Toured

1998–2003

Locations

Northern Territory: Alice Springs, Batchelor, Darwin, Tennant Creek, Yirrkala

Queensland: Durangan, Gladstone, Mount Isa

New South Wales: Darlinghurst, Goulburn, Tamworth

Victoria: Brunswick, Geelong, Melbourne, Shepparton, Wangaratta

South Australia: Adelaide, Ceduna, Mount Gambier, Port Augusta, Whyalla

Western Australia: Esperance, Geraldton, Narrogin, Perth

About the exhibition catalogue and poster

The Meeting Place exhibited 46 works by Indigenous artists from Northern and Central Australia in mural form. The mural consisted of 48 interchangeable panels measuring 70 cm to 100 cm each and was created in 1996 as part of the Kaltja (Culture) Business Conference held at the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) in Darwin. The conference was about Indigenous Australian art and focussed on marketing, international exposure, copyright management and the support infrastructure in remote communities.

As part of the conference programming 80 artists, of which some were the exhibiting artists in ‘The Meeting Place’ conducted workshops in painting, printmaking and photography. Artists worked within their community groups under bough shelters and it was there that they also produced the artworks for the exhibition.

As people from communities began to respond with interest to the idea of Kaltja/business, so the ideas and excitement grew. The academic staff in the school of fine arts led by the head of school Ray Hern, decided to suspend formal lectures during the conference week so the whole staff and the student body could attend the conference activities. Now it was possible to offer a real hands-on experience that might not previously have been available to people living in remote communities.

Antiques & Art in Victoria, August – November, 1998

This exhibition was presented by Artback Nets NT (now Artback NT)  in partnership with NETS Australia (National Exhibition Touring Support Agencies). ‘The Meeting Place’ received significant prominence as a major exhibition featured during the International Council of Museums (ICOM) conference hosted at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

A major achievement in 1998 saw ‘The Meeting Place’ win two design awards from the prestigious Museums Australia Publication Awards (now Museums Australasia Multimedia & Publication Design Awards).