Embrace - Australia

FIRST NATIONS

In 2022, the cultural department of the Netherlands Embassy in Australia launched one of its most vital program activations: to embrace engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. We believe that by embracing Australian First Nations perspective in our programs we recognize the wisdoms and heritage of Aboriginal Australians as the oldest known civilization on earth, with ancestries dating back 75,000 years.

We seek to embrace and develop a kinship for shared lessons of connection. We believe that a positive two-way relationship, built on trust and respect reflects the philosophies of both our nations and offers polyphonic ways of thinking, engagement and learning to imagine the future together. Here are four snapshots of a few of our activations.
 

EMBRACING THE PAST

Our cultural heritage projects recognize Australia’s colonial history and the roles played by European settlers and Indigenous communities.

CASE STUDY:  The Mirin: Echoes of Early Encounters.: Echoes of Early Encounters 

In 2022, the Mirning Community of South Australia, together with the Australian Catholic University, the Nationaal Archiefs and the Wereld Museum began a multi-year collaboration The Mirin: Echoes of Early Encounters.

In 1627, over the southern summer the Dutch VOC ship 't Gulden Zeepaert traversed the southern waters and coast of the continent that would later become known as ‘Australia’, mapping and naming this land 't Land van Pieter Nuyts. While the ship’s log is said to have been lost, the memory and mirin, or echoes, of the voyage continue.

The Mirin: Echoes of Early Encounters brings together the First Nations Mirning people who hold the stories of this and other early encounters with the records and insights from historians in Australia and archivists in the Netherlands.

There are very few studies which equally draw on Aboriginal oral histories and European accounts to provide mutual insights into the encounters. The collaboration between Elders, historians and archivists offers a rare dialogue and re-consideration of these early cultural encounters, their reverberations and opportunities for cross-cultural exploration and discovery.

The project includes both academic research and meetings on-Country with the Elders, followed by on-line knowledge exchange workshops with Dutch partners. As the Elders’ stories are embodied and presented, the project is being documented by videographers. This initiative will provide new records of stories that will be developed into a documentary, museum exhibition, as well as a community archive.

CASE STUDY: EMRBRACING MILESTONES FOR THE FUTURE
CAPE LEEUWIN | WESTERN AUSTRALIA

In 2022 the embassy, in collaboration with the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association in southwest Western Australia commenced a multi-year project sparked by the 400th Anniversary acknowledgement of the first mapping of the cape of Wadandi-Pibulmun people by the Dutch VOC ship ‘Leeuwin’. The first phases are:  the installations of a commemorative plaque and a visitation centre at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.

The plaque is written from the perspective of the region’s traditional owners in three languages: Wadandi, Dutch and English and is considered a milestone achievement as it seeks to recalibrate the importance of respect for first nations peoples.
The plaque bears acknowledgment that the Leeuwin sailed past the land of the Wadandi People in 1622, the Wadandi People’s responsibility for care over the area for 60,000 years and a welcome to all peoples to join in caring for its future. The initiative reflects the embassy’s commitment to the role memorials play in processes of symbolic and material recognition to recalibrating that experience for the community and those who visit it.

The Leeuwin 400th anniversary is also a catalyst for an ambitious future project that includes an extended 7-kilometre interpretative walk to celebrate Cape Leeuwin as one of the three great capes of the world which will offer an opportunity for future generations to share the unique stories of its shared heritage, culture, and natural environment.

CASE STUDY EMBRACING THE FUTURE

Dutch Design Week 2022: Drawing Inspiration for the Future through heritage.
For Dutch Design Week 2022, the embassy, Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Dutch Design Foundation supported the participation of multicultural designer and artist Grace Lillian Lee. The selection of Grace Lillian Lee reflects the shared vision of the embassy and Dutch Design Week: to provide a platform of engagement that brings diversity into account.
Grace Lillian Lee is a multicultural Australian artist known for drawing inspiration from her Indigenous heritage. Through collaborations with Australian Indigenous communities and their art centres she has created a platform for cultural expression and a celebration by way of fashion performances. These are instrumental in engaging young people from remote communities and providing an opportunity for them to represent and be proud of their culture and country through fashion and performance. Collaborating with these members of community inspired Grace to further her work by travelling to indigenous communities to encourage creative expression and mentor young people as well as collaborate with artists and art centres.

Grace Lillian Lee’s participation in the program allowed her to share her ideas and heritage and provided an exciting on-going platform for future collaborations and sharing different ways of thinking.

Embracing the Future with shared knowledge and perspectives

EMRACING PAST PRESENT FUTURE

Wereld Museum| Museum Volkenkunde | National Gallery of Australia

When the Australian mission learnt that National Museum of World Cultures (NMVW) holds 2900 Australian indigenous objects-the second largest holding of Indigenous Australian assets in the world outside Australia­-we decided that this was an opportunity to foster a multi-year co-operation to reflect our exchange philosophy.

As a result, the Museum Volkenkunde and the National Gallery of Australia are supporting a Visiting Fellowship for a First Nations’ curator or historian. The opportunity will allow a selected fellow to contribute knowledge, skills, and curatorial acumen for future collaborations from exhibitions to conservation methodologies.

The Wereld museum holds this ample collection due in part to the holdings transferred from Aboriginal Art Museum Utrecht (AAMU) which was forced to close in 2017. It was the only museum in Europe devoted entirely to the contemporary art and culture of the Aboriginal population of Australia. The former AAMU collection comprises some eight hundred works of art and objects from all over Australia. This addition to the museum gives the NMVW the largest and most comprehensive collection of Aboriginal art administered by any public institution in Europe.

These case studies reflect the respect for kinship of shared lessons of connection. We acknowledge the multiplicities of the past through education and understanding.