The Keeping Place

August 30, 2010

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in support of ‘The Keeping Place,’ the largest single collection of Aboriginal art assembled by a single Aboriginal artist, Mr. Gordon Syron, a Biripi and Worimi man from New South Wales. The collection is unique in other ways as well: It contains more than 500 paintings and sculptural works that represent contemporary Australian-Indigenous art history, and therefore, represents Australian history in general. The collection currently resides in Redfern, a historic community of Aboriginal peoples, and this urban home is an important symbol to Aboriginal people, their displacement and resettlement, and their decades long struggle for social justice. In this way, the collection represents this struggle, and, in my view as a cultural heritage specialist, it constitutes a national cultural treasure.

I first met Gordon and his wife Elaine in 1997 when they ran a gallery and photography shop on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst. At that time, Gordon had rarely shown his work in public exhibition, having taught himself how to paint in prison. The late 1990s were the peak of Reconciliation Movement, and Gordon painted his reflections on those times. At issue – and part of my own research in Australia – was the concern over cultural appropriation of Aboriginal art forms by non-Aboriginal artists that devalues the work of artists, as well as the Australian export economy in Aboriginal art. I bought the painting, “Imposter Rollcall,” which depicted those issues through Syron’s own iconic renderings. The painting, as it turned out, is now a visual historical document of those times. What this example highlights is Gordon’s ability to serve as an antennae of his times, the mark of a true visionary artist.

His works, as well as the works of other well-known and lesser-known Indigenous artists, form the core of the The Keeping Place, aptly named, and a timely opportunity for a local and national response to Indigenous aesthetics from an Indigenous point of view. As an academic, museum specialist, and international supporter, I stand by the Syron’s position to locate a suitable facility for this collection of regional and national importance. The Keeping Place is not just a place; it is an idea whose time has come – to build a cultural bridge through the establishment of a cultural centre, that will not only exhibit works from this historic collection, but provide the foundation upon which to build cultural exchanges, employment opportunities, education, and national pride in Indigenous art and culture in the urban environment in which the majority lives, works and votes. In these ways, the preservation of The Keeping Place is an opportunity for all.

Sincerely,


Tressa Berman, Ph.D.
Principal, IICP

The Keeping Place Collection

499 Wilson Street
Darlington 2008
(street behind Redfern train station)
Phone: 83990988
Mobile: 0451 166 739

Press Release

Contact: Eric NAIR
Publicity & PR
Phone: 0451 166 739
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9.00am Tuesday the 17th August 2010


Hon. Michael Kirby to join search for new home for Redfern’s Keeping Place

Former High Court Judge, Hon. Michael Kirby has announced that he will be joining former Australian National Museum Director, Craddock Morton as a patron of the Keeping Place. 

The Keeping Place collection is a remarkable assemblage of contemporary and traditional Aboriginal art, artefacts, books, photographs and other memorabilia which must be saved for futuregenerations.  It is currently exhibited in a Redfern Warehouse but is shortly to be relocated from the site and at present has no alternative venue available.  The first priority for the collection’s two high profile patrons will be to find it a new home where it can be properly displayed and interpreted.

Hon. Michael Kirby said of the Keeping Place “It is an urgent and serious problem, and I hope that a proper solution can be found. Wherever it is placed, it ought to be placed with honour and properly safeguarded as an indication of the beauty of Indigenous art in Australia”.

Hon. Michael Kirby’s patronage will be a great addition to the search, began by the Keeping Place’s current custodian, renowned Aboriginal artist Gordon Syron.  Hon. Michael Kirby and Mr. Morton will be assisting Gordon Syron to find corporate, government or private benefactors to purchase the collection as a whole and place it on exhibition in a new permanent home.

“It is hoped that the collection will be able to be used as the basis for a larger assemblage of Aboriginal artworks, stories and histories which will serve as an invaluable cultural and educational resource for Australia and the world”.

“It will also provide employment opportunities for Aboriginal people and give emerging Aboriginal artists an iconic place to aspire to being exhibited in”. 

-Spokesperson & Chairman of Steering Committee
Greens City of Sydney Councillor Irene Doutney

The Keeping Place is open for inspection, interview, or photography by appointment with Elaine & Gordon Syron

0411725981

The Keeping Place Collection 499 Wilson St Darlington, corner of Shepherd & Wilson St (Near Sydney University).

Phone: 83990988
Mobile: 0451 166 739

28 July 2010

To whom it may concern

As a senior curator of Indigenous art and history I have been following the development of the Syron’s Keeping Place for many years, and watched with keen interest the extent to which it captures the diversity of Indigenous experience through a wealth of images and documents.

It is the most comprehensive collection of Indigenous material in this country collected by an Aboriginal person for the education of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The range of material extends from traditional to contemporary forms of cultural expression including paintings to still and moving images, many of which constitute a unique archive of unsurpassed value to Australia’s shared history.

In recognition of the historic and cultural value of this material to the nation, the National Museum of Australia acquired a selection of works from the Keeping Place for the National Historical collection.

There is no better foundation for a National Keeping Place or Cultural Centre than this collection. It deserves to be accessible to a visiting public and Sydney is the most desirable location to attract national and international visitors.

This collection contains many of Australia’s leading contemporary and urban Indigenous artists such as: Bronwyn Bancroft, Gordon Hookey, Christine Christopherson, Michael Riley, Adam Hill, Gordon Syron, Darren Cooper, Merv Bishop, Karen Casey, Tracey Moffatt, Euphemia Bostock, Roy Kennedy, Jeffrey Samuels, Karla Dickens, James P. Simon, Laddie Timbrey, David Janganlinji and Genevieve Grieves.

Some important traditional pieces include: large bark paintings by master painters from Arnhem Land, early desert canvases from artists like Clifford Possum and Michael Jagamara Nelson and a rare collection of 66 body paintings by Emily Kngwarreye and her family.

There are also a number of collections dedicated to didgeridoos, books, posters t-shirts, dolls, artefacts and a rare sculpture collection.

Over the years, a succession of prime ministers and politicians have spoken of the need for an Indigenous keeping place or cultural centre. There is currently a National Indigenous Knowledge Centre Project underway which is calling for such a place to be created.

The Syron’s collection is already formed, largely catalogued and ready to go.

It is a rich gift waiting to be housed as part of a larger cultural precinct.

I envisage a National Aboriginal Cultural Centre that provides economic development, training, employment and artistic opportunities for Aboriginal people, and in this way also instil pride in the culture of the first Australians and provide hope and inspiration to the community.

Yours sincerely

Professor Margo Neale (Adjunct ANU),

Principal Advisor (Indigenous)

The National Museum of Australia

 We appreciate all the people who are our supporters big and small. We feel positive that the legal support and the kind  volunteers are making huge strides in our struggle to survive.

This website will serve as a bridge which can  show off our artists and keep you up to date with our latest  achievements and news.