pride, recognition and resilience

CLASS KIT
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Vincent Namatjira is a Western Aranda man from Ntaria (Hermannsburg, Northern Territory). Born in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in 1983, he lives in the community of Indulkana in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) region, South Australia. Namatjira is a painter whose works often depict himself, as well as national and international political figures and references to Australia’s colonial history.
Namatjira works at Iwantja Arts, a not for profit, Aboriginal- owned and run corporation and art centre where studio artists work across a variety of mediums, such as printmaking and painting.
Class kit content This resource contains creative learning activities about some of the figures in Namatjira’s Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (2021). They are organised in three themes: pride, recognition and resilience. The class kit also contains activities for learning about two MCA Collection artists, Ryan Presley and Megan Cope.
Pride, recognition and resilience 2MCA
Vincent Namatjira with preparatory painting for 2021 Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission. Image courtesy and © Iwantja Arts. Photograph: Heath Aaron
ABOUT THE CIRCULAR QUAY FOYER WALL COMMISSION
The Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission is an ongoing program of wall works commissioned for the Circular Quay foyer. The Museum of Contempoaray Art Australia (MCA) works with artists to realise new, temporary wall works that respond to the unique dimensions, location and history of this site.
The foyer wall is 15-metres long and faces the harbour. It is visible from as far away as Circular Quay train station and is seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Past works in this series have included paintings, printed fabric, and glued mirrored disks.
Clothilde Bullen, the MCA’s Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions, commissioned Vincent Namatjira to be part of this series in 2021. Clothilde Bullen is a Wardandi (Nyoongar) and Badimaya (Yamatji) woman with English/French heritage. Vincent Namatjira’s work was painted directly on the wall in February 2021.
The Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission is supported by Veolia.
Vincent Namatjira P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) (detail) 2021 synthetic polymer paint commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, supported by Veolia Environmental Services. Image courtesy and © the artist
Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Focus first on the loud, obvious sounds, then try to hear the quiet, subtle sounds.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
ACTIVITY
The MCA is located on the land and waters of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The site on which the MCA stands is known as Tallawoladah in Gadigal. In English it is known as The Rocks. Tallawoladah is where the First Fleet landed in 1788. It is therefore the location of colonial First Contact.
At the MCA, we acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the land and waters upon which the MCA stands. Find out what Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islands Nation or Country you are on and acknowledge the custodians of this land.
• Imagine the land where you are as it was before there were any houses, cars or city skylines. What sounds would you hear?
• Now think about this place far into the future. What sounds would you still like to hear?
Vincent Namatjira P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) 2021 synthetic polymer paint commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, supported by Veolia Environmental Services. Image courtesy and © the artist
PRIDE
In Vincent Namatjira’s mural, he paints himself holding the Aboriginal flag and pointing out to Warrang (Circular Quay), a place that always was, always is and always will be on Gadigal land. Flags can be powerful representations
of people and places. They use colour, imagery and symbolism to represent histories, cultures and meanings.
Work in small groups and design a flag using only three colours that represents your class. It can be any design that you want.
WARM-UP
• Think about the colour palette of your flag and what each colour could represent.
• Think about what symbols or imagery you might choose to show on your flag.
• After designing your flag, think of three words that express the meaning in your flag.
The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from Alice Springs, in 1970 and first flown in Adelaide on 12 July 1971. Its design and use was originally associated with the national land rights movements, however it has since been made an official ‘Flag of Australia’. The flag was flown at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972 in front of Parliament House in Canberra. This event is a key moment in Australian civil rights history, as it was part of wider protests about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island land rights.
Recently, the reprinting of the Aboriginal flag has received national attention due to its misuse under copyright law. The flag’s design is currently licensed to a private clothing company. An Australian Senate inquiry is being undertaken to determine whether the federal government should purchase the license to allow its reproduction by any party.
