"From the time that whites arrived in Tasmania and up until 1983 Aboriginal performing arts especially theatre arts, had become almost as extinct as whites would have people believe Tasmanian Aborigines were. Not so!"
Emerging from the heart of central Australia is the most exciting and dynamic development in modern Australian art. The materials are modern -acrylic on canvas. But the content is traditional - mythical and ritual.
In the 1940s the name Albert Namatjira became a household word and the skill of this Arrernte artist brought the vivid colours and beauty of the central Australian landscape into the galleries and living rooms of Australia. He and other painters who lived around Hermannsburg mission and in Alice Springs came to be known as the Arrernte watercolour school.
Two alternative opinions on Australia's most obvious cultural exchange - Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal- was the original conception of Balance 1990 Views, Visions, Influences - a collaborative exhibition originally titled Balance 1988: Two views One Vision. Beginning by artists sitting and talking it became obvious that there were more than just two perspectives.
Looks at the Santa Teresa Community 80 kilometres south of Alice Spring and home of the Arrernte people where the Keringke Arts Centre was established in 1987.
In every area of the arts where Aborigines are participating there is an intense surge of creative vitality. Once could call it a renaissance period. When I began writing poetry, Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonucul) was the only recognised poet.
Narrangunnawali was an exhibition by Aboriginal artists from Canberra and the surrounding region mounted by the Canberra Contemporary Art Space 31 August - 23 September 1989.
Bathurst and Melville Islands lie of the north coast of Australia about 100 kms from Darwin. They are the home to the Tiwi. As a result of the isolation of Tiwi people their culture has developed independently from others on the mainland. This is reflected in their art which is very bold.