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Queensland indigenous art finds an international audience

Media Release
Brit’s Art & Promotion

6 November 2003 - The Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA), in conjunction with Brit's Art and Promotion, today announced that the special exhibition at the Great Art Exhibition 2003 will exclusively feature works by Queensland’s indigenous artists.

From December 7 2003 until January 4 2004, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art will be presented alongside leading European contemporary art in Düsseldorf’s internationally renowned museum the Kunst Palast.

More than 200 leading contemporary artists exhibit their work each year at the Great Art Exhibition, one of Europe’s most prestigious exhibitions, and every year there is a special section allocated for a foreign country to present their artists. Past years have seen special exhibitions from Cuba, Norway, Denmark, China, Korea, Japan, Lithuania and Poland.

The City of Düsseldorf has opened its doors in the past few years for Aboriginal Art from Australia. Aboriginal Art was on show at the former Art & Antique Fair, with a special section for Aboriginal Art in 2000 and 2001, and has been a fixture at the Great Art Exhibition since 2000.

The special exhibition will enhance the reputation of indigenous art in Europe, showcasing its diversity and variety.

The opportunity to show and sell works by leading Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in this prestigious European art exhibition is testimony to the perseverance and persistence of Brit's Art and Promotion in the presentation of indigenous art to the European Community.

Participating Queensland indigenous artists are:

• Michael Boiyool Anning
• Lilla Watson
• Shaun Kalk Edwards
• Joey Laifoo
• Glen Mackie
• Lisa Michl
• Joanne Nalingu Currie
• Rosella Namok
• Alick Tipoti
• Ian Waldron
• Margaret Chatfield Henry

Notes to Editors: QIAMEA has recently been established by the Queensland Government to continue the work of its Indigenous Export Project Team.

Contacts:

Source: Brit’s Art & Promotion

Premier’s Foreword, Great Art Exhibition, Dusseldorf

Premier of Queensland and Minister for Trade

The Great Art Exhibition gives European audiences a rare opportunity to experience the Indigenous art and culture of Queensland, Australia.

Queensland is a tropical and sub-tropical state in Australia’s north-east. It is home to two distinct Indigenous cultures: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Australian Indigenous art has for some time fascinated European audiences. By and large, the spotlight has played on the art of the desert peoples of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. But these splendid works are only a snapshot of Australian Indigenous art, which is as diverse as Australian Indigenous culture.

More than 300 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia. Each “language group” has its own laws and lore, customs, rituals, belief system, and relationship with the land. The culture of Torres Strait - a crystalline body of water separating Australia from Papua New Guinea - is distinct from Aboriginal culture.

“Art for art’s sake” is a concept unknown to Australia’s Indigenous people. Art is an expression of the soul, and of the relationship to “country”. Frequently, it is also a political expression.

Queensland is a land of rich contrasts: World Heritage-listed rainforests and coral reefs; saltwater, freshwater and arid. The landscapes, their fauna and flora are the source of inspiration for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists whose work is represented here.

I am delighted that the Great Art Exhibition 2003-2004 gives you the opportunity to experience the rich, diverse and unique vision of Queensland through the eyes of its traditional owners.

I welcome you to the exhibition, which I hope is the start of a long and enduring friendship.

Peter Beattie MP
Premier and Minister for Trade

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