The National Gallery of Australia has announced Queensland artist Tony Albert as the artistic director of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial.
Showcasing the work of contemporary First Nations artists from across the country, the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial: After the Rain opens at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra (Kamberri) in December 2025, before touring nationally in 2026.
Born in Townsville, Albert (Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku-Yalanji peoples) is based on the outskirts of Brisbane. One of his major installation artworks is soon to be unveiled as part of Queen’s Wharf Brisbane. He has a long-held interest in the cultural misrepresentation of First Nations people and works across drawing, painting, photography and installation.
Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Albert has developed a unique language expressed through his multidisciplinary art practice that seeks to rewrite historical mistruths and injustice.
The National Indigenous Art Triennial was established in 2007 as a contemporary art event celebrating the vitality and diversity of First Nations art in Australia. More than 450,000 visitors in 11 locations across the country have experienced the National Indigenous Art Triennials.
The first artist to lead the triennial, Albert will bring new perspectives and intention to his presentation – After the Rain. Albert hopes to celebrate intergenerational legacies by working closely with First Nations artists to present new immersive projects that resonate with the idea of rebirth and cycles of cleansing.
The first four iterations of the triennial were led by a First Nations curator, the most recent exhibition Ceremony by Hetti Perkins (Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples) in 2022. Revealing how ceremony is at the nexus of Country, of culture and of community, that exhibition was seen by more than 135,000 people in six locations across Australia.
Albert exhibits internationally and nationally and in 2023 was announced as the inaugural Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain First Nations Curatorial Fellow, a role that involved working closely with 14 artists to realise their works for the Sydney Biennale.
Albert has a history of working closely with artists including as a founding member of the Queensland Indigenous art collective proppaNOW, which was set up in 2003 to give urban-based Aboriginal artists a voice and supportive environment to explore social and cultural issues through art.
Albert’s appointment as artistic director of the triennial speaks to the National Gallery of Australia’s continued commitment to elevate First Nations art and artist’s voices, and to explore contemporary ideas that have global resonance. Albert’s work has been exhibited in two triennial exhibitions at the NGA, unDisclosed (2012) and Defying Empire (2021), the significance of which is noted by the artist.
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Albert says he is “thrilled to be appointed artistic director of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial over a decade after my work was first exhibited in the triennial”.
“I’ll be working with leading contemporary artists from around the country to present a new vision – a homage to the culture warriors of the past, present and future.”
National Gallery director Nick Mitzevich says he is “excited for Tony Albert to bring his creative vision to the next National Indigenous Art Triennial”.
“In this moment, when First Nations art and cultures are receiving more attention on the world stage than ever before, appointing an artist committed to championing other emerging and established First Nations artists was a clear choice,” Mitzevich says. “Albert has achieved extraordinary visibility and critical acclaim for his art practice and perhaps more significantly he has sought and taken every opportunity to platform First Nations art.
The 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial: After the Rain is supported by the National Gallery of Australia’s First Nations arts partner Wesfarmers Arts and other philanthropic supporters.
nga.com.au
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