Media Release

Australian Indigenous Art on Exhibit at Robinsons Place, Roxas City, for Dayaw Festival

 

MANILA, 05 October 2018 – Experience Australia’s vibrant and ancient Aboriginal cultural heritage by visiting the Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route exhibition at Robinson’s Place from 8 to 11 October.

The Australian Embassy, in partnership with the Provincial Tourism Office of Capiz and the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA), is mounting the visual art exhibit as part of Dayaw Festival 2018 in Roxas City.

The exhibition, curated by the National Museum of Australia, will feature 14 graphic panels featuring stunning artworks from senior and emerging Indigenous artists.

The Canning Stock Route is a historic track in Western Australia that was developed on Aboriginal homelands as the mining and pastoral industries expanded in the early 20th century. Yiwarra Kuju tells the story of the route’s impact, and reflects the importance of the land and its history to Indigenous people.

Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely said “I invite all Capizeños and those attending the Dayaw Festival to visit the exhibit and experience Australian Indigenous culture through art. The exhibition underlines a key similarity between Australia and the Philippines - both countries have rich indigenous cultures that form a key part of our respective national identities.”

Australia’s indigenous cultures are the oldest continuously existing in the world and can be traced back at least 50,000 years.

“This exhibition gives us an opportunity to continue our partnership with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts to celebrate the Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples’ Month,” said the Ambassador.

Australia's partnership with the Philippines on indigenous issues extends to development cooperation. Australian Government assistance to Philippine Indigenous peoples has helped improve education with the implementation of targeted curriculum benefiting more than 60,0000 children under the Philippines' Response to Indigenous Peoples and Muslim Education (PRIME) programs with the Department of Education.

Over the years, the Australian Embassy's Direct Aid Program has provided approximately PHP17 million to programs which contribute to indigenous people's welfare.

Martumili Ngurra, 2009 by Kumpaya Girgaba, Jakayu Biljabu, Ngamaru Bidu, Thelma Judson, Ngalangka Nola Taylor and Jane Girgaba, Martumili Artists, Parnngurr, Western Australia. [Image courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.]