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National Gallery of Australia Opens Ngura Puḻka Exhibition Following Three-Year Postponement

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Ngura Puḻka – Epic Country: An Exhibition and Its Controversy

The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra has opened the exhibition "Ngura Puḻka – Epic Country," featuring 30 large-scale paintings by Indigenous artists from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The exhibition, which opened on June 15, 2024, was originally scheduled for June 2023 but was postponed following allegations published by The Australian newspaper. Multiple independent reviews into the works found no breaches of consumer law or gallery provenance standards.

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition presents paintings depicting aerial views of the APY Lands, including waterholes, riverbeds, flora, and earth tunnels formed by honey ants. Some works depict key Aṉangu tjukurpa (ancestral stories and cultural law), including the story of the Seven Sisters.

The bulk of the paintings were produced during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a collective project by arts centres in the APY Lands.

The APY Arts Centre Collective (APYACC), an Aboriginal-owned and led association representing more than 500 Aṉangu artists, organized the exhibition. APYACC states its business model returns approximately 85% of income from sales directly to artists and art centres.

Background to the Postponement

In April 2023, The Australian published an article titled "White hands on black art." The article contained allegations that white studio assistants at APYACC had painted substantial sections of works credited to Indigenous artists and had interfered with depictions of tjukurpa.

APYACC rejected the allegations, stating that art assistants participating in the painting process at the direction of artists is standard practice and does not constitute a loss of artistic control.

Investigations and Findings

Following the report, several investigations were initiated:

  • National Gallery of Australia Review: The NGA commissioned an independent review of the 28 paintings originally destined for the exhibition. The review concluded the works met the gallery's provenance standards regarding artists' effective creative control.
  • South Australian Government Review: The South Australian government conducted a separate review and referred its findings to two regulatory bodies:
    • The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found no breach of consumer laws.
    • The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) concluded its investigation with no further action, stating "no adverse inference" should be made.

Organizational and Exhibition Impacts

The allegations and subsequent period led to several organizational and exhibition changes:

  • The Indigenous Art Code revoked APYACC's membership.
  • State and federal funding for the collective, totaling $380,000 in 2023, was suspended. State funding was later reinstated.
  • APYACC states that its expulsion from the Indigenous Art Code has adversely affected its federal funding applications.
  • Three paintings were withdrawn from the original 28: two for personal reasons relating to a single artist, and one due to a perceived conflict of interest involving artist Sally Scales, who was appointed to the NGA's council.
  • Six new paintings were added to the exhibition, bringing the total on display to 30.
  • The NGA reversed its initial intention to purchase all 28 original paintings and will not acquire any works from the exhibition.

Legal Action

APYACC has filed a defamation lawsuit against Nationwide News, the publisher of The Australian, seeking $4.4 million in damages. The collective claims financial losses including the lost NGA sale, valued at $1,397,000, and lost federal funding, estimated at $1.07 million. APYACC states it experienced a downturn in sales following the publication of the allegations.

Artist Statements

Artists involved with the exhibition and the collective have made public statements:

"They've had four reviews, and there were no findings that we were doing anything wrong. But we're still not getting approval for any federal funding," said artist and APYACC board member George Cooley.

  • Artist Nyunmiti Burton, who appeared in a video published by The Australian making allegations, later stated she regretted making the video and wished it would be taken offline.
  • Artist Frank Young, translating for his wife Yaritji Young, said the narrative presented by The Australian regarding a video of Yaritji painting was "wrong way" and "not real."
  • Senior artist Sandra Pumani said Aṉangu artists "want to bring their story to other people" through their paintings.