The Aboriginal Flag
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The Aboriginal flag for me represents pride, resilience and recognition. The Aboriginal flag symbolises who I am, and what I am proud of. For me to hold this flag on this big wall and for other Aboriginal and Torres Strait people to see it, they will feel like they are proud also.
Vincent Namatjira, MCA, Sydney, 2019
• How do the elements of your flag promote or symoblise these feelings?
• Who might not share these same feelings when viewing your flag?
• Look at the flags designed by other groups. What emotions do they bring up for you? Are they the same or different to your flag?
• Does your flag make you feel pride? Why or why not?
Namatjira discusses that for him, the Aboriginal flag symbolises pride, reslience and recognition. By including the flag in the mural, the artist hopes to share this pride with other Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.
How does the flag that you designed make you feel? Who might share these feelings when looking at your flag?
DISCUSSION
Claire G. Coleman, Forever, Flag, 2020
“Forever in my blood, etched bleeding into my flesh I remember when you wept red; the pain Little more than an itch; Wept, darker red than the scarlet of the ink Without you, flag, my skin is slick, too pale People might not know who I am Red, yellow, black My skin forever, flag. The yellow, the sun, is fading The red, the ground, the black, I Still strong, the bloodlines. Someone once said, ‘wow, that’s committed’. Someone once said, ‘you could pass as white’. A blackfella once said, ‘welcome to my Country sister’ He saw my blackfella flag first He saw my Noongar face after.
I wear a flag I have it needle-stuck and inked Up in my skin My skin is a flag Without the ink Not flagged enough. I say to them, ‘this flag is my identity’ I say to them, ‘this ink forever’. I say to them, ‘I will die before I lay down my flag’.
LISTEN
2020
Blues
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Forever, Flag, 2020 by Claire G. Coleman
Claire G. Coleman, photo by Jen Dainer, Industrial Arc
Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar poet, art writer, essayist and author. Her family is from the south west coast of Western Australia. Coleman now lives and works in Naarm (Melbourne).
Coleman’s poems have been published in the Australian Poetry Journal and by Red Room Poetry. Her first novel Terra Nullius won the 2018 Norma K Hemming Award for excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class or disability in speculative fiction. The book was written on the road during Coleman’s extensive travels across the country in a caravan.
In addition, she has been a speaker at many writers festivals and interviewed on ABC Radio National and a guest on podcasts such as It’s Not a Race and Queerstories. She is also a consultant for the cultural advisory committee for not-for-profit Aboriginal Arts consultancy Agency.
• What visual or written language have they used to convey this pride?
• Think about the context surrounding the Aboriginal flag in each of the works. Where and how are they presented?
• How and when can a flag create pride? Think about what flags you associate with and where you see them. Who else might share this pride?
• Look back at the your flag designs. Imagine in 20 years’ time you see your fellow classmates. How might you and your classmates feel about the flags you designed back then?
Both Namatjira and Coleman feature the Aboriginal flag in their works P.P.F (Past-Present-Future) and Forever, Flag.
How have Namatjira and Coleman shown their pride for the Aboriginal flag in their works?
DIG DEEPER
• Share a story about this person with someone in your class. Ask the person you shared it with to try to retell the story back to you.
• Stories are an important way for us to communicate things that are important to us. They can tell the listener something about our personality, our past and our community. After listening to the retelling of your story, what do you think your story might reveal about you?
Namatjira has painted a figure of an Aboriginal stockman in his mural to represent the contributions of stockmen and highlight their underrepresentation in mainstream Australian history.
Is there someone in your family or community who you think deserves recognition? What important things have they done?
WARM-UP
The stockman in Namatjira’s mural is a tribute to past and present leaders who don’t have one identifiable name or face but are a collective of strong Black brothers who are role models within their own communities. Namatjira shares his inspirations showing his love and pride in his culture. He hopes that by sharing this artwork it will be a source of pride for other Indigenous Australians who come to see it.
Listen to Namatjira speak about the figure of the stockman below. You can also read the quote on the following slide.
