The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Contemporary Touring Initiative funding to tour major exhibition

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today announced funding of more than $250 000 to support the development and touring of a major Indigenous art exhibition to regions and cities in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

The funding has been provided through the Australian Government's Contemporary Touring Initiative under the Visions of Australia program.

“The Contemporary Touring Initiative is part of the Australian Government's ongoing commitment to making contemporary Australian visual arts and craft more accessible to wider audiences,” Senator Kemp said.

“I am pleased to announce, as part of this funding initiative, that the Museum of Contemporary Art will receive $252 500 to tour and develop an exhibition of the work of Indigenous artist Paddy Bedford across four Australian states. It is the first time that Bedford 's work will be the subject of a major exhibition at a public art museum.”

Paddy Bedford, a senior Indigenous law man, has been involved in ceremonial painting all his life. He began to translate stories and motifs onto canvas in 1997 when Freddy Timms set up the Jirrawun Aboriginal Art Group at Rugun (Crocodile Hole) in the east Kimberley region. His work is recognised as part of the ‘Turkey Creek' style made famous by Rover Thomas and Queenie McKenzie.

The Paddy Bedford exhibition includes works spanning Bedford 's career—from early paintings using natural earth ochres to more recent works in gouache on board, conveying stories of social, cultural and historical importance.

Bedford's work combines important ancestral ‘Dreamings', such as the emu, turkey and cockatoo, with images of contemporary life. The artworks incorporate the rivers and traditionally owned land that Bedford inhabits along with the roads, stockyards and country he visited while mustering horses. The exhibition comprises approximately 50 paintings and will be launched in Sydney at the Museum of Contemporary Art in December 2006.

The Australian Government's Contemporary Touring Initiative has been developed in response to the Report of the Contemporary Visual Arts and Craft Inquiry.

The initiative also aims to promote contemporary Australian visual arts and craft through quality publications, education and public programs held as part of touring exhibitions, and encourages partnerships between major collecting institutions.

Further information can be found at www.dcita.gov.au/arts_culture/funding_programs__and__support/contemporary_touring_initiative

MELBOURNE

28 April 2006

Media contact: Michael Christo 03 9650 7274 or 0409 040276