The show is the only West Coast presentation of the exhibition, which was organized by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
The exhibition is the outcome of a cultural partnership between the National Gallery of Art and the National Gallery of Victoria that will facilitate the global exchange of artworks from the NGV\u2019s permanent collection. Bank of America is the North America tour sponsor.<\/p>\n
Organized by the NGV especially for North American audiences, the exhibition draws exclusively from the NGV\u2019s collection and spans pivotal moments in Indigenous Australian art from the late 19th century to the present. The Portland Art Museum said its presentation is designed as a \u201ccaptivating and multi-layered experience for visitors of all ages,\u201d introducing audiences to Indigenous Australian artists connected to what the museum described as the world\u2019s oldest continuous living culture.<\/p>\n
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The largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented in North America is coming to Portland this fall, bringing 147 works by more than 100 Indigenous Australian artists to the Portland Art Museum\/Photo via Portland Art Museum<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working for years to bring this exhibition to Portland, so it\u2019s deeply rewarding to finally share it with our community,\u201d said Don Urquhart, co-interim director of the Portland Art Museum. \u201cThese paintings and sculptures have traveled across the globe to be here, giving our audiences a rare opportunity to experience the depth and vitality of Indigenous Australian art and culture. It\u2019s also simply beautiful\u2014enormous, vibrant, powerful works of art that I know visitors are going to love experiencing in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kathleen Ash-Milby, the museum\u2019s senior curator of Native American art, said visitors may be surprised by the range of work included. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think our visitors are going to be surprised by what they learn about the diversity and range of the work by the artists included in this exhibition, from the depth of emotion and history to the sophisticated use of color and abstraction. The exhibition is a contemporary art exhibition but rooted in thousands of years of culture and expression,\u201d Ash-Milby said.<\/p>\n
The museum said the Bank of America generously supported the exhibition’s North America tour.<\/p>\n
![\"{p}Rose](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/34a8c278-3d29-4415-a74a-64f6cc748df3-Aa100581_RGB.jpg\")
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Rose Mamuniny Gurruwiwi. G\u00e4lpu born 1944. Mani Mani (Necklace) 1993, welirr (shells), butju (feathers), nylon thread. 30.5 \u00d7 21.0 \u00d7 5.0 cm (variable). National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne . Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the Alcoa Foundation, Governor, 1994 (O.168-1994). \u00a9 Mamuniny 2\/ Copyright Agency, 2024. Photo: Heath Warwick \/ NGV<\/p>\n
Marc Compton, Oregon and Southwest Washington president for Bank of America, said the company\u2019s support is intended to broaden access to the arts. \u201cAt Bank of America, we know the arts play a vital role in building stronger, more connected communities by creating opportunities for learning, dialogue, and shared appreciation,\u201d Compton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy supporting the North American tour of this landmark exhibition, we hope this rare opportunity for Portland Art Museum visitors to experience the astonishing breadth of modern and contemporary Australian Indigenous art will leave them inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibition includes conceptual map paintings of the Central and Western Deserts, ochre bark paintings and experimental weavings, along with works by new-media artists using neon, video and photography. <\/p>\n
Among the highlights never shown in North America is Emily Kam Kngwarray\u2019s Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming) (1995), a monumental painting measuring more than nine by 27 feet that represents an underground network of roots and yams.<\/p>\n
The exhibition\u2019s title is inspired by the late senior Yolu artist Gulumbu Yunupiu (1943\u20132012), known as \u201cStar Lady.\u201d Her works use crosses to represent visible stars and a dense network of dots to symbolize stars that cannot be seen.<\/p>\n
Urban-based contemporary artists working in new media are represented throughout the show, with works by Brook Andrew, Richard Bell, Reko Rennie and Maree Clarke. <\/p>\n
![\"{p}Destiny](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/8ef82c4e-3515-4014-b17b-b751132ab47b-Dg102347_RGB.jpg\")
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Destiny Deacon. Kuku\/Erub\/Mer 1957\u20132024. Snow Storm 2005, dolls, polystyrene, Perspex cube, 40.0 \u00d7 40.0 \u00d7 40.0 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2019 (2019.840). \u00a9 Destiny Deacon\/Copyright Agency, 2024. Photo: Christian Markel \/ NGV<\/p>\n
The exhibition also includes Christian Thompson\u2019s Burdi Burdi (Fire Fire) (2021), a four-channel sound installation, and Destiny Deacon\u2019s Snow Storm (2005), which explores how Aboriginal material culture has historically been presented in clinical, museological environments.<\/p>\n
The museum said interpretation will focus on making Indigenous knowledges and ideas accessible, including helping visitors understand how what may appear to Western audiences as abstract patterns can function as complex visual maps layered with cultural knowledge, stories and law. The Portland presentation will also include several artwork tactiles placed alongside featured pieces, originally utilized in the Denver Art Museum installation.<\/p>\n
A series of public programs is scheduled to begin later this month<\/p>\n
![\"{p}Anatjari](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fbb41be4-66e2-44f0-bc7b-a9c0d4fea8e8-Ad100936_RGB.jpg\")
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