Aboriginal Stockmen
LISTEN
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I painted an image also in the painting of an Indigenous male figure riding a horse. This one here is a tribute to old Tjilpis and the old Aywe, for the old people. That’s why I painted this horse. It’s not just for the APY Tjilpis, it’s for all Indigenous old Tjilpis.
Back in the old days, the old men used to ride horses and they used to do mustering. It was a hard life for the old men back then. These horses, they go way back, way back. They’re in the wars of Australia; they’re for cowboys; they’re from the mission; and they’re also iconic.
This Indigenous cowboy is also a reference to a film we made at Iwantja, Never Stop Riding. And yes, I do ride horses, back at Hermannsburg, but not at Indulkana.
• Take this activity to a member of your family or someone you know in your local community. Ask them about an important story in their life.
ACTIVITY
This activity encourages you to listen to each other and recognise the importance of oral history.
1. Think of an important story in your life that has shaped who you are. Take some time to think about how you will tell this story, including the emotion, humour or weight of each part.
2. Find someone to share stories with. Take turns telling your story and listening. As you listen to your partner’s story, write down notes to keep track of the important and emotional parts of their story.
3. Once you have both shared your story, find another pair of students. Now take turns telling your partner’s story. Try to inject it with as much emotion, humour and gravity as they used in telling the story to you.
Ryan Presley Blood Money Blood Money–Infinite Dollar Note–Dundalli Commemorative, 2017 Watercolour on arches paper. Collection of Bernard Shafer, Melbourne. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Carl Warner
Ryan Presley was born in 1987 in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). He is a Mari Ngarr man and lives and works in Brisbane.
Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal (2019) is a participatory installation that recreates a currency exchange booth. In January 2019, MCA visitors could exchange Australian dollars for Blood Money Dollars as part of the Sydney Festival. The Bloody Money Dollars were small prints of Presley’s Blood Money series of watercolour paintings.
In the series, Presley replaced figures from Australia’s colonial history on the national currency with leaders, activists, warriors and writers from Aboriginal history such as Fanny Balbuk Yooreel, Dundalli and Pemulwuy.
For Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal, Presley set the rate of exchange at the Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal each day, where Australian currency could be converted for limited edition $10, $20, $50 and $100 Blood Money Dollar prints. The money raised was donated to Aboriginal youth organisations. Watch the video on the next slide to learn more about the artwork.
Recognition in Blood Money, 2019
Ryan Presley Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal, 2019 Installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, performance, mixed media, presented in association with Sydney Festival. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Jacquie Manning
Ryan Presley, Primavera 2018: Young Australian Artists (artist interview) Opens external link to video
• How are their achievements recognised?
• Do you think their achievements are properly recognised? Why or why not?
• Take some time to research some of the Indigenous leaders in Presley or Namatjira’s works.
• Share an oral history: tell someone about a Black leader you have learned about today from a classmate or from your research.
In their art, both Presley and Namatjira recognise the positive impact Indigenous leaders have made to this country. Their work offers us a chance to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been previously overlooked.
Which Black leaders do you know of in Australia? What achievements of theirs would you like to share? Share this with a classmate.
DISCUSSION
RESILIENCE
• In which contexts have you heard of resilience?
• How is resilience shown or put into practice? What helps to build resilience and what impacts negatively on resilience?
As a class, formulate a working definition of ‘resilience’.
WARM-UP
Namatjira has painted Adam Goodes in the middle of the mural. Goodes is an Andyamathanha and Norungga man who is a former elite AFL player. Goodes was twice awarded the Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player per season. From 2013 until his retirement from AFL, he was the target of sustained racist ‘booing’ by spectators, as well as racist commentary by radio and television presenters. This led to a national debate about racism in Australia, in sport and wider society. Although Goodes was at the centre of this national debate and his football legacy was on the line, he remained resilient and stood up for what he believed in.
