Ambassador Bill Tweddell
Opening Ceremony of the
Gelam Nguzu Kazi – Dugong My Son
Exhibit

 Viet Art Centre, Hanoi
28 June 2007

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the opening ceremony for Gelam Nguzu Kazi – Dugong My Son, an exhibition of unique Torres Strait artworks and presented by Australian Embassy in Hanoi.

It is customary for most Indigenous Australian cultures, at events such as this, to recognize the traditional land owners on which the event takes place. It’s therefore appropriate to recognize the traditional owners of the land on which we stand, the Kinh people (pron: king), and of course all the ethnic peoples who together weave the rich cultural fabric of Vietnam.

I would like to thank our special guests, Mr Hoang Duc Toan – Director General of the Fine Arts Dept in the Ministry of Culture and Information, and Mr Tran Khanh Chuong (pron: chan kang choong) – Chairman of Vietnam Fine Arts Association. I would also like to thank all of you, our colleagues and friends who have come here to view this special exhibition tonight.

Gelam Nguzu Kazi – Dugong My Son is an exhibition of 33 artworks by four artists from the Torres Strait, off the northernmost tip of North Queesnland: Dennis Nona, Victor Motlop, Billy Missi and David Bosun – who together make-up the Mualgal Minaral Artists Collective located on Mua Island – also known in English as Banks Island – in the Western Torres Strait.

This striking collection was developed from stories that belong to the Kubin community of Mua Island, located in the Torres Strait. Gelam will be exhibited in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as part of a broader tour through the Asian region under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program.

Drawing on ancient traditions of carving in combination with contemporary lino-printing techniques, the Mualgal Minaral artists have pioneered a unique style of Torres Strait art to tell their histories and stories. Gelam is an important body of work through which the artists explore their social and physical environment, reclaiming and reaffirming their culture for future generations.

The exhibiting of these works in Hanoi comes at an appropriate time, as it coincides with two very important anniversaries for Indigenous Australians.

The first was the 40th Anniversary of a national referendum that took place on 27 May 1967, in which the Australian people voted overwhelmingly – more than 90% - to officially recognise indigenous Australians as full citizens. While next month, 8 – 15 July, will mark the 50th Anniversary of NAIDOC Week – when all Australians celebrate the cultures, histories, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The works in this exhibition, as with many Indigenous works, tell the stories and histories of the people – the culture – they represent. Throughout the history of Indigenous Australian cultures, these stories were usually passed from generation-to-generation through song, and the telling of stories, and through art. In this case, Gelam Nguzu Kazi – Dugong My Son, represents the first time that the stories of the Kubin people of Mua Island have been told in this visual form – making the exhibition even more important and adding emphasis its uniqueness.

I encourage you all to take a broacher which may help to explain further the meaning of the pieces here tonight. I hope you will enjoy the exhibition, and in doing so, that you learn more about the culture of the Kubin people of Mua Island.

Thank you and enjoy.