<p>From Brisbane to Auckland, a radical reappraisal is under way, writes Emma-Kate Wilson</p>

Emma-Kate Wilson

First Nations artists are breathing new life into Australia and New Zealand’s art scenes – and helping reassess the countries’ colonial past

<p>
	<em>Please note ‘Aotearoa’ and ‘New Zealand’ are used interchangeably throughout. </em>
</p>
<p>
	The Australian art ecosystem reflects the country’s conflicting identities: a First Nation soul, a colonially loaded place that continues Western art hegemony through its education, and an island firmly anchored in the Asia Pacific region. These themes run throughout the Asia Pacific Triennial, which opened at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane at the beginning of December. This edition, its 10th, connects regional histories with Indigenous Futurism. ‘Many artists question the past to shape the future,’ says Tarun Nagesh, QAGOMA’s Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art. And this approach characterizes many artistic practices that have come to the fore in recent years.
</p>

<p>Nagesh settled in Brisbane more than 10 years ago. Throughout the decade, he noticed artists flocking to the city, attracted by the lower cost of living. This phenomenon marks a pivotal shift away from Australia’s major art capitals, Melbourne and Sydney. ‘There’s a great artist-run scene here,’ Nagesh continues, citing proppaNOW (a First Nation collective established in the early 2000s by the likes of Richard Bell and Vernon Ah Kee), the Institute of Modern Art, and the newly opened Home of the Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast. Boris Cornelissen, founder of Brisbane gallery Ileana (and previously of Sotheby’s London and Hong Kong), flags the significance of the 2032 Olympics: ‘The city will be the focus of the entire world, and it is poised to put its best foot forward to position itself as a metropolitan destination.’</p>

<p>Cornelissen also notes the country’s depth of First Nation art, which has recently taken center stage. A telling example of this newfound recognition is ‘Tarnanthi’, the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art festival, established in 2015. Another milestone was the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, ‘NIRIN’ (2020), which was curated by the artist Brook Andrew and foregrounded Indigenous practices from around the world, giving them something of a critical mass. The success of Yhonnie Scarce (Kokatha and Nukunu), represented by This is  in Melbourne, further attests to an increasing interest – locally, regionally, and internationally – in First Nation Australian art. Scarce’s practice is deeply embedded within a local discourse that reveals Australia’s dark history, and her stunning glass works are being shown in cities ranging from Paris and Berlin to Seoul in 2022.</p>

<p>What makes the art ecosystem in Australia so unique, according to gallerist Ryan Moore of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/14001/Fine-Arts-Sydney">Fine Arts, Sydney</a>, is the support for local artists, which is built into small councils and right up to a national level. ‘Woollahra Council, for example, has just opened a small local gallery,’ Moore says, referring to the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, which is led by Burramattagal curator Sebastian Goldspink. These publicly funded projects thrive alongside a constellation of commercial galleries and private initiatives, and together they form a robust, self-sustaining system. ‘The sheer number of venues and opportunities for artists to make and exhibit work in Australia is quite breathtaking,’ says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1447/Sullivan-Strumpf">Sullivan+Strumpf</a>’s co-director Joanna Strumpf.</p>

<p>
	<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1466/Yavuz-Gallery">Yavuz Gallery</a>’s founder, Can Yavuz, also points out the importance of Australian galleries providing opportunities for artists overseas, highlighting the ‘UN/LEARNING AUSTRALIA’ project running at Seoul Museum of Art in collaboration with Artspace Sydney until early March. Several non-for-profit galleries also connect with international audiences through their programming. For example, Sydney’s Cement Fondu regularly showcases Australian and overseas artists side by side.
</p>
<p>
	Yet many artists in Australia still struggle to find their place on the international stage. Bound to an oversized and somewhat geographically isolated island, they have always faced an uphill battle to connect with the world beyond its shores – making residencies overseas a popular and essential step toward reaching international markets. The 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art’s Beijing residency has provided artists such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/30225/Abdul-Abdullah">Abdul-Rahman Abdullah</a>, Justin Shoulder, and Eugenia Lim with the opportunity to work at artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/17648/Shen-Shaomin">Shen Shaomin</a>’s studio in Beijing. The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship has historically awarded artists AUD 25,000 (about USD 18,000) and a three-month residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.
</p>

<p>
	Many other programs – as varied as the Helsinki International Artist Programme in Finland and the digital exchange residencies offered by the Australia Council for the Arts and the National Arts Council Singapore – provide opportunities to work and exhibit in other countries. On the other hand the Biennale of Sydney, one of the world’s oldest biennials, is among the many organizations that invite artists from around the globe to spend time in Australia.
</p>
<p>
	Galleries also play their part by participating in international art fairs, as do the country’s private collectors, who have had a key role in creating a nurturing space for artists. Back in 1969, John Kaldor founded the non-profit organization Kaldor Public Art Projects, which brings international and local artists together. Phillip Keir, together with Sarah Benjamin, established the Keir Foundation in 2005 to support production across the visual arts, theatre, and dance. Similarly, Judith Neilson founded White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney to showcase a collection of 21st-century Chinese contemporary art. Other private patrons of note include the late Dr. Clinton Ng, a major benefactor of institutions across Australia and a member of the foundation board of trustees at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
</p>

