NAIDOC Week (7 – 14 July 2013) celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC [National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee] is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The theme for NAIDOC Week 2013 is “We value the vision: Yirrkala Bark Petitions 1963”, this is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Wherever you live, you can take part in NAIDOC Week celebrations:

 

NAIDOC WEEK IN AUSTRALIA

To find out about NAIDOC Week activities in your area in Australia, visit the official website (including IDAIA’s themed guided tours at the Art Gallery of NSW).

NAIDOC WEEK AT IDAIA

Wednesday, July 10 – 10:30 & 19:15 | Art Gallery of NSW | Themed Guided Tour : Aboriginal bark paintings and ochre-based art forms
As part of NAIDOC Week 2013 IDAIA is delighted to present a themed guided tour focusing on Aboriginal bark paintings and ochre-based art forms of the Top North.
It notably includes: ochres bark paintings and hollow-log coffins from Arnhem Land, sculptures, fibre art, Tiwi Islands poles, Torres Strait Islander sculptures, as well as Arnhem Land art-influenced works by urban-based artists. Learn more about this event by clicking here.

Here are some pictures to illustrate several events in Sydney:

Photographs © IDAIA.

NAIDOC WEEK IN THE USA

In recognition and celebration, the Kluge-Ruhe Collection flies the Aboriginal flag for the duration of the week and is offering the following free, public programs. Visit the official website.

Sunday, July 7, 1:00 pm | Kluge-Ruhe Collection | Guided Tour with Professor Howard Morphy
To kick off NAIDOC Week, Professor Howard Morphy gives a free guided tour of the museum’s current exhibitions. Dr. Morphy is the Director of the Research School of Humanities and the Arts at Australian National University and hasserved as advisor to the Kluge-Ruhe Collection since 1995. He is the author of several books including Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge (University of Chicago Press), Aboriginal Art (Phaidon) and, with Marcus Banks, Rethinking Visual Anthropology (Yale University Press).

Friday, July 12, 5:30 – 7:30 pm | Kluge-Ruhe Collection | Reception with Master Printer Michael Kempson and Curator Tess Allas
Join the Kluge-Ruhe Collection in celebrating the exhibition Black Prints from Cicada Press over wine and hors d’oeuvres. Michael Kempson, Director and Master Printer at Cicada Press, and Tess Allas, lecturer at the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales, present to discuss the exhibition and the importance of NAIDOC week for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Saturday, July 13, 1:00 – 3:00 pm | Kluge-Ruhe Collection | Aboriginal Flag Printmaking Workshop
Make your own Aboriginal flag! In this family workshop, learn about the printmaking process from Michael Kempson and the significance of the Aboriginal flag from Tess Allas. Each participant leave with their own print of the flag.