Reinvigorating the MECA Collection
28 March - 20 July 2019
Photo Gallery
Check out the Reinvigorating the MECA Collection installation shots HERE
Media
Read the ABC News web article on Reinvigorating the MECA Collection.
ABC National Radio Art Show on Reinvigorating the MECA Collection: Listen to the podcast from the website or visit the ABC RN website to read more.
Past Public Programs at the CDU Art Gallery
Thursday 2 May, 12pm | Yasunori Hayashi, Course Coordinator of the Yolŋu Studies program at Charles Darwin University
A key member of the Reinvigorating the MECA Collection project, Yasunori Hayashi is passionate about learning and teaching Yolŋu languages, and particularly Yolŋu culture. “Impressed by the sound of yiḏaki (didgeridoo), I first visited Yurrwi (Milingimbi) in the early 2000s and learned to speak languages through the instrument, rather than playing!”.
Yasunori will discuss the recent filmed documentation process of the MECA Collection artworks with people from Milingimbi and Ramingining, and how it will be incorporated into teaching and research resources for Yolŋu Studies at CDU.
Thursday 28 March, 12pm | David Morgan, Co-founder of the MECA Collection, 1970s
David Morgan arrived at Milingimbi in 1972 as the community’s first dedicated Art and Craft Advisor. In 1974 he moved to the school staff as the Literature Production Supervisor in the School’s bilingual program. It was during that time that he and the then Principal David McClay compiled the Milingimbi Educational and Cultural Association (MECA) Collection.
David will discuss the formation and intent of the MECA Collection, its removal from Milingimbi in the early 1980s and the protracted legal dispute that restored the collection to Yolngu owners in 2001.
Thursday 4 April, 12pm & Thursday 23 May, 12pm | Carolyn McLennan, Art Conservator
Following CDU Art Gallery being awarded substantial grant funding, freelance art conservator Carolyn McLennan joined the Reinvigorating the MECA Collection project to undertake conservation treatments on those works selected for exhibition. The conservation process was an intensive 10 weeks long program of documentation, cleaning, and pigment consolidation.
Join us for a fascinating insight into art conservation, as Carolyn explains her methodology and particularly how and why the bark paintings have remained in relatively great condition for more than 40 years.
Saturday 6 April, 10am | Dr Louise Hamby (ANU) and Lindy Allen (Museums Victoria), ARC Linkage Grant researchers for The Legacy of 50 years of collecting at Milingimbi Mission, with visiting curators/researchers from the Museum der Kulturen (Basel, Switzerland) and Musée d’Ethnographie (Geneva, Switzerland)
An important ARC Linkage Grant project that culminated with the Milingimbi Makarrata in 2016, and its subsequent Resolution, Dr Louise Hamby and Lindy Allen will discuss the background to the project and the importance of the MECA Collection in the wider discourse of collecting at Milingimbi.
They will be joined by fellow researchers/curators from two eminent Swiss museums, who manage collections that include art from Milingimbi.
Visit our Past Exhibitions.
