This online symposium is a conversation between 15 First Nations artists, curators, and filmmakers, along with non-Indigenous scholars and museum professionals from Australia, Taiwan, Aotearoa, and the Philippines. It offers a space where First Nations creative practitioners who have not met, can gather, share ideas and insights, and develop connections. We hope these conversations will inspire new ideas and generate opportunities for future dialogue and exchange. This sharing of knowledge will also help build networks and foster cultural understanding and cooperation between our countries.
The theme explores our relationship to the “land” from the standpoint of First Nations artists and filmmakers in our region. While our speakers’ perspectives and creative approaches are highly individualistic, some common themes have emerged around land and place which will be further explored in this discussion:
- as a site of contestation and self-determination
- as a source of learning, sustenance, and creative production
- as a place where we might discover a sense of belonging, community, and culture.
The symposium comprises panels which focus on different keywords relating to these common themes.
New fields of research and inquiry will emerge from these conversations. We will publish a bilingual publication that will serve as a lasting record of this conversation, contribute to scholarship, and provide a useful resource for students, teachers, and museum professionals. An exhibition, featuring works by First Nation artists from our region, will also further develop this dialogue, research, and collaborative partnership.
The symposium is organised by Dr. Sophie McIntyre at QUT in collaboration with colleagues, Dr. Fang Chun-wei (National Prehistory Museum in Taiwan), and Dr. Zara Stanhope (Govett-Brewster Gallery). We would like to acknowledge and thank our advisors, Dr. Leah King-Smith, Dr. Juliana McLaughlin (QUT) and Yuma Taru (尤瑪•達陸), along with Megan Tamati-Quennell (Govett-Brewster Gallery) who have provided valuable advice and support. We are indebted to the artists, film makers and scholars participating in the symposium, and we welcome you to this symposium and look forward to future dialogues and interactions. Finally, we would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (Spotlight Taiwan) for generously funding this symposium, and the Creative Placemaking for Social Impact research group for offering valuable practical support.
