Teaching About Aboriginal Art

It's Reconciliation Week this week, and an opportunity for all Australians to learn and explore how we can contribute to reconciliation.

I am writing a blog post today, during Reconciliation Week, to delve deeper on ways non-Indigenous Australians and art teachers specifically, can empower our students to engage with Aboriginal culture all year round. 

I believe this is a responsibility of all Australians. To understand, to acknowledge, to continue to learn.

Tip 1: Do you know the lands on which you live and work? Finding out is a great place to start.

Tip 2: Write your own acknowledgement, that connects meaningfully for you and your actions on this land. While a Welcome to Country can only be given by a traditional custodian, an acknowledgement can be given by all those who wish to pay respect.

I want acknowledge the land on which I write today, the land of the Wurrundjeri, Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne). I pay my respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the culture that has been practiced and the art that has been created on these lands for more than 65,000 years.

As a non-Indigenous educator enlisted with delivering a full and rich curriculum, it can be daunting to teach Aboriginal culture. It is often filled with fear of being disrespectful or comes from a place of having little understanding.

It is always best practice to engage with a local First Nation’s educator or artist, but this is not always possible and it certainly doesn’t mean you should just not teach it. So how can you and your students be empowered to learn more and discover about culture together?

Tip 3: Invite, Visit and Engage

Well, if you can, get to an educational institution that has an Indigenous learning program or invite in an incursion company to your school to engage with students.

In Naarm (Melbourne) The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum is excellent, the Koori Heritage Trust does an amazing Yarra River walk, The Aboriginal Art collection at the NGV Ian Potter Gallery at Fed Square is on permanent display, Footscray Community Arts offer workshops embedded with Indigenous perspectives, and Wanyara provide incursion workshops entitled PLAY, YARN, PAINT and DANCE with young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander facilitators.

Tip 4: Seek professional learning

I myself have taken on personal learning over the past decade by engaging with Aboriginal Art, attending cultural events, seeking out resources, undertaking professional development workshops, travelling to parts of Australia rich with history and living traditions, reading, inviting in Indigenous incursions to school. I certainly am no expert but I am no longer scared of doing or saying the wrong thing as I know which resources to access and I have better knowledge. I can highly recommend the wonderful presenter, author and art teacher Shelley Ware who has an upcoming workshop on June 13 online, you can book here

I take responsibility that in decades past I relied on dot painting lessons, but in celebration of being lifelong learners and knowing better to do better, my approach has certainly changed. As has the curriculum’s embrace of Indigenous Perspectives. I do encourage you to read, listen, watch, travel, do workshops and find out what you don’t know, along with me. To learn more about the history of Papunya and the origins of dot painting you can visit this AGSA link

BTW: Did you know Naarm, Melbourne, was a carving culture? Rrark, also known as x-ray art, the line work inside outlines of figures and animals, is also the traditional art of this land. What a great opportunity for your own students to create their own exploration of mark-making, line work, animal outlines and carving. Carving may not mean wood burning- but cool if you have one, it can also look at contemporary carving art techniques such as lino and foam block printing and inspire a unit on printmaking.

 Tip 5: Look at the personal histories and cultures within your classroom. How has everyone’s families journeyed to come and live and learn in Australia? First Nation, convict history, migration, refugee, study, work? How does this provide context for our First Nations people and the oldest living culture in the world?

I am a fourth generation Australian, from Scottish and Irish immigrants who arrived in Australia to start a new life in a new country. For those of you trying to work this out, this means my Great-Grandparents were the ones to make the journey. My mother is from Irish heritage, my father from Scottish. I have also spent my life living and travelling the globe having lived in four different countries and travelling to many more. Share your personal history.

This painting by central Australian artist Marie Ryder 2022, is of my family. Marie painted this in a private meeting and workshop with the artist when I travelled with my family through Alice Springs in 2022. How could you create your own symbols of people in your family?

Tip 6: Read from Well-informed Resources

There are some amazing resources out there. The best resource for Art Teachers I have found is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Classroom published by The Art Gallery of South Australia. It is aligned with the Australian Curriculum and is so good they’ve made Volume 2. It is well worth the investment.

Tip 7: Utilise Picture Books and Animations

Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy is a beautiful picture book available everywhere and if you’re in a Melbourne school you should already have a copy. A great starting point for learning about Melbourne’s river and finding more about the language of the Mana Gum people the Wurundjeri- Wurrun meaning gum tree and djeri meaning the grub that lives in it’s bark.

Do you have a river near you? How would this river have changed throughout history?

Much loved Australian author Sally Morgan and her son Ezekiel Kwaymullina create this charming children’s board book My Country which is a great way to look at patterns and celebrate Country. It’s a great visual reference for line and pattern work juniors. We used oil pastel, wax crayon and watercolour to create our own pattern inspired works.

My favourite video to show students was introduced to me by the artist and Wurrundjeri woman Mandy Nicholson who worked on the animation. Originally produced for an annual Kmart conference, it’s all about Bunjil the Eagle and a great accessible starting point for all ages. It’s beautifully done. Learn about Bunjil the eagle as Creator and Waa the messenger crow.

Tip 8: Connect with Nature and Animals

What birds are in your local area that you can use as inspiration for your art?

Did you know in Aboriginal culture birds are viewed as messengers from the spirit world?

These feathers were collected on the land of the Wurrundjeri, Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne). I have read Corellas can symbolise communication and community which certainly makes sense with their large flocking behaviour and noise! They are very very noisy and certainly get your attention. They are said to remind us of the impact that invasive species can cause when outside of their native habitat.

Along with explorations of environmental reasons for this phenomenon, looking to nature and Indigenous culture is a great way to engage and expand our knowledge.

