Abe Muriata (artist) and Brian Oldman (SA Museum) at MTQ Opening

The Museum of Tropical North Queensland in Townsville is the first venue of a national tour of artworks and cultural objects from the rainforest people of the Girringun region.

Opened recentlyby Girringun Chairperson and Gugu Badhun Traditional Owner Ms Pat Hoolihan, this touring exhibition was made possible with funding from Visions Australia.  Ms Hoolihan commented that:  This project originated out of community interest in the cultural material from the Girringun region collected by South Australia Museum, including rare objects never displayed publicly and never with Traditional Owner involvement. We are very much involved in what is happening here now.. The inclusion of some very rare and beautiful objects – baskets, firemaking tools and others, bringing them back to visit from South Australia to North Queensland for the first time in over 100 years is – for us – a profound experience, as we believe that the spirits of the old people, our ancestors, remain with the objects. They are extraordinarily precious.

Girramay Elder Claude Beeron was the cultural advisor for the project and was moved to see these objects from his ancestors so close to home.  Mr Beeron had previously travelled to Adelaide and Melbourne with curator Dr Valerie Boll and artists Abe Muriata, Nephi Denham, Mrs Ninney Murray and Debra Murray for research and liaison with the South Australian Museum and the Melbourne Museum.

Mr Brian Oldman, Director of the South Australia Museum came up for the exhibition and joined a  large contingent of artists and interested people who travelled to Townsville last Friday to experience the amazing display of rainforest culture and imagery.

Traditional and contemporary works showcased in the same space demonstrate the progression of tool and object making and transitions that are occurring in more recent work and reflect on a culture which is very much alive.  The exhibition includes two documentaries and aerial images by Debra Murray, sculptural works and weaving.

Manggan – gather, gathers, gathering, the exhibition, features 19 artists and it will tour to fourteen venues across five states for the next three years. Museums and Galleries in Brisbane will manage the touring component of the show with support from Girringun Art Centre Manager Valerie Keenan.

The Museum of Tropical North Queensland, Townsville is open every day between 0930 and 1700 hours, and the exhibition will remain open to the public in Townsville until February 11.  For further information: http://www.mtq.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibitions/2017/09/Manggan#.WbNhfsax9hE or contact Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre 07 40668300.

Artist Emily Murray and art centre Manager Valerie Keenan attended the opening of Clay Stories at Sabbia Gallery in Sydney in March 2017.

Artists from 5 communities Ernabella, Erub, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Hermannsburg and the Tiwi islands had work displayed in a combined exhibition which will tour later in 2017.

Emily Murray attends the opening of Clay Stories at Sabbia Gallery, Sydney. Michael West and Tony Albert share the moment. Photo V Keenan Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre 2017

John Murray with a portion of his solo exhibition Keep on Truckin’ Keep on Fishin’

A Girramay Traditional Owner, John Murray, is intensely interested in the world around him and that is reflected in the way he expresses himself.  Some of his interests include his family, camping and fishing, checking out trucks and heavy machinery as well as his creative pursuits – drawing, painting, ceramics and print making

“The Museum is learning how to be a custodian and working with the people from Girringun has made us re-think the way we want to work in the future,” Professor John Carty, Head of Anthropology, South Australia Museum said.

“It seems to me that the museum learnt more out of the process of working with Girringun than they did and we have gained insight into how we can do better exhibitions and displays from this experience.

“Not only do we have to take care of the collections at the museum but we need think about who decides what should be happening with them.

“We need to better engage with communities so that they have a say too and we are grateful to Girringun for being a generous partner in developing this exhibition.”

Dr Valerie Boll led negotiations with the South Australia Museum and travelled with Claude Beeron, Abe Muriata and Debra Murray in August to facilitate access to the material, the first time it has come out of collection storage in recent times.

“It was wonderful teamwork between the two organisations and it is a fantastic opportunity for the public to see rainforest work in a southern state,” Dr Boll said.

“This exhibition carried a positive message and demonstrates the diversity of the rainforest culture of Far North Queensland which is quite different to the rest of Australia.”

Girramay Elder Claude Beeron and Girringun artists Abe Muriata, Ninney Murray and Debra Murray attended the opening together with Curator Dr Valerie Boll of El Arish and Art Centre Manager Valerie Keenan.

“The South Australian Museum has one of the largest institutional collections of traditional objects from the Ingham, Tully and Rockingham Bay areas in Australia,” Valerie Keenan said.

“The objects were collected in the late 1800s and we were fortunate to be able to include very old objects borrowed from the collection in the exhibition.

“The beautiful old objects were augmented by contemporary works by artists working with the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre.

