Fearless hearts drive courageous conversations

Our nationally significant collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is at the heart of teaching for reconciliation. Through this collection we are driving cultural learning, engaging students across disciplines with Indigenous knowledges, perspectives and lived experiences.  The impact of this work is profound in its capacity to transform ways of seeing, feeling, and understanding the shared histories of Australia’s recent past. 

With the support of its friends, FUMA is committed to developing this important resource for current and future generations of students and the wider public.

Cherishing sovereign sisters

FUMA now seeks to secure a rare edition of Look Who’s Calling The Kettle Black by one of the nation’s most acclaimed experimental artists, r e a. This work comprises ten digitally rendered photographs that highlight the ways in which colonial constructs of domestic female identity have been imposed upon First Nations women. Now showing as part of our exhibition Sovereign Sisters: domestic work, the work also speaks to oppressive policies spanning the colonial era to the mid-20th century which saw countless Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls forced into domestic labour, many of whom never received a wage. 

The power of art

Australian university art museums are uniquely positioned in the national cultural landscape bridging public and academic spheres. They are laboratories for new research, teaching, learning, and professional development distinguished by their freedoms to take risks in their exhibitions and public programs to explore wide ranging ideas including themes and issues that may be deemed controversial, unsettling, or inconvenient by certain groups.    

If you believe in the power of art to transform lives, please make a donation today. 

Your donation to the Art Museum and Gallery Fund will help to acquire r e a’s Look Who’s Calling The Kettle Black series of ten digital prints into the FUMA collection. Together, we are Fearless.

Make a donation today.

r e a, Iron from Look Who’s Calling The Kettle Black, 1992,  dye sublimation print, 19 x 25 cm, On loan from the artist, © r e a, 2021

r e a, Washer from Look Who’s Calling The Kettle Black, 1992,  dye sublimation print, 19 x 25 cm, On loan from the artist, © r e a, 2021

FUMA is also registered to receive gifts of artworks through the Australian Government Cultural Gifts Program, and we are very grateful to receive pieces that align with our Collections Policy. Please contact FUMA Director Fiona Salmon for more information, ph: +61 8 8201 2531

Fearlessly embracing the future