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
Picture
Professor Margo Neale (Adjunct ANU),

Principal Advisor (Indigenous)

The National Museum of Australia
 


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