Enabling Indigenous education success beyond regional borders

Higher education is a powerful tool for reducing social and economic disadvantage. But access to higher education can be difficult, particularly for Indigenous Australians who face multiple levels of social, economic and geographical isolation. While enabling programs can support Indigenous students to gain university entry, the experience at Central Queensland University (CQUniversity) suggests that their past success has been limited. In this paper, the authors describe the enabling program available to Indigenous students at CQUniversity. They suggest that the newly developed, flexible, online version of the program is helping to address geographical and social isolation and improve successful outcomes for Indigenous Australians

Black Warriors through the ages Installation

The artwork contributes to research as it symbolises the acknowledgement and respect for all our ancestors who fought against the colonisers during the invasion era as well as the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and woman who fought in defence of Australia and its people in the wars that occurred around the world since colonisation. The art wall and floor installation included Aboriginal fighting artefacts e.g. nulla-nulla, shield, boomerang and spears propped against the wall. On the floor, twelve pairs of army boots were laid in a line under a cross that was centred on the wall. The cross was covered with red poppies that completed the artwork

Always 'tasty', regardless: Art, chocolate and Indigenous Australians

This paper examines race and colour through the metaphor of chocolate. The authors use the metaphor of chocolate to question why some Aboriginal people are chosen ahead of others, with the choosing done by non-Indigenous people, perhaps on the basis of who is most likely to be “soft-centred”, agreeable, and pliable. The authors discuss the development of the Hot Chocolate art exhibition in Adelaide in 2012, with a particular focus on the works of Pamela CroftWarcon. The exhibition combined chocolate (the food), lyrics from Hot Chocolate (the band), and chocolate (the metaphor for skin colour) to encourage visitors to question their assumptions about representations of Aboriginal people in Australia

Cultural Protocols and Intellectual Property

This presentation session is about having a yarn to further understand the implications of how copyright laws apply to Indigenous artists and their cultural contemporary expression. The Western domain states that Copyright is a bundle of rights, which include economic and moral rights, protected in law whereas the Aboriginal domain believes that Aboriginal peoples must live and practice the laws from the ‘old ways’ in this new contemporary time. The second issue to yarn about is examining the impact of implementing Aboriginal protocols on the creative process and the Art Market

It started with a KISS

This is the essay prepared for the exhibition titled 'Hot Chocolate' held at the SASA Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia, 24 October - 29 November, 2012. Below are the words that start the essay and which provide a glimpse of the artworks in the exhibition. By agreeing to work together in this exhibition, the artists in Hot Chocolate delivered across an eclectic assortment of academic enquiry: • the politics of identity • the politics of desire • fetishisation of racial and othered bodies • origin and place • the politics of skin • events, moments, and ephemerality • need We too, talked, laughed, cried and worked through these issues in relation to the artworks submitted, including Pamela’s work, and to the theory and literature we have read and utilised in our words with each other and communities. We begin this piece by reflecting on the writings of bell hooks, whose words kissed us awake and stirred us at the start of our respective formal research journeys. We align her words with some of our activism, advocacy, academic and community work. We will weave the magical lyrics from the 1970s iconic band Hot Chocolate throughout this essay

Developmental lessons from the Capricornia Arts Mob: 'learning to speak with one voice'

The Capricornia Arts Mob also known as CAM is a collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual artists, sculptors, photographers, carvers and writers based in the Rockhampton Region. Its members are eclectic and include an 18 year old through to Elders. CAM has already had a major exhibition in Rockhampton and is submitting work to a range of arts festivals, events and exhibitions. While their achievements are steadily growing and they have been meeting for 18 months, they have been reluctant to incorporate or implement a formalised structure. In learning how to work together there have been tensions and struggles, there has also been the exhilaration of working collaboratively as artists from diverse Indigenous cultures who utilise different mediums. This has resulted in an incredible vibrancy in creative praxis. Members will share some of CAM’s learnings of the developmental process to date and thoughts and dreams about the future

Finding a space to make an impact within the contemporary world

Indigenous peoples have generally been the objects of the research as has Indigenous art, dance, stories, artefacts, music and history. This is also the experience of Indigenous peoples in other parts of the world. Collectively Indigenous people are said to be the “most researched people in the world” (Smith, 1999, p. 3). As researchers, Indigenous people are relatively new travellers. This paper will explore using first person narrative the issues experienced by two of these new travellers. Within this paper Bronwyn Fredericks and Pamela Croft share part of their journey which was driven by process and a commitment to the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander political struggle

Honouring Jagalingu Country. Bimblebox: art - science - nature National Touring Exhibition 2014 – 2016

This work focuses on creating an historical record of the flora and fauna that exists at the Bimblebox Nature Refuge in response to the threat to Jagalingu Aboriginal Country. A proposed multi-billion dollar mining development plan by Clive Palmer's Waratah Coal is to go through the Bimblebox Nature Refuge - a peaceful 8000 hectare sanctuary in central-west Queensland

Always "tasty", regardless : art, chocolate and Indigenous Australians

This paper examines race and colour through the metaphor of chocolate. The authors use the metaphor of chocolate to question why some Aboriginal people are chosen ahead of others, with the choosing done by non-Indigenous people, perhaps on the basis of who is most likely to be "soft-centred", agreeable, and pliable. The authors discuss the development of the 'Hot Chocolate' art exhibition in Adelaide in 2012, with a particular focus on the works of Pamela CroftWarcon. The exhibition combined chocolate (the food), lyrics from Hot Chocolate (the band), and chocolate (the metaphor for skin colour) to encourage visitors to question their assumptions about representations of Aboriginal people in Australia

Engaging creativity through an action learning and action research process to develop an Indigenous art exhibition

In most art exhibitions, the creative part of the exhibition is assumed to be the artworks on display. But for the Capricornia Arts Mob’s first collective art exhibition in Rockhampton during NAIDOC Week in 2012, the process of developing the exhibition became the focus of creative action learning and action research. In working together to produce a multi-media exhibition, we learned about the collaborative processes and time required to develop a combined exhibition. We applied Indigenous ways of working – including yarning, cultural respect, cultural protocols, mentoring young people, providing a culturally safe working environment and sharing both time and food – to develop our first collective art exhibition. We developed a process that allowed us to ask deep questions, engage in a joint journey of learning, and develop our collective story. This paper explores the processes that the Capricornia Arts Mob used to develop the exhibition for NAIDOC 2012