Opinion
A Patronizing Argument Against Cultural Repatriation
In the past few decades, cultural institutions in the West have increasingly felt pressure to return artifacts acquired through questionable means during the colonial era.
Australia
Art
British Museum's Display of Aboriginal Artifacts Prompts New Demands for Their Return
There are only a handful of bark art examples from the Dja Dja Wurrung in Australia, and they're leagues away from their place of origin. A new exhibition of indigenous art of Australia at the British Museum, which holds these artifacts in their collections, will finally bring them back to the South
In Brief
Art High School Censors Student Paintings for "the Protection of Children"
Two art students in their final year at the John Curtin College of the Arts in Perth, Western Australia, got an unexpected lesson in institutional politics after their paintings were censored in a student exhibition.
In Brief
Prehistoric Australian Rock Art in Danger of Serious Deterioration
Australia's Aboriginal cave art is at risk of disappearance within 50 years, according to an expert quoted in the Guardian's recent investigation of the the threats facing the prehistoric art.
Art
A Documentary for the Witch of Kings Cross, Australia's Persecuted Occult Artist
Filmmaker Sonia Bible considers Rosaleen Norton "the most persecuted artist in Australian history." With a new documentary, she's hoping to set a more accurate record of the life of woman who in the 1940s and 50s scandalized the country with her occult art, and bold sexuality.
News
Australian Government Cuts Over $100M from Arts and Culture
Australia's conservative government will nearly halve its budget deficit in the coming fiscal year, in the process eliminating more than AUS$100 million (US$93.6 million) in funding for arts and culture programs, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
News
Five Artists Officially Withdraw from Sydney Biennale
Five artists have announced their withdrawal from the Biennale of Sydney, ArtsHub reported today, the latest in an ongoing controversy over one of the Biennale's major sponsors, Transfield.
News
Artists Call for Boycott of Sydney Biennale Over Sponsorship
A group of artists have threatened to boycott the Biennale of Sydney in protest of one of the exhibition's major sponsors, a company called Transfield, which contracts with the Australian government to manage mandatory detention centers for asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guine
Art
Digital Repatriation Through an Aboriginal Art Archive
Artifacts in museums — in an effort for preservation — are often placed out of reach of the communities with which they are entwined. One way museums are bridging this divide is digitization, and with this purpose in mind, the South Australian Museum is currently undertaking a massive project to pho
Art
Burning Suburbia With Paint and Flames
The American suburbs are already surreal places, perfectly planned roads dotted with identical homes infinitely replicated across the country. In his two-year Suburban project, Australian artist Ian Strange radically transformed these places into something even more otherworldly with paint and flame
Announcement
Peripheral Visions: Contemporary Art from Australia at Garis & Hahn
Distilling the ethos of a national avant-garde is a daring act, but curator Marissa Bateman's goal is to accomplish just that in Peripheral Visions: Contemporary Art from Australia [http://engine.adzerk.net/r?e=eyJ0cyI6MTM2Nzg2NzY1NTMzNywiYXYiOjIxMTkwLCJhdCI6MjAsImNtIjoyOTYxNywiY2giOjE5MzAsImNyIjo4M
Art
Beware Street Artists Bearing Thought-provoking Gifts
MELBOURNE, Australia — Melbourne-based street artist CDH specializes in presenting audacious and difficult challenges to institutions that explore the illicit nature of street art. Disguised in a bright safety vest, he is well-spoken and calm and on one occasion his demeanor has even been able to co