What’s all this talk
about the collapse of Aboriginal art? Tamara Howie chats to Curator Matt
Ward about the changing landscapes in Aboriginal art and the two shows he’s helped curate for the Darwin Festival.
"Great artwork will
always find people who like it."
There’s a calming quality to the dark staircase leading up
to Outstation Gallery. It’s a comforting segue between the buzzing life of
Parap and the quaint gallery space inside.
As I walk in I can hear Ward busily chatting with the tone
of a man with too much to do and too little time.
“Sorry about that, I forgot I had another meeting. I’ll just
be a minute.”
Curating a single show is a lot of work; organising two at
once is the work of true passion. Matt Ward is a man who simply wants to show
off as much art as he possibly can.
“It’s the busiest time of year. People are travelling up
here to see Aboriginal art, so you’ve got a small window to put art in front of
those faces.”
Ward challenged himself this year by not only curating the APY
Land Survey Exhibition 2013 at Outstation, but also working with Paul Johnston,
of Paul Johnston Gallery, to arrange the inaugural Salon des Refuses
exhibition.
Showcasing the works not selected for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Salon des Refuses demonstrates the quality of work coming from all areas of Aboriginal art.
Showcasing the works not selected for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Salon des Refuses demonstrates the quality of work coming from all areas of Aboriginal art.
Q: What was the
inspiration to put the Salon show together?
A: We were really careful to not claim it as our own idea,
people have been talking about doing something similar for a long time… but it
seems that this year with the 30th anniversary of the NATSIAAs
coming up would be a good time to do it.
The other thing I’ve been hearing, and what Paul’s been
hearing from the arts centres we’ve worked with, are complaints about what works
got in, what works didn’t, and why has that happened.
Q: Is it true there was
a bit of controversy surrounding the selection and the judging panels?
A: I think every year there’s always a bit of controversy and
this year hasn’t been any different. The pre-selection panel is made up of
those judges as well, and those judges all have a different take on what they
like and what they’re interested in. This year I think the judges had a
particular focus on work from more urban centres rather than remote community
arts centres.
That’s the other thing: I think the interest in NATSIAAs
has been dissipating recently. Some collectors have stopped coming.
Q: How did you and Paul
select the works for the show?
A: Well, that is interesting. What we actually did was talk to
all our networks and put out an application package. We have about 50 works
sent to us for the show but we only managed to hang 42 or 43. There were some
we just couldn’t fit on the wall; we just didn’t have enough space.
Really, all we’re trying to do is instead of saying just come to Darwin and see 70 works at the museum for the NATSIAAs, come to Darwin and see those 70 and another 60 or 80 or however many we can get up.
Q: How were the works
for the APY show selected compared to the Salon show?
A: So this show was much more curated that the Salon show. This
show is a survey show of the seven, although only six are represented, of the
arts centres in the APY lands (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands) in South Australia. It was just a chance to show the diversity
across the region and celebrate those artists.
Q: Has the APY show been
as big as the Salon show?
A: I think we’ve had the same number of people through here.
This show has been really successful as well.
There’s been this talk of the collapse of the aboriginal arts industry.
Q: You don’t see it?
A: There’s definitely been a slow down, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a collapse, and I think what all these shows [Salon des Refuses, APY Land Survey 2013 and NATSIAA] demonstrate is that there’s still fantastic Aboriginal art being created and that’s not going to change.
The artists aren’t going to stop just because someone from The Australian is writing that Aboriginal art is coming to an end. They’re still going to keep creating artwork regardless, they’re going to keep creating great artwork and great artwork will always find people who like it.
Q: Is there a big
different between the works being shown at the NATSIAA’s and the works in the
APY Show?
A: The NATSIAA’s pre-selection is done via digital image. I
think it’s a flawed process, but I don’t really have a suitable alternative to
really suggest. I think that’s something that needs to be discussed more. There
are works in this show that I know just don’t hold up in a digital image. I’m
also only working with six arts centres here, not the entire spectrum of Aboriginal art that the museum is trying to put up on the wall.
Q: What did you hope
people would take away from the APY show?
A: What’s really exciting down there is that there’s some
fantastic young artists coming through.
What:
APY Lands Survey Show 2013
When:
When:
Official Opening
Sat 10 Aug 11am
Sat 10 Aug 11am
Exhibition Dates
Sat 3–Tue 27 Aug
Tue-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat 10am-2pm
Where:
Tue-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat 10am-2pm
Where:
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