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The Guardian
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Australia's reckoning with Indigenous people takes one cultural glide forward, two political steps back
For several decades First Nations artists have done much of the heavy lifting in Australian cultural diplomacy. And now Wesley Enoch as chair of Creative Australia has to fix a damaged sector. Archie Moore, Tracey Moffatt, Warwick Thornton, Deborah Mailman, William Barton, Tony Albert, Judy Watson, David Gulpilil, Christian Thompson, Ivan Sen, Emily Kam Kngwarray, to name just some of the many who have won accolades for their stunning, original work and taken their place at the peaks of cultural power and influence. Winning hearts and changing minds as they went. Not so long ago this suggested a long overdue reckoning with the First Peoples; a reckoning that the rest of the world was watching in the detached way that those who can be bothered note what is happening elsewhere. Australia is diffident about cultural diplomacy, reluctant to exercise its soft power (in anything other than sport), as the abandonment of ABC Asia Pacific TV demonstrated – although the ABC has since revamped its international service. The global celebration of First Nations artists was a powerful way of showing that modern Australia had thrown off its colonial legacy, had grown into a truly mature and reconciled nation and come to terms with the ancient human heritage that makes it truly unique. Creative Australia put First Nations stories first in its strategic priorities, Dfat's cultural grants emphasised the persuasive power of 65,000 years of unique civilisation, and Australia lobbied hard for Unesco recognition of cultural heritage at Gunditjmara and now Murujuga. Yet as we approach the second anniversary of the decision by most Australians to reject meaningful recognition of First Peoples, the tension at the heart of this international celebration of the talent, stories and unique ways of seeing, being and doing comes clearly into focus. Is it simple hypocrisy or the old Australian way – one glide forward, two quick steps back? There are markers. The silence about discussing the referendum or to even consider national truth-telling. The ratty politics rejecting welcomes to country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. The patchy reporting of the coronial findings of institutional racism in the NT Police and the Yoorrook inquiry's findings of historic genocide. The federal court's hand-wringing decision that accepted government policies caused wilful destruction of culture and environment in the Torres Strait Islands but that it was unable to do anything about it. These recent events suggest that coming to terms with the enduring impact of the past is at best the latter, two quick steps back. At worst, to me, it suggests further signs of what Jeremy Bentham once called an 'incurable flaw'. All this came to mind as I stood outside Tate Modern waiting in line under an unusually hot summer sun for my bag to be checked. My English friend and I were on our way to the third floor of the vast former turbine to see the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition. 'Why is it on now?' he asked. He knows Australia, has spent time in central Australia and understood how the voice referendum hung heavily there. It's a reasonable question. And there are many answers. Some practical, others freighted with meaning. The director of the Tate told the press it was part of her plan to celebrate older female artists who should be considered great masters (mistresses?). The art press buzzed that this was one of three major exhibitions of Indigenous artists in London this summer – the others from Canada and Peru. Indigeneity is 'a thing'. The collaboration to celebrate the 'old lady's' work between the Tate, National Gallery of Australia and the women of Alhalker country began not long after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, declared there would be a referendum to secure meaningful recognition of First Peoples in the Australian constitution. These big retrospective shows are years in the making, especially ones that require the active involvement of local communities as well as major galleries and high-profile owners around the world. When the extraordinary show first opened in Canberra just months after the vote, there was sadness about what might have been, about how the exhibition might have celebrated a new beginning. In London two years later, this is a barely acknowledged backdrop. Those seeing her work for the first time grapple with what it represents, how someone who only started painting in her 70s produced work as fresh and innovative as any major 20th-century artist – but how it grew out of her knowledge, skill and dreaming. Like all great artists the work is truly hers, grounded in her unique perspective. What comes as a surprise, to those who have only seen her images in books and posters, is their three-dimensional quality. Kngwarray layered paint to evoke stories of such extraordinary depth that they carry a fourth dimension of infinite time, 'everywhen'. It invites the viewer into a unique way of seeing and being. Another Australian artist is also celebrated on level 3 of the Tate. Leigh Bowery, who in his short life became a London gay style icon. Both Emily and Leigh speak to a distinctive Australian sensibility and energy. They prove that from an unlikely starting point anything is possible. Answering my friend's question, I said I wished the curators had projected The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, where flamboyant gay culture meets the outback, on the wall between the two iconoclastic Australians, to help viewers literally join the dots between the two exhibitions. Culture is complicated, cultural diplomacy can take time, but culture might still lead politics. Julianne Schultz an emeritus professor at Griffith University and the author of The Idea of Australia
