ngaratya Nici Cumpston, Zena Cumpston, David Doyle, Kent Morris, Adrianne Semmens and Raymond Zada (together, us group, all in it together)
Barkandji / Barkindji artists share travels together on Country
19 October 2024 —
16 February 2025
Latrobe Regional Gallery
138 Commercial Road
Morwell, Victoria
This exhibition of newly commissioned works brings together six Barkandji/Barkindji artists including Nici Cumpston, Zena Cumpston, David Doyle, Kent Morris, Adrianne Semmens and Raymond Zada. As a group, we aspired to make Barkandji/Barkindji Country, our Mother, an active participant in this project.
Through the generous support of Bunjil Place Gallery and NETS Victoria, we travelled across vast distances of our Country together. We spent precious time engaging with each other, cultural landscapes, our Elders and community. Our travels provided a rich foundation for the creation of our works, exploring and illuminating our Ancestral connection to Barkandji/Barkindji Country.
The stories presented within this exhibition come collectively from our hearts and are shared with joy and passion, for whilst our Country and our people have suffered through the ongoing pressures of colonisation, ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together) is a journey of love, empowerment, respect, and connection.
Listen to the pronunciation by David Doyle
‘This exhibition is an exercise in custodial responsibility – we are sharing these stories to introduce people to our Country. This is an opportunity to learn about and to celebrate our homelands, so together we can all be a part of the solutions needed to keep people and Country healthy.’
Nici and Zena Cumpston, sisters, and co-curators 2023
Curators’ foreword
Curators Nici Cumpston and Zena Cumpston illuminate the making of ngaratya — the artist's multiple travels together across Ancestral homelands.
The exhibition
Learn about ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together) and gain insight into each of the works from the artists.
-
Programs & events
Public programs designed to offer a deep dive into the exhibition and its themes, centred around artist-led events. Find out more about the cultural layers represented within the exhibition and individual artists and their diverse practice.
-
ngayi (writings)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, thinkers and artists generously share their own stories through writings that connect with and respond to the themes of ngaratya.
-
Further learning
Explore a range of accessible articles, interviews, videos and resources that illuminate further learning opportunities, including our highly accessible education program filled with easily scalable provocations and activities.