Uluru Statement From The Heart On Display At AGSA In Celebration Of NAIDOC Week

The Art Gallery of South Australia is proud to be the first State institution in the country to display The Uluru Statement from the Heart. In celebration of NAIDOC Week and its 2019 theme 'Voice. Treaty. Truth. Let's work together for a shared future', The Uluru Statement from the Heart is now on display in AGSA's front entrance foyer.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a national call from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for recognition in the Australian Constitution. The statement is the position agreed by consensus by 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders from across the country when they met to discuss constitutional recognition for their peoples during the First Nations National Constitutional Convention, held over four days in May 2017 at Uluru in the Northern Territory.

In light of Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt's National Press Club address yesterday, the Uluru Statement of the Heart is now at the centre of a national discussion about a referendum to establish a permanent Indigenous body to advise parliament. The public display of the statement has already attracted significant attention from audiences.

'The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a collaborative work of art embodying a plea for bi-partisan political support in the tradition of earlier landmark painted declarations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, notably the 1963 Yirrkala Bark Petition on Yol?u land rights and sovereignty and the 1988 Barunga Statement seeking recognition of First Peoples' rights in a national treaty.'

'Both of these earlier declarations are now recognised as historic documents and are held in Parliament House, Canberra. By contrast, this work remains unstretched, giving it a raw and urgent quality that suggests the unfinished business at the heart of the statement.' AGSA's Deputy Director, Dr Lisa Slade, said.

The painting itself, officially titled Uluru-ku Tjukurpa, is the work of A?angu artists Rene Kulitja, Charmaine Kulitja, Christine Brumby and Happy Reid, whose signatures appear in the bottom left corner. The other names surrounding the statement are those of delegates at the Uluru convention.

A signatory to The Uluru Statement from the Heart, APY Collective spokesperson Sally Scales is a member of the Uluru Statement working group. Sally Scales says, 'The Uluru Statement from the Heart was purposely gifted to the Australian people. We're glad it's on display in South Australia during NAIDOC week, where everyone can celebrate its significance, and in light of the first indigenous minister coming out in support of a referendum.'

'For me personally, having the Uluru Statement on display at Art Gallery of South Australia is important considering the magnitude of Indigenous works in the gallery's collection and the crucial role they play in delivering Tarnanthi annually, the nation's largest festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in October.'

The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been hung at AGSA to mark NAIDOC Week 2019, the theme of which is 'Voice. Treaty. Truth. Needing a voice in Parliament.' It is on loan courtesy of convention delegate Professor Megan Davis, a constitutional law expert who is serving with the United Nations on Indigenous peoples' rights.

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