<p>
	That negotiation between geographies and cultures, as well as emerging and established institutions and agents, continues in New Zealand, which is also referred to by its Māori name of Aotearoa. It boasts important institutions such as the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, which hosts the biennial Walters Prize. Aotearoa Artspace’s director, Remco de Blaaij, describes New Zealand’s art scenes as ‘a reflection of how we function as a geography.’ For him, this means ‘a focus on Indigenous practices, a link to the greater Pacific, as well as a connection to the world.’
</p>
<p>
	Relaunched in 2016, the Aotearoa Art Fair (formerly the Auckland Art Fair) actively seeks out connections to the rest of the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Co-directed by Hayley White and Stephanie Post, its 2022 edition will open on March 2 and welcome nine galleries from Australia and Rarotonga, as well as 31 from across Aotearoa. The country is informed by a ‘bicultural past, present and future,’ Post says. ‘The artists coming out of New Zealand have a particular way of thinking about sense of place and response to the world around them.’ Many live, work, or exhibit internationally, such as Sriwhana Spong,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/33766/Fiona-Pardington">Fiona Pardington</a>, Lisa Reihana,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/15507/Michael-Parekowhai">Michael Parekōwhai</a>, and Auckland-based Yona Lee.
</p>

<p>
	White and Post also run the contemporary art news website ArtNow.nz and are keen observers of the country’s ever-shifting cultural dialogue. In recent years they have watched several new commercial galleries in New Zealand emerge to support early-career artists. Jhana Millers (Wellington), Sumer (Tauranga), and Laree Payne Gallery (Hamilton) are among those that have come up to join the ranks of stalwarts such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1407/Michael-Lett">Michael Lett</a> in Auckland and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1445/Starkwhite">Starkwhite</a> in Auckland and Queenstown.
</p>
<p>
	Fine Arts, Sydney’s Moore is well placed to offer an insider perspective of the dialogue between the ecosystems of Australia and Aotearoa. After working in galleries in New Zealand and London, he founded his gallery in 2017 and now represents Australian artists including Hany Armanious and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/45466/Prudence-Flint">Prudence Flint</a> alongside New Zealand artists such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6928/Simon-Denny">Simon Denny</a>, Kate Newby, and Fiona Connor. Moore says both Australia and Aotearoa offer a balance between local and international concerns and initiatives, but while the Australian industry is more autonomous, Aotearoa artists have a greater reach within the global art market. Beyond these nuances, what ultimately links the two contexts is a deep connection to history, culture, and land that reverberates throughout the entire Asia Pacific region.&nbsp;
</p>

<p>Emma-Kate Wilson is a Sydney-based art and design writer.</p>

title_style_3

<p>Discover the galleries from Australia and New Zealand that participated in Art Basel through the years</p>

Online Catalog

Art Basel Galleries in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

<section><div><article><p><div></div></p><section><div><div><div><div>The young American artist makes the case for painting</div> </div></div></div></section></article></div> </section>

Stories

Queer intimacy: Louis Fratino’s visceral work

<section>
<div><div>Guangzhou and Shenzhen are leading the charge in a region changing at dizzying speed</div></div>
</section>

Inside the growing art scenes of the Pearl River Delta

<p>Captions for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1.&nbsp;John Prince Siddon, Walmajarri people, Western Australia<em>, Mix it all u</em>p, 2019.&nbsp;&copy; John Prince Siddon/Mangkaja Arts Resource&nbsp;Agency. Photo by&nbsp;Saul Steed. 2a (desktop view). A view of The Gold Coast, seen through the windows of&nbsp;Home of the Arts (HOTA). Photo by&nbsp;Brett Boardman. 2b (mobile view).&nbsp;Home of the Arts (HOTA) in The Gold Coast.&nbsp;Photo by Brett Boardman. 3a (desktop view).&nbsp;Kathy Inkamala, Western Aranda people, Northern Territory,&nbsp;<em>Kuprilya Day: making daisy chains for Kuprilya celebrations</em> (detail),&nbsp;2021.&nbsp;&copy; Kathy Inkamala/Iltja&nbsp;Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre. 3b (mobile view):&nbsp;Kathy Ramsay, Gija people, Western Australia, <em>Dick's Yard </em>(detail), 2021.&nbsp;&copy; Kathy&nbsp;Ramsay/Warmun Art Centre. 4. A View of Kaldor Public Art Projects' Project 32: Jonathan Jones, <em>barrangal dyara (skin and bones)</em>, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, 2016. Photo by Pedro Greig. 5a (desktop view).&nbsp;Kate Newby,&nbsp;It doesn't hurt to know it,&nbsp;2017. Courtesy of the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney. 5b (mobile view).&nbsp;Kate Newby,&nbsp;<em>Fear this! </em>(detail),&nbsp;2020.&nbsp;Courtesy of the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney.</p>

From Brisbane to Auckland, a radical reappraisal is under way, writes Emma-Kate Wilson

Welcome,

Discover more related content below: