Opening Weekend Conversations – 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art

Celebrate the launch of 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art with a dynamic weekend of thought-provoking conversations. 

Across two inspiring days, hear from curators, artists, Indigenous custodians, art historians and anthropologists as they delve into the stories, practices and themes that shape this groundbreaking exhibition. 

The gallery will be open from 11am–5pm on Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June, with engaging talks scheduled throughout each day.  

Each session runs for 45 minutes. 

Free entry. Please note that capacity is limited and bookings are essential.

SATURDAY, 31 MAY 2025

11.30am: Women’s art practice and cultural knowledge

Sandra Aitken and Kathy Wirrpanda, in conversation with Judith Ryan. 
Art today in South East Australia and Arnhem Land: weaving, shell-necklace making, cloak-making, and working with kelp. 

12.30pm: The language of Yolŋu art 1

Jason Dhawulunbulun, Michael Mungula and Harriet Watts, in conversation with Aaron Corn. 
The link between art, song and dance, layers of meaning, and different clan designs. 

1.30pm: Mining the archive

Brook Garru Andrew, Greg Lehman and Yhonnie Scarce, in conversation with Lisa Slade.
Calling out scientific racism at The University of Melbourne and beyond through art.  

2.30pm: Cultural astronomy in Zenadth Kes and beyond

Brian Robinson in conversation with Duane Hamacher.
The importance of cultural astronomy in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, with a focus on Brian Robinson’s portfolio. 

3.30pm: Tiwi art and culture across time

Johnathon World Peace Bush  and Pedro Wonaeamirri, in conversation with Judith Ryan.
Approaches to Tiwi tradition and their transmission across different mediums. 

4.30pm: Photography: beyond the colonial gaze

Ricky Maynard in conversation with Marcia Langton.
An exploration of Ricky Maynard’s series Returning to Places that Name Us and Portrait of a distant land. 
(RESCHEDULED)

SUNDAY, 1 JUNE 2025

11.30am: Art of the South East, then and now

Maree Clarke and Tiriki Onus, in conversation with Shanysa McConville.
Art traditions from the South East of Australia and their continuation in the present.   

1.30pm: The language of Yolŋu art 2

Djambawa Marawili and Will Stubbs, in conversation with Aaron Corn.
The Yolŋu Land Rights case, the Yirrkala Bark Petition, the recent Yunupiŋu High Court Judgement, and the importance of the Donald Thomson collection.  

2.30pm: Art of empire and brutal contested history

Alisa Bunbury, Greg Lehman and r e a, in conversation with Lisa Slade. 
Portraits of known ancestors in Lutruwita and early Sydney; the absence of the black body in later colonial art. 

3.30pm: Playfulness and humour in Indigenous art

Johnathon World Peace Bush, Gordon Hookey and Brian Robinson, in conversation with Judith Ryan.
Subverting stereotypes of First People, and dispelling myths about Australia’s history.