In this talk we will share experiences of accessing cultural materials in museum collections to inspire the creation of new artworks and exhibitions. We will discuss the complexities of southeast Australian Aboriginal cultures and our connections with cultural materials in museums with a focus on the significance of trees in providing both resources to create these materials but also a system of relationality with peoples and Country. This talk will encourage new ways of thinking about the repatriation of cultural materials to communities and places of origin and the future role of museums.

Speakers:
N'Arweet Professor Carolyn Briggs AM, senior Boonwurrung elder and Elder in Research at RMIT University
Professor Brian Martin, Bundjalung, Muruwari and Kamilaroi. Director Wominjeka Djeembana Indigenous research lab at Monash University and artist
Kimberley Moulton, Yorta Yorta, PhD candidate in curatorial practice at Monash University and Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collections at Museums Victoria

Moderator: Roberta Colombo Dougoud, curator of the Oceania Collection at MEG