Could you collect grasses, flowers and feathers from your local area to create an artwork? Can you see anything in your collecting that indicates the Aboriginal Seasonal calendar?

This video shows a gallery of how my students responded to their bush collection task

Tip 9: Connect with Traditional Techniques

Basket weaving is a traditional technique common to lots of cultures. Using raffia, basket weaving can be a great introduction to Textiles for students, as can wrapping techniques. What can be more fun than the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

Could you source local natural elements or even weave old plastic bags and tie this into a unit on sustainability.

Not only have they got fabulous picture books, but they even have a gorgeous accompanying animation about the donkeys in the desert. Delightful and charming.

Tip 10: Look at our History

I came across a beautiful picture book called Finding our Heart. This generous book by Thomas Mayer helps explain the Uluru Statement and is equally as informative for adults as well as children and a great way to invite discussion about

Grade 5 and 6 students look at Colonial History as part of the curriculum. How can we give an Indigenous Perspective in the art program?

How were Kangaroos recorded by Colonial artists, such as the one by George Stubbs below, as opposed to the x-ray Aboriginal Rrak style found in caves and painted on bark. How are they different?

Look at Artifacts from the time. For example a shield collected in Botany Bay in 1770 during Captain Cook’s visit may be seen as an historic treasure, but to our Indigenous people’s it may be a deeply felt symbol of the violence in our history. We can only build our understanding and gain more knowledge when we try to look at events from the perspective of others and different cultural contexts and times. There is a debate over ownership you can read about in The Guardian here

Tip 10: Look at Symbols and Mapping

Another popular Aboriginal art lesson is to copy Aboriginal symbols, instead, after looking at examples of the symbols, get students to create their own symbols. Look at other symbols in our contemporary lives. Look at the use of a birds eye view like that used by contemporary Aboriginal artist Sally Gabori, who herself has an incredible story of displacement from her home island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and didn’t start her painting career until she was in her 80’s. Inspiring for us all!

I created this video lesson during the pandemic lockdowns for my students inspired by her work

Tip 11: For the love of Footy

Well in Melbourne we love our Footy and a big part of the culture are the Indigenous designed Guernseys for the Sir Doug Nicholls rounds. What a great way to engage your sports loving students, by getting inspired by these unique designs and creating some designs of their own with personal meaning to them. Get the students to create their own style, make up their own symbols and use favourite colours. Look at how the styles may have changed over the years, how would this make our Indigenous players feel? What issues has their been around racism in sport, and can having an Indigenous round and guernesys change culture? What a rich and contemporary discussion for your students.

The Hermannsburg Potters love their footy too. So much that they create colourful storytelling pots covered in images from their beloved AFL and even a footy figurine atop the lid. So many opportunities to integrate your curriculum to connect with Health through wellbeing connections and sport as well as Science links in looking at the natural world through clay and the effects of heat. It’s a great link to a clay unit and so accessible for kids https://www.hermannsburgpotters.com.au/

Tip 12: Media Portraits and Legacy

Offer an Indigenous perspective for discussion on new art projects and units. If you’re using watercolour- look at the amazing legacy of landscapes by Albert Namatjira. This also leads beautifully into Portraits, if you look at his Grandson Vincent Namatjira’s work. Vincent’s recent media coverage for his portrait of Gina Rinehart is bound to engage students in a lively discussion and much laughter at this satirical style. Looking at a unit on Street Art? Reference the first stencils ever! The hand stencils found in a cave pictured below are 10s of thousands of years old.

I adore the picture book Albert Namatjira by Vincent Namatjira. Not only are Grandfather and Grandson amazing artists in their own rights, but Vincent’s storytelling about his Grandfather’s important life in our history is one we should all know. It’s truly heartbreaking but handled with such poignancy and love.

Tip 13: Continue to Grow

Seeking knowledge, showing appreciation and opening up acknowledgement is a great place to start. I hope you feel empowered to give it a go.

I hope this blog post opens up ways to engage with Aboriginal art and culture beyond Reconciliation Week and Naidoc Week.

Instead of keeping Aboriginal Art to two weeks of the year or keeping it for special units and projects, offer an Indigenous Perspective in every project if you can.

Offer Aboriginal artists, both historic and contemporary along with other artists, as part of the inspiration for projects. Not only will it enrich students work but it will deepen our respect for the oldest living culture on the planet, and from that we may see true cultural change and kindness.

For a fantastic follow on, the Art Gallery of South Australia produced this fantastic pdf entitled The Essential Introduction to Aboriginal Art (25 Facts) which is a great easy read, has great images and would be accessible to share with students. It’s free to download here

Disclaimer: As stated in the blog post I am a non-Indigenous Australian Art teacher and have written this blog post from a place of sharing the joy of Aboriginal Art and in the spirit of Reconcilation Week where we can all contribute to reconcilation, I believe it is a responsibility of all Australians to acknowledge our history. I continue to learn and grow in my own learning and encourage all to engage with First Nation’s cultural educators as a source of knowledge and for respectful engagement. I hope this post encourages you to read more and seek truth. I continue to engage and learn and grow in my understanding along with my students, as a life-long learner. If anything in the above post is of concern, please reach out to me em@empowermooreart.com I’d love to keep learning.

The photos of me above are on a study tour to Central Australia in 2022 where I visited the birth place of Albert Namatjira and the Hermannsburg Potters, Ochre Pitts, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, hot air ballooned over the West Macdonnell Ranges, hiked Kings Canyon and engaged in cultural and art workshops along the way. It was a truly magical awe inspiring experience, if you ever get the chance, I highly encourage you to embrace the opportunity.

If you enjoyed this post and learnt something, I’d love for you to subscribe to my blog and newsletter below xx Emily