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Fall of an ayahuasca empire, the secrets of self-optimisers, and when digital nomad life turns sour
Top of the weekend to you all, and happy Naidoc Week to all who celebrate. Hopefully this week's first selection inspires you to seek out your nearest event. Recent attenders of Sydney's Vivid festival would have seen Vincent Namatjira's King Dingo character, pictured above, in animated form on the MCA building. Now the First Nations artist's work is UK-bound as part of an Indigenous art explosion in the UK. And Archie Moore, a Kamilaroi/Bigambul man who shared the top prize at the 2024 Venice Biennale, is getting some of the credit. How long will it take to read: Three minutes. Alberto Varela claimed his Inner Mastery venture was the first to take the ayahuasca experience multinational. Users of the Amazonian plant brew often report revisiting past trauma or repressed experiences, and Varela was warned that rolling it out on an industrial scale with minimal oversight would result in accidents. As the company grew, so did the number of accidents – and deaths. Sam Edwards tells the story of how Varela's cult-like 'anti-therapy' empire unravelled. Delusions of grandeur: In March 2020, not long after Covid had been declared a pandemic, a half-naked Varela shared a video with the findings from his latest ayahuasca trip: 'I created the coronavirus.' How long will it take to read: 14 minutes. Work your own hours at your own pace, wherever you want in the world? Been there, posted the Facebook updates from Goa. But, as Emily Bratt discovered in her own stint as a digital nomad, the reliability of a certain global coffee chain's wifi gives it a strong gravitational pull. And by the final month of her latest six-month stint on a south-east Asian island, she found herself wondering: 'What am I doing?' 'I watched friends go about their days, following through on plans made before I arrived and making new ones for after I had gone. I was like a time traveller, temporarily injected into their world from another realm.' – Bratt on the ennui of digital nomad life in Sydney. How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Who to target after you've made a water-cooler show that mirrors the travails of the Murdoch media empire? In his new film Mountainhead, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong pulls back the curtain on tech billionaires. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion The former British political staffer tells Danny Leigh why he was terrible at his old job – and how his research for Mountainhead made him feel sorry for Elon Musk. Move fast and break things: Film and television projects are typically a long haul. But not Mountainhead, which Armstrong conceived in November and premiered in May. How long will it take to read: Four minutes. Further reading: Back to the Future at 40, as told by the co-writer and one of its stars. I'll sometimes brush my teeth in the shower if I've left my run for the office a little late. Some people do this all the time – life comes at you pretty fast, after all, and they figure every second saved is a second you can pay forward to your future self. Are these so-called microefficiencies clever life hacks, or another sign of a snowed-under, productivity-obsessed society? Whatever the case, the self-optimisers Chloë Hamilton spoke to were uniformly chuffed with their time-saving innovations. Basic maths: One 'microefficient' person makes two cups of tea each time they boil the jug. If you drink eight cuppas a day, that saves you 20 minutes of jug-watching time. Across two years that adds up to more than 10 full days reclaimed. Simples. How long will it take to read: Four minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Entries Now Open For The 2025 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
Artists are invited to submit entries for the 2025 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize - Australia's most prestigious award dedicated to small-scale sculpture. Now in its 24th year, the Prize celebrates artistic excellence in works measuring up to 80cm in any dimension. Presented by Woollahra Council and hosted at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, the Prize offers a platform for established and emerging, local and international artists to present original sculptures on a small scale. All works are blind judged, with the selected finalists exhibited in a free public exhibition from 26 September to 16 November 2025. Winners will be announced at the official opening on 25 September. A total prize pool of $29,000 will be awarded: The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize – $25,000 Special Commendation Award – $2,000 Mayor's Award – $1,000 Viewers' Choice Award – $1,000 The Prize, won by Hannah Gartside in 2024, has helped spotlight some of the most compelling artists working today. Past winners include Archie Moore and Adam Cullen and past finalists include Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Julie Rrap and Jonathon Jones. Eligible works must be original, freestanding or wall-mounted sculptures, designed or completed after July 2024. There is no limit to the number of entries an artist can submit, and collaborative entries are welcome. 'Sculpture is often overlooked in art prizes, but here it's given the spotlight it deserves. I'm excited to bring together the work of emerging and established voices for one of Australia's most prestigious and exciting exhibitions.' Sep Pourbozorgi, Director Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf KEY DATES Entries close: Sunday 13 July 2025 Exhibition: 26 September – 16 November 2025 Winners announced: Thursday 25 September 2025
