaking and in critical and historical interpretations art. There are powerpoints and teachers notes. This is a NSW Board of Studies site.
The 2013 Salamanca Arts Centre exhibition Testing Ground was curated by artist Julie Gough and the education kit focuses on the artistic practice of 14 artists (10 of which are Australian). Each artist explores identity, preception and persona in their practice. The kit includes artists statements, images and questions concerning cultural identity and prepresentation. Not all artists have indigenous heritage. Artists include: Trudi Brinkman (TAS), Darren Cook (TAS), Rebecca Dagnall (WA,) Sue Kneebone (SA,) Nancy Mauro-Flude (TAS), Perdita Phillips (WA) r e a (NSW), Martin Walch (TAS), Siying Zhou (China/VIC),Keren Ruki (Aotearoa/NSW), Christian Thompson (QLD/SA/UK), 1491s (USA),Ólöf Björnsdóttir (Iceland),Jeroen Offerman (Netherlands)
The exhibition Desert Country was drawn entirely from the extensive holdings of Aboriginal art in the Art Gallery of South Australia’s collection. It claims to be the first exhibition to chart the evolution of the Australian desert painting movement. This is a rich resource with detailed information about artists and places. The resource is a PDF with large images and focus questions for senior and junior students. Artists/ artworks are organised by desert country regions.
Here you can download the AGNSW Art + Soul education kit as a PDF. The kit has activities for K-6 and issues for consideration for 7-12. "Art + Soul explores the diversity of Indigenous culture through three themes: home and away, dreams and nightmares and bitter and sweet...This exhibition highlights the artists and art featured in the groundbreaking three-part documentary series art + soul on ABC Television from 7 October 2010." AGNSW
Artists include: RICKY MAYNARD, YUKULTJI NAPANGATI, YVONNE KOOLMATRIE, GINGER RILEY MUNDUWALAWALA, MICHAEL RILEY
This education resource from the 2nd National Indigenous Art Triennial and the National Gallery of Australia includes information on a number of contemporary Indigenous artists including: Julie Gough, Fiona Foley, Vernon Ah Kee, Jonathan Jones and Danie Mellor.
This link will take you to a powerpoint education resource to accompany the exhibition Land Sea and Sky, Contemporary Art of the Torres Straight Islands at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art from 2011. The resource includes information about the Torres Straight Islands, and artforms covered include weaving,linocuts, screenprints, wearables, sculptures and installations. There are discussion questions and starting points for art making activities.
Language Warning! This unique and politically motivated education kit accompanied the major body of work created by proppaNOW for
the 2011 exhibition, The Black See. Contemporary artworks in the kit reflect on Aboriginal engagement with sport and also how Aboriginal people encounter racism. Artists in the kit include: Tony Albert, Vernon Ah Kee, Bianca Beetson, Richard Bell, Jennifer Herd, Gordon Hookey and Laurie Nilsen