Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big yam Dreaming) by Emily Kam Kngwarray © Photo courtesy by Wayne Taylor/National Gallery of Victoria
The Stars We Do Not See, curated by Myles Russel-Cook, is the most ambitious international presentation of Australian Aboriginal art to date. Opening at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (October 2025-March 2026) before touring major museums across North America through 2028, the exhibition brings together 200 works by 150 artists in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, many of those pieces having never left Australia.
The exhibition marks a significant shift from earlier introductions of Australian which largely sidelined Aboriginal art as ethnographic. Russel-Cook instead foregrounds its artistic innovation, cultural depth and political urgency.
The title references the cosmological visions of Gulumbu Yunupingu, the “Star Lady” whose iconic star motifs encapsulate Yolŋu understandings of time as a continuum. Major works include Emily Kam Kngwarreye’s monumental Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming), alongside contributions from William Barak, Tony Albert, and diverse artists across regions and generations.
Gan’yu (Stars) by Gulumpu Yunupingu (2010) earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.) 93.7 x 41.4 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased NGV Foundation, 2013 © Photo courtesy of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala from The Estate of Gulumbu Yunupingu
Despite logistical and geographic barriers that have historically limited global exposure, this three-year tour reimagines how Aboriginal art can be encountered internationally. Each venue reshapes the exhibition, reinforcing its dynamic, collaborative nature.
Ultimately, The Stars We Do Not See affirms that Aboriginal artists have always expanded, redefined, and reinvented their practices, offering audiences a product encounter with creativity, resilience and enduring cultural knowledge.
SOURCE: The Guardian; Artack ; NGA