First Peoples artists across the globe present powerful message about the sacredness of water in tri-nations exhibition

21 September 2022

Naadohbii: To Draw Water brings together First Peoples artists from Turtle Island (Canada), Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Australia. Across many disciplines, artists present a solidarity between global First Peoples nations on environmental, political and cultural connections and relationships to water.

A trinational curatorial partnership between Museums Victoria, New Zealand’s Pātaka Art + Museum and Canada’s Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG-Qaumajuq), Naadohbii (NAH-DOH-BEY) means to draw / seek water from the Anishinaabemowin language of the First Peoples of Canada; the name was gifted by Elder Dr. Mary Courchene.

Our world is profoundly linked to water in all forms for human and ecological survival. Water is sacred. Water is life.

Kimberley Moulton, Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collections at Museums Victoria was invited to be the Australian curator for Naadohbii by Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2019 during the inaugural Tri-Nations Indigenous Triennial.

For 18 months through the complexities of a global pandemic, Kimberley joined with co-curators Jaimie Isaac, formerly Winnipeg Art Gallery curator of Indigenous & Contemporary Art (now Chief Curator Art Gallery Greater Victoria, Canada), Ioana Gordon-Smith, formerly Curator at Pātaka Art + Museum, and Reuben Friend, formerly Director Pātaka Art + Museum (now General Manager Community and Partnerships Porirua City Council) to develop the exhibition which premiered in July 2021 in Winnipeg, Canada.

Museums Victoria is custodian of many significant cultural materials that connect to water and First Peoples land management, including a Tasmanian First Peoples Canoe created by Uncle Rex Greeno, master First Peoples craftsman and cultural maker from Lutruwita (Tasmania). Melbourne Museum is proud to display this for the first time in Naadohbii: To Draw Water.

Also on display will be a Possum Skin Cloak commissioned by Museums Victoria for the exhibition by long-time collaborator Dr Vicki Couzens, telling the Kooyang (eel) story of her Country, the Western district of Victoria, before being acquired into Museums Victoria’s First Peoples collections. The exhibition also presents works from Australian artists Ishmael Marika, James Tylor, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Nici Cumpston and Regina Pilawuk Wilson, spanning film, sound works, painting, sculpture, print, photography and textiles.

Naadohbii: To Draw Water sings a powerful message about the sacredness of water, and how profoundly it is linked to human and ecological survival, continuing the dialogue of climate change from an Indigenous perspective with an international scope.

To celebrate the opening on Friday 23 September, curators Kimberley Moulton, Ioana Gordon Smith and Reuben Friend will lead talks with exhibition artists in Birrarung Gallery, offering a deeper insight into the inspiration behind these works.

Also, on offer on opening day, families can take inspiration from the artworks and stories in Naadohbii: To Draw Water and make their own Kooyang (Eel) mobiles.

Naadohbii: To Draw Water was brought to Melbourne thanks to the generous support of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Australia Council for the Arts and Canada Council for the Arts.

Naadohbii: To Draw Water will be on display at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Melbourne Museum from Friday 23 September 2022 until Sunday 26 March 2023.

Tickets to the exhibition will be included with Melbourne Museum general entry.

Featured Artists:

• Australian Artists: Vicki Couzens, Ishmael Marika, James Tylor, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Nici Cumpston, Regina Pilawuk Wilson.
• From Museums Victoria Collection for Melbourne Iteration: Rex Greeno.
• Turtle Island (North America) Artists: Christi Belcourt, Rebecca Belmore, Lindsay Dawn Dobbin, Maria Hupfield, Marianne Nicolson, Onaman Collective (Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch).
• From the Winnipeg Art Gallery Collection: William Noah, Jessie Oonark.
• Aotearoa (New Zealand) Artists: Israel Birch, Nikau Hindin, Jeremy Leatinu'u, Nova Paul, Rachael Rakena, Keri Whaitiri.

Attributable Quotes:

“For First Peoples, our country of earth, sky, and water grounds us in our history, our identity and our futures, and water is pertinent to the survival of all of three of these aspects to who we are. This exhibition is a powerful reflection on water through contemporary practice, it looks at themes of fresh and saltwater countries, to the stars for sea navigation and to our consumption and need for preservation of water. The meeting of our communities presents a solidarity in the voice of First Peoples and the need for our Sovereign cultural right to protect and care for country to be recognised and respected and the intrinsic connection this has to the health of our world.”
— Kimberley Moulton, Senior Curator, South Eastern Aboriginal Collections, Museums Victoria

“Melbourne Museum is proud to present Naadohbii: To Draw Water, at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, with moving works from artists across diverse First Peoples communities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Museums Victoria is committed to working with First Peoples locally, nationally and internationally and we welcome the opportunity to support this global exchange and the opportunity to share some of the items from the First Peoples Collection.”
— Lynley Crosswell, CEO and Director, Museums Victoria

“This immersive exhibition showcases Victoria’s rich history while exploring First Nations cultures from across the world – providing yet another reason to discover the best Melbourne Museum has to offer. Melbourne is home to some of the most extraordinary museum experiences in the world, and Naadohbii: To Draw Water will add a new compelling exhibition to Victoria’s roster of thought provoking must-see attractions.”
— Minister for Creative Industries Steve Dimopoulos
 
“Water is a large body of knowledge and matter to draw upon and this exhibition will represent cross-cultural Indigenous multi-disciplinary artistic traditions and multi-vocal perspectives and multi-sensory experiences. The international curatorial team and the artistic production presented will broaden ideas and deepen our connection to water. With the rising sea levels, changing waterways, addressing clean water accessibility to highlighting traditional cultural connections to water - exploring these concepts through contemporary art is appropriate to the current times we live within.”
— Jaimie Isaac, formally Winnipeg Art Gallery curator of Indigenous & Contemporary Art (now Chief Curator Art Gallery Greater Victoria, Canada)

“Naadohbii: To Draw Water brings together different Indigenous perspectives to galvanize just how fundamental water is in nearly every aspect of our lives. Despite the current challenges of travel, this exhibition underscores the global importance of Indigenous voices and the ways in which we can continue to share and connect across oceans and digital currents”
— Ioana Gordon-Smith, formally Curator, Pātaka Art + Museum