In 2009, he set up The Goodes-O’Loughlin Foundation with his cousin and former teammate Michael O’Loughlin to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates by providing scholarships and advising workplaces on cultural safety1.
In 2014, Goodes was named Australian of the Year for his anti-racism work and advocacy for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Goodes also advises various organisations, such as retailer David Jones and property developer Lend Lease on their Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP)2.
Adam Goodes
1 Cultural safety is defined as “an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need.” Williams, R. (1999). Cultural safety – what does it mean for our work practice? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 23(2), 213-214.
2 https://www.anzsog.edu.au/about/contact-directory/adam-goodes
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...seeing the racism that Adam [Goodes] faced reminded me of some hard experiences that I had growing up in the foster system, disconnected from culture and Country. And I experienced a lot of racism and discrimination. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to racism, so I greatly admire Adam for the way he stood up and said ‘enough is enough’.
Megan Cope Foundations III (detail) 2020 Installation view, MCA Collection: Perspectives on place, MCA, 2021. Native oyster shells, cast concrete. Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2020. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photograph: Anna Kuera
• 3 E Buttrose, ‘Megan Cope’s ‘Re-formation’ takes the oyster shell as its subject’, 8 January 2020, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Megan Cope was born in 1982 in Brisbane. She is a Quandamooka woman (North Stradbroke Island). Cope’s artwork Foundations III relates to the history of Aboriginal architectural sites made of oyster shells along the eastern seaboard of Australia, including at Tallawoladah – the rocky headland of Warrang (Sydney Cove) where the MCA is located. Such oyster shell sites are commonly known as middens. They are mounds formed from the residues of communal and cultural life, including meals. They represent a cumulative record of Aboriginal family life over millennia. Cope considers them a form of Aboriginal architecture and a physical marker of significant cultural space; she argues against using the word midden as it is a derogatory term deriving from Old English for ‘dung heap’.3
Cope’s choice of materials invokes the destruction of the oyster shell sites during the early colonial period. They were mined by colonisers for limestone, which was then burned to make mortar for buildings. This practice was integral to establishing the colony at Tallawoladah, which has since evolved into an urban grid: a formation echoed in the serial arrangement of the work.
Resilience in Foundations III, 2020
Karla Dickens, Ginger and Megan Cope (far right) at home in Lismore, 2020. Image courtesy and © the artist.
Cope’s works with oyster shells aim to reveal a ‘layer of history that is invisible’ and through her work she continues to ‘try to explore other ways of decolonising our minds and histories’.4
Through their artworks, both Cope and Namatjira both challenge the wider narrative, and highlight the importance in persevering with difficult conversations.
How do the artists use materials, scale, and site to convey their message?
DISCUSSION
4 Megan Cope Artist Talk, 2017, IMA, https://ima.org.au/ima-events/artist-talk-megan-cope/
• Why do you think that Namatjira, Cope and Goodes continue to challenge and stand up against the mainstream narrative?
• Looking at your definition of resilience, how have they shown resilience through their work?
• What were the similarities and differences in each member’s rap or stanza?
• How did it feel to have your group members support your story during your performance?
• Has your understanding of resilience changed? If yes, how? ACTIVITY
In this activity, write a short three-line stanza or rap about resilience, then perform it in trios.
1. Think of a moment when you have shown resilience in your life. It might on the sporting field, something you did at school, or at home.
2. Write down three lines which tell the story of this moment. Think about how you can show your reslience through the words and rhythms you choose.
3. Form groups of 3. One person performs their stanza or rap. One person has the role of ‘hyping’ the rapper. 5 The third person uses their body to make 3 formations or movements that responds to the performance.
4. Rotate roles and repeat this process with each person’s stanza or rap. You can also experiment with combining your lines into a multi-person hip-hop verse that introduces the resilience of your group.
5 ‘Hyping’ is a term from hip hop and rap cultures. To hype someone is to support a rapper or MC and to excite the audience for the rapper’s performance.
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THANK YOU!

pride, recognition and resilience

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