“Beautiful bicornual baskets by Abe Muriata, eel traps and baskets by Mrs Ninney Murray, two documentaries directed by Debra Murray, ceramics and weavings were included in the exhibition which was a certainly a gathering of mediums, ideas and forms.

“An artist program which included a talk by Abe Muriata and a weaving session with Mrs Ninney Murray was well attended in the exhibition space and forecourt of the Museum.”

The exhibition funded by the Arts Qld Regional Arts Fund will continue until January 29.

Represented by the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre Alison travelled to Shepparton last Saturday night with Art Centre Manager Dr Valerie Keenan for the awards ceremony.

Alison met with other artists who were included in the exhibition and attended a number of masterclasses and panel sessions during her visit.

“My visit to Shepparton was exciting,” Alison said.

“Before I went I was really looking forward to see how the bagu were being presented because we were using a different hanging system.

Once I saw them I thought they were very well displayed and fitted inw ell with the six other displays in the exhibition.”

The major prize was awarded to Shepparton based Gallery Kaiela artists Jack Anselmi and Cynthia Hardiw with a large floor installed ceramic, raku, porcelain and terracotta ‘Midden’.

This is not the first time Girringun artists have been represented in the art prize with a group of artists included in the 2011 exhibition which later toured to the Flinders University Gallery in Adelaide.  The artists at that event were Maureen Beeron, Sally Murray, Trish Beeron and Eileen Tep.

“Inclusion in an exhibition of this calibre clearly demonstrates the creativity and talents of all the artists who work at the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre and particularly, in this case, of Alison Murray,” Girringun Art Cemtre Manager Valerie Keenan said.

“Other examples of her sculptural works were most recently showcased at the Salon des Refuses with a trio of Bagu in Darwin and earlier this year with a large sculpture included in an outdoor installation which is currently on display in Monaco, Valerie Keenan said.

Alison is one of two Queensland artists included in current exhibition in Shepparton.

Artists were invited to submit proposals for the Shepparton awards so Alison decided to create works which reflected on members of her immediate family to create 10 figurative artworks.

Once the proposal was accepted she then had a relatively short time frame to create the works in time for shipment to Shepparton in July.

Her attention to detail, understanding of colour balance and pattern making have resulted in a collection of beautifully defined and rendered works, each a masterpiece in itself.

Alison is a quiet achiever and deserves every accolade which comes her way.”

Alison Murray with some of the 10 bagu she completed for the 2016 National Indigenous Ceramic Art Awards. Photo V Keenan Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre

The Contemporary art work exhibited in the Merenda Gallery in Fremantle was the first Western Australia experience for the Girringun Artists.
A selection of Bagu, painting & weavings were show to appreciated audience.
Artists Theresa Beeron and Grace Reid attended
Artists represented in the exhibition were Ninney Murray, Daniel Beeron, Emily Murray, Grace Reid Eileen Tap, Theresa Beeron, John Murray, Tonya Grant, Nephi Denham, Nancy Cowan, Sally Murray, Charlotte Beeron, Trish Beeron, Marley Beeron and Allison Murray.

The Installation was made up of 15 life sized bagu (based on the Aboriginal rainforest fire making tools). Made from ceramic, metal, recycled materials and incorporating weaving techniques these statuesque figures were a imposing sight to see.

Following a successful funding application to the Australia Council for the Arts the artists working at the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre in Cardwell began to create life size Bagu for the display at this year’s Strand Ephemera.

The artists approached the project in different ways, some with trepidation and some with enthusiasm. Everyone agreed that this work would be a wonderful opportunity to rise to the challenge of working with large objects and mixing traditional and contemporary materials.
Everyone has worked very hard to make this project happen and have gained a lot of experience, learned new skills and become more confident as work progressed.

The majority of the artists worked collaboratively and each tells a story on their Bagu. Some have a traditional message while others convey personal stories and others are a comment on contemporary life.

Girringun artists used a variety of materials including traditional timber (milky-pine), clay and cane through to recycled materials, ghost netting, packaging materials, banana twine, metal and more.
A number of the Bagu are painted with traditional patterns which, for Traditional Owners, are a form of identity and quite specific to different areas of the rainforest country. There are strict protocols involved in the use of the designs and they cannot be used by anyone who doesn’t have the permission to do so.

Girringun Artists took out the Awarded for Artistic Excellence, Artists involved Judith Henry, Theresa Beeron, Nephi Denham, Sally Murray, John Murray, Alison Murray, Debra Murray, Gloria Andy, Nina Andy, Leonard Andy, Ethel Murray, Nephi Denham, Emily Murray, Clarence Kinjun, Tonya Grant, Trish Beeron, Daniel Beeron, Eileen Tep, Grace Reid, George Beeron, Charlotte Beeron, Maureen Beeron.