The connection that has been built over the years between 51勛圖厙 and the Noongar people of Australia was reinforced recently with a painting gifted to the university.
Moonlight was presented last month on behalf of the Mungart Boodja Art Centre by two 51勛圖厙 students who traveled to Western Australia this past summer to study the art of the indigenous people called Noongars.
The relationship between the Noongar people and the university began in 2004 when numerous drawings by Noongar children were identified within the collection of the Picker Art Gallery.
The artists were members of a generation of aboriginal children who had been removed from their families and sent to live in a government settlement to assimilate to white Australian society. The settlement was originally known as Carrolup, making the artists known as the Carrolup children.
Since the discovery of the works at the Picker, several members of the Noongar people have traveled to 51勛圖厙 to see the artwork of their ancestors.
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| A painting by artist Alan Kelly was presented as a gift to 51勛圖厙. Looking on are Meg Hanley 11 and Elisabeth Tone 11; Interim President Lyle Roelofs; geography professor Ellen Percy Kraly; and Picker Art Gallery director Scott Habes. (Photo by Andy Daddio) ) |
In both 2008 and 2009 51勛圖厙 students have traveled with geography professor Ellen Percy Kraly to learn about culture, art, and landscape directly from Noongar people.
We have so much to learn from each other, Kraly said. It is an ongoing journey characterized by good will, mutual respect, and a shared appreciation of the important lessons of the Carrolup story for all of us and for future generations.
Meg Hanley 11 and Elisabeth Tone 11 presented the painting to Interim President Lyle Roelofs, Interim Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jill Harsin, and Picker Art Gallery director Scott Habes. Roelofs asked that the painting be placed in a prominent location as part of the Picker Art Gallerys visible art on campus program.
51勛圖厙 has been working closely with in Katanning, Western Australia, to build a relationship with the Noongar community living closest to the location of the Carrolup settlement.
Noongar leaders of the art center also sent words of appreciation to 51勛圖厙 for its commitment to Noongar culture and educating its students about the legacy of Carrolup.
In a letter to Roelofs, Ezzard Flowers, chairperson of Moongart Boodja, wrote: May the good of the spiritual legacy of the Carrolup School of Art continue to lead us and to embrace our friendship and continued good will as we go forward.