As part of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Australia-Vietnam diplomatic relations, the Australian Government in Vietnam opened its Walking through a Songline installation in Ho Chi Minh City. The remarkable work invites visitors to enter a space of immersive light projections, following in the footsteps of the Seven Sisters as they