Old stories Our stories Now stories

Old stories Our stories Now stories

Art challenges us to think and be curious about the world in which we live. Visual artists play an important role as storytellers in our communities; stories that provoke, challenge, resonate or engage our imagination or intellect. Stories that are from particular times and places as well as ancient stories that reverberate in the here and the now of people and place. Stories that are told from unique experiences, knowledges and perspectives. This exhibition, drawn from the Araluen Art Collection and on loan from Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists and the Pamela Lofts Estate, focuses on the inherent stories these artworks tell about the diverse country of Central Australia and the artists’ relationships and interactions with this country.

Together the stories presented here invite us to engage more fully with this place and contemplate our own understandings of what it means to live or visit here. Stories are how humans make sense of the world and shape who we are and how we navigate the dialogues between our stories and others’ stories that shape our lives. These works invite us into these dialogues. The artists included in this exhibition demonstrate sophisticated visual language that inspires, beguiles and open our eyes in unexpected ways. They are united in their voice as they explore the complexities of the diverse stories that inform who we are as a nation.

Gallery 3

5 November 2021 – 20 March 2022