Reconciliation Action Plan

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Reconciliation Action Plan 27 Girramay/Yidinyji/Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert invited Noonuccal Nuugi writer and director Wesley Enoch AM to reflect on pressing topics affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of the ‘Pay Attention’ talk series, QAG / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon / Artwork © Tony Albert Electric Fields, whose music features lyrics sung in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, took to the stage during a sold-out set at the APT9 Summer Festival Up Late, GOMA / Photograph: Joe Ruckli The Merindas performing at the APT9 Opening Party, QAG / Photograph: Natasha Harth Opposite: Bruce Johnson McLean (former Curator, Indigenous Australian Art) and the artist’s son-in-law, Bobby Thompson led an exhibition tour on the opening weekend of ‘Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori: Dulka Warngiid – Land of All’, QAG / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon / Artwork © Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda/Copyright Agency, 2022 Commitment to the First Peoples Roadmap QAGOMA supports the First Peoples: A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Engagement in Museums and Galleries (‘the Roadmap’, published 2018) produced by the peak museum and gallery sector membership body, Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA), and is committed to reaching the critical pathways outlined in the document through the following five elements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement: • Reimagining representation: Changing the way Indigenous peoples are represented in museums and galleries, to amplify Indigenous voices and promote truth-telling. • Embedding First Nations values into museum and gallery business: Shifting museums and gallery values away from Eurocentric foundations and encouraging an organisation-wide emphasis on Indigenous engagement. • Increasing First Nations opportunity: Improving employment opportunities for, and retention of, Indigenous staff by valuing Indigenous knowledge and providing professional development opportunities that support access to executive positions. • Two-way caretaking of cultural material: Giving Indigenous communities a voice in decisions about how material currently held in museum collections is managed and cared for. Further, providing training to Indigenous communities about caring for the cultural material in their own collections. • Connecting with Indigenous communities: Providing Indigenous communities with outreach programs or collaborations that support and empower Indigenous communities to connect with museum collections and strengthen their own communities and collections. QAGOMA retains close links with industry policy as it relates to Indigenous Australians, especially AMaGA’s Roadmap and the updated Continuous Cultures, Ongoing Responsibilities (2005) policy, now titled First Peoples: Connecting Custodians: Principles and guidelines for Australian museums and galleries working with First Peoples cultural material (2020). The principles outlined in the Roadmap have been incorporated into QAGOMA’s RAP, including reflection on past practices by truth- telling through projects that centre on First Australians; an emphasis on accessible professional development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff; and the development of outreach programs to facilitate a two-way knowledge transfer.