16 & 17 SEPTEMBER
16 & 17 SEPTEMBER
Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Keynote Speakers: Maree Clarke - Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, BoonWurrung/Wemba Wemba, and
Vernon Ah Kee - Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidinji and Gugu Yimithirr
The 2021 Zart Conference focused on giving educators the confidence, knowledge and skills to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, histories and cultures in their classrooms.
The program was designed around three key themes:
Listening: Working directly with distinguished First Nations educators, artists and thought leaders to promote rich and meaningful approaches to teaching and learning.
Learning: Building confidence through pedagogical knowledge and practices that focus on growth to positively engage students.
Celebrating: Creating a supportive school climate that embraces and celebrates the diverse cultural knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
Maree Clarke is a pivotal figure in the revival of lost or dormant Aboriginal cultural practices. Her artworks integrate traditional and contemporary processes and materials - from Possum Skin Cloaks to Holograms and 3D printing. Maree Clarke’s work explores customary ceremonies, rituals and language of ancestors to discuss ongoing effects of colonisation, and ‘mourn’ the impact of dispossession and loss.
Vernon Ah Kee is a founding member of proppaNOW, a leading Aboriginal Arts Collective in Queensland. His work has been collected, exhibited and acquired both nationally and internationally international museums and galleries. Vernon is a conceptual artist with drawing at his core. He works across Video, photography, sculpture, installation and drawing. Ah Kee fuses the history and language of colonisation with contemporary black/white political issues to expose degrees of underlying racism in ‘Australian society’.
