Three New Exhibitions Opening at Australian Design Centre, Coinciding with Reconciliation Week

Australian Design Centre will open three new exhibitions on 22 May 2025, with a launch event at the Centre from 6–8pm.

Presented as part of Program 2, the exhibitions bring together artists and designers from across Australia whose work reflects deep cultural knowledge, storytelling and innovation in contemporary craft. The program coincides with Reconciliation Week and the lead-up to the National Indigenous Art Fair (NIAF) on 5–6 July, and includes partnerships with NIAF and a number of Aboriginal Art Centres.

Threads: Lore & Lineage

Presented in partnership with the National Indigenous Art Fair and Aboriginal Art Centres, Threads: Lore and Lineage features work by artists from across Australia. Curated by Indigenous curator Miah Madden, the exhibition brings together works that tell stories of Culture and Country.

The exhibition brings together creative voices from eight leading Indigenous Art Centres:

• APY Art Centre Collective
• Babbarra Designs
• Bula’bula Arts
• Engawala Art Centre
• Injalak Arts
• Numbulwar Numburindi Arts
• Walkatjara Arts
• Maningrida Arts and Culture

Tradition and contemporary practice are woven together like threads in a tapestry. Ghost net traps use ancestral weaving techniques, echoing the connection between land, sea, and community. Salvaged materials condemn the use of the plastic commercial fishing nets that litter the oceans. Weavings, lino printed fabrics and dillybags hang alongside carved sculptures and ceramics, each piece a trace of cultural lineage, Indigenous lore and identity.

These objects are acts of cultural continuity that embody ecological wisdom and spirit passed down through generations. From the pandanus weavings of Injalak Arts to the fibre art from Maningrida, the diversity of materials and technique reflect the richness of Australia’s Indigenous cultures.

The National Indigenous Art Fair will be held at the Overseas Passenger Terminal from 5-6 July 2025.

More info & bookings: australiandesigncentre.com/threads-lore-and-lineage

GULAMANMANHA

Gulamanmanha (bringing something closer) — wajarri language — is a collaborative project developed by artists working with Nicole Monks and Yamaji Art. Fusing ancient practices with contemporary form and materials, GULAMANMANHA is a testament to the continuous, living, and thriving culture of the Yamaji people. Created through time spent on Country with Elders, the making of this body of work nurtured intergenerational learning and strengthened cultural ties. These belongings are keepers of cultural knowledge and resilience, expressions of identity, and acts of revival.

Participating artists:

Jenine Boeree | Wade Boeree | Elvie Dann | Nicole Dickerson | Charmaine Green | Jennifer Green | Sheryl Green | Mahli Humphries | Glenda Jackamarra | Jonaya Jones | Lily-mae Kerley | Declan Kerley-Jones | Barbara Merritt | Bidi-Bidi Monks | Nicole Monks | Yara Monks | Donna Ronan | Tiahnna Shiosaki | Chloe Sim | Michelle Sims | Mark Smith | Margaret Whitehurst

Opening at Yamaji Art | Geraldton, Western Australia

The longest-operating Aboriginal art centre in the Mid West region of Western Australia, Yamaji Art supports artists across the vast region of Yamaji Country by providing professional arts services to sustain and celebrate Culture.

This exhibition honours the revival of cultural belongings with works made by Yamaji artists in response to ancestral belongings held for over 125 years in the Alexander Morton Collection at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). In collaboration with Yamaji Art, designer Nicole Monks has worked closely with Community to create a powerful collection of traditional kangaroo skin cloaks, to be gifted to TMAG in return for Yamaji ancestral belongings. These cloaks and body adornments, created on Country, from Country, present deeply personal responses to belongings held within institutions nationwide.

This body of work was previously exhibited in collaboration with artworks by Ku’arlu Mangga artists from Northhampton at the Museum of Geraldton as YAMAJI YANAJINGMANHA BARNA / UTHUDU – Yamaji people coming together on Country.

More info & bookings: australiandesigncentre.com/gulamanmanha

Yaama Yassou (featured in Object Space)

Presented in Object Space, Yaama Yassou is a lighting design project by local designers Suzy Evans and Adam France. Yaama is ‘hello’ in Suzy’s Gomeroi language and Yassou is ‘hello’ in Greek. The work fuses Aboriginal and Greek cultural motifs through hand-printed textiles featuring Parthenons made of eucalyptus trees, echidna climbing from Greek vases and emu clashing with Spartan armies — transformed into elegant pendant lamps. Adam’s illustrations, and Suzy’s painting and collage work have produced this series of designs inspired by shared interests, motifs and stories related to their individual heritage.

Object Space is ADC’s window gallery located at the Australian Design Centre HQ on William Street, Darlinghurst, on view 24 hours a day.

More info & bookings: australiandesigncentre.com/object-space/yaama-yassou

During Reconciliation Week and in the lead up to the NIAF on 5-6 July, visit and immerse yourself in these three exhibitions that speak to the diversity in Aboriginal culture and making.

ADC’s neighbours in William Street at Curatorial and Co will also be taking part with a specially curated exhibition opening on 2 July.

More info on Program 2 at ADC: australiandesigncentre.com/whats-on