Over 160 First Nations Artists on Display in Aotearoa New Zealand

Works of art by over 160 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists have travelled to Aotearoa, New Zealand as part of the National Gallery of Australia’s touring exhibition – Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia.

Drawn from the collections of the National Gallery and The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, Ever Present: First People’s Art of Australia has made its second international stop at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, on display from 29 July to 29 October 2023.

Through collaboration with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, this presentation of over 150 works of art by First Nations artists is the largest survey of First Nations art from Australia to be exhibited in Aotearoa.

From Albert Namatjira and Emily Kam Kngwarray to r e a and Christopher Pease, the exhibition features a diverse range of some of the country’s most influential artists and has already travelled to Art Gallery of Western Australia and National Gallery Singapore as part of the tour.

Although Ever Present is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and cultures, it does not shy away from Australia’s complex histories and challenges stereotypes about First Nations people and what defines their art.

The works in Ever Present respond to Ancestral cultural knowledge, connections to Country, culture, ceremony and family, as well as addressing experiences relating to the impacts of invasion, colonisation, urbanisation and globalisation.

Curated by the National Gallery of Australia’s Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples, Ever Present illustrates how First Nations artists have maintained deep-time traditions and developed new social and political identities while adapting to constant change.

‘The artists contest populist views of Australian history, using art as a tool of resistance and replacing physical weaponry with wit, satire and juxtaposition to confront viewers and encouraging conversations that are essential to dispute outdated myths and ideologies,’ said Baum.

With works of art ranging from 1890 to today, Ever Present also represents the breadth of mediums used in First Nations art, with a range of paintings, drawings, batiks, weavings, moving image, photography, sculpture and textiles included in the exhibition.

‘To fully understand the richness, diversity and depth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture would take many generations and many lifetimes – but to appreciate it only takes a moment,’ continued Baum.

The National Gallery of Australia is the custodian of the largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the world and through partnering with overseas galleries to present touring exhibitions like Ever Present, First Nations stories and cultures are shared with international audiences.

For the South Pacific audience, Ever Present also highlights connections and contrasts of the colonial histories between Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, prompting reflection on the First Nations histories and art of the two neighbouring regions.

Senior Curator Māori Art, Nathan Pōhio says, ‘It is a great honour to exhibit Ever Present at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. This exhibition is a special opportunity for meaningful cultural exchanges between the presenting artists, and all artists and people of Aotearoa through art, performance, and conversation’. 

This international exhibition is made possible due to the generous support of the National Gallery of Australia’s Indigenous Arts Partner Wesfarmers Arts – who for over a decade, have taken a leading role in supporting the National Gallery to celebrate, share and elevate Australia’s First Peoples’ art and cultures.

Wesfarmers is committed to supporting a richer understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and aspirations.

‘Ever Present includes some of the most important contemporary and historical art produced in Australia, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and their central role in defining Australia and our national identity,’ Wesfarmers Chairman Michael Chaney AO said. ‘It’s terrific that the exhibition’s presentations at the Art Gallery of Western Australia and National Gallery Singapore were very successful, and it is exciting to be able to now share the show with an international audience in Aotearoa New Zealand.’

Since 1988, National Gallery Touring Exhibitions have reached over 12 million people, with audiences around the country and overseas experiencing over 10,000 works from the national collection at more than 1600 venues. Ever Present will be the 10th National Gallery Touring Exhibition to travel to our neighbours in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1993.

Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia is on display at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki from 29 Jul – 29 Oct 2023.

Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia is presented by the National Gallery of Australia and Wesfarmers Arts in partnership with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and supported by the Australian Government. 

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