Our December Sprigg Salon event includes a screening of the short film "Close to the Bone" followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon, co-writer, director and SA Museum researcher Dr Jared Thomas, and settler descendants, Mike Brown and his daughter Anjali Nelson in conversation with Eva Wilson, the Museum's Aboriginal Education Coordinator.

The South Australian Museum is a key partner in projects to explore the legacies of frontier conflict. Close to the Bone is a film that presents an especially powerful story from the Flinders Ranges where Aboriginal and settler descendants come together to confront shared legacies. The film asks the question: Can the scars of past atrocities be reconciled and healed through the act of truth telling?

In 1852, near Quorn in the Flinders Ranges, a young shepherd was killed by members of the local Aboriginal community. Police and European settlers pursued the Aboriginal group, and eventually murdered a number of them in reprisal. Almost 170 years later, descendants of James Brown’s family reach out to the descendants of the Aboriginal people to find out what happened and why. Can the atrocities of the past be healed through the act of truth telling, or will rifts be widened?

Close to the Bone was co-written and directed by Dr. Jared Thomas, William and Margaret Geary Research Fellow in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Material Culture and Art at the South Australian Museum and the University of South Australia.

When: Wednesday 7th December, 2022, 6pm Doors Open for 6.30 screening, followed by a panel discussion of approximately 45 minutes
Where: Pacific Cultures Gallery, Mezzanine Level, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide
Entry to this event includes a free welcome drink with a choice of beer, wine or soft drink
Please note this film is rated PG and is not recommended for viewing by people under the age of 15 without guidance from parents, teachers or guardians.

Support for the Sprigg Salon series is kindly provided by Inspiring South Australia.