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New Indigenous gallery opens with repatriated William Barak works

State Library Victoria's new Indigenous gallery is designed to support the voices and stories of Indigenous Victorians and connect visitors with material held in the Library’s collection.

13 Dec 2023 17:05

Richard Watts

Visual Arts

L-R: Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Andrew Gardiner, Victorian Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson, Christine Christian AO – President of the Library Board of Victoria and Paul Duldig, CEO, State Library of Victoria, at State Library Victoria’s new Indigenous gallery. Photo: Supplied.

A new gallery dedicated to telling the stories of Victoria’s Indigenous communities has opened at State Library Victoria (SLV).

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition beruk celebrates the return to Country of two rare and culturally significant works by William Barak (1823 – 1903), the Wurundjeri Ngurungaeta who became a respected spokesman for the Aboriginal community of Coranderrk in the 19^th century.

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Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts