Us Mob - Celebrating Victorian Koori Elders
Published on 14 July 2023
Running until 23 September, Us Mob is on now at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.
By Charles Pakana
In building on Darebin Council’ s Statement of Commitment to Traditional Owners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre is hosting an exciting new exhibition called Us Mob.
Opening on 1 July and running through to 23 September, the exhibition features a breathtaking diversity of artistic styles, mediums and expressions of First Nations artists who attended the Indigenous Art Unit at RMIT University’ s School of Art between 2005 and 2012.
The artists featured in the exhibition are among the most innovative and well-known First Nations artists from South Eastern Australia.
They include Aunty Bunta Patten, Aunty Frances Gallagher, Uncle Herb Patten, Aunty Gwen Garoni, Aunty Gwen Brooke, Uncle Kennedy Edwards, Aunty Lorraine Nelson, Uncle Ray Thomas and Uncle Talgium Edwards.
The exhibition is curated by three equally highly regarded experts - Sharon West, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre’ s inaugural artist-in-residence, Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an Alyawarra (Northern Territory) man and cultural heritage expert with significant experience in the fields of repatriation, archives, information technologies, materials conservation, heritage and policy, and Simon Rose, a Birriah/Gurreng Gurreng Murri man and well-known documentary producer.
Sharon, who mentored many of the artists during her years as a visual artist at RMIT, says the exhibition gives insight into the broader experience of Elders.
“A significant number of the pieces we are fortunate enough to include in this exhibition are stark portrayals of the personal experiences of the artists,” Sharon says.
“While this is by no means unique in itself, this particular collection and resulting exhibition is a marvelous opportunity for visitors to gain at least a small insight into the broader experiences of some of this state’ s Aboriginal Elders.”
Us Mob is running from 1 July – 23 September at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.
To find out more visit arts.darebin.vic.gov.au/bhac-exhibitions. You can also select your preferred language from the drop-down menu at the top of the page.
Uncle Charles Pakana is a proud Aboriginal journalist working with Darebin Council to tell First Nations stories.
Photo: Aunty Lorraine in the RMIT Bundoora Koori Art Unit Studios. Credit: Sharon West