Photography: Mark Gambino, © British Council.
The concept of country is core to the work of Indigenous curator Jilda Andrews. But being far away from her country in the UK has enhanced and broadened her understanding of country.
Andrews is one of six artists and arts workers who have recently returned from professional development placements and mentoring in the UK as part of ACCELERATE, a British Council program which offers cultural leadership skills development to upcoming Indigenous leaders.
Andrews, Curator at the National Museum of Australia and PhD candidate at the Australia National University, spent time in England, Scotland and Wales.
Particularly meaningful was a new museum on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, the Museum nan Eilean. There Andrews saw the core interests that drive her research and work in museum curation – land, language and cultural expression – reflected in the relationship between the objects and the local area.
‘There are some objects in the British Museum collection called the Lewis Chessman and they are little chess pieces. These little chess pieces are beautifully carved out of ivory and they were found there on the shores of this island. The National Museum of Australia where I work actually has some of them on display in Canberra.
‘When I went to this place where they were discovered off the coast of one of the little islands in Scotland, it drew my thoughts back to home and how we look at these objects and how they are really dependent on context when they are on display here. But when they are on display on this island they are surrounded by this other environmental or country context,’ said Andrews.
Lewis Castle, Stornoway; Photo by Jilda Andrews.
The experience made her consider how the concept and context of country is applied in different areas and is explored through local museum curation, she said.
‘That was really a fascinating insight for me and had me thinking about how we value and express country, not just as an Indigenous Australian concept or context, but as a universal concept.’
‘After that [experience] everything was relating to country, relating to how we value and celebrate country.’
Andrews said the program came at the right time in her career. ‘It was like all the planets aligned and I got the most out of it that I could have. I really seized that opportunity. I’m looking at it as a real gift because it just came at the perfect time.’
Networking and leadership
Time in the UK is also valuable for arts leaders who want to develop broader international networks.
New South Wales arts manager and writer Travis De Vries, who was recently appointed Associate Producer of Melbourne’s YIRRAMBOI Festival, used the ACCELERATE program to develop links with UK festivals.
‘It’s given me time and opportunity to further develop some international networks that will be key in my work in the very near future… I’ll be coming back to Australia with some new plans and am definitely on the road to seeing them through.’
‘I especially connected with the Edinburgh Storytelling Festival and TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) and look forward to working with them in the future on some projects,’ he said.
For De Vries, another major boon of distance was clarity on where he wants to go in future.
‘I feel that I know what my role is going to be as an arts leader in the future. Being now able to define that for myself is so important as it means I have a clear goal. I really see myself as someone who is going to spend more time thinking and less time just running on a wheel now as it feels like a way to get more good work done in the long run. I never really saw myself as someone who would be a stereotypical arts leader but now I certainly know where I want to spend my time and energy.’
ACCELERATE 2016 is presented by the British Council and the Australia Council for the Arts in partnership with Arts NSW, Arts NT, Arts Queensland, Creative Victoria and Department of Culture and the Arts WA with additional support from SBS NITV. For further information, visit accelerate.org.au
