A new exhibition featuring the art of the Pilbara region opens at The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) tomorrow.
The Tracks We Share exhibition, which is on display from March 11 to August 28, 2022, celebrates the Pilbara’s Aboriginal artists and art centres.
The exhibition is the result of collaboration between WA not-for-profit arts and cultural organisation FORM, AGWA and Aboriginal art centres Cheeditha Art Group, Juluwarlu Art Group, Martumili Artists, Spinifex Hill Studio and Yinjaa-Barni Art, along with independent artists Katie West, Curtis Taylor and Jill Churnside.
The title of the exhibition was devised by a group of exhibiting artists and references the many language groups and diverse country of the Pilbara, while acknowledging the physical, cultural and artistic tracks that connect them all.
The exhibition is a significant outcome of the broader Tracks We Share project – a multi-year, multi-artform project initiated and managed by FORM, and supported by the Pilbara Development Commission. The project has mapped the context, development and diversity of the Pilbara’s Aboriginal art movement, and encompasses touring exhibitions, artwork development, artistic commissions, artistic residencies, professional development, and a publication.
Tracks We Share is supported by the McGowan Government’s Regional Exhibition Touring Boost (RETB) program to provide regional access to world-class art. The RETB is supported by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. It encourages the social, cultural and economic growth of regional communities.
The exhibition also coincides with AGWA’s BlakLight program, a month-long celebration of First Nations art and culture, during which AGWA is displaying only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
“As we start to welcome visitors back to Western Australia, I’m delighted this extraordinary showcase of the world-class artistic talent in WA’s regions is on display in the heart of the city.
“I encourage all Western Australians to view this remarkable selection of Aboriginal art from the Pilbara and to celebrate the immense cultural value that is within our State.”
