ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/13/2003 20 June 2003
Australian indigenous art exhibition opens in Delhi on 26 June
A unique exhibition of contemporary indigenous Australian art, Kiripuranji, opens at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, on 26 June.
The exhibition, put together by the Australian High Commission in partnership with the India Habitat Centre, brings to India for the first time the rich culture and heritage of the people of the remote Tiwi Islands. The Tiwi Islands? Bathurst and Melville? are located off Australia's north coast. Tiwi is the main language and tribal group of these tropical islands.
Kiripuranji means "clever with our hands" in the Tiwi language. The exhibition will include works on paper, paintings, ceremonial objects and textiles.
The exhibition will run to 10 July and will coincide with NAIDOC Week, a commemoration held every year to mark indigenous Australia's place and role in Australia, past, present and future.
The High Commission has arranged a series of programs in conjunction with the exhibition, to promote Australian indigenous culture. Activities planned include didgeridoo music performances and workshops for schools (given by members of the innovative Delhi-based band "Earth Rhythms"), a display of books on Aboriginal themes, a film on Tiwi art, a lecture on Aboriginal art by Delhi-based Australian artist Carolyn Fitzpatrick, and a flag ceremony to mark NAIDOC Week on 8 July.
For further information, please contact First Secretary Rory Medcalf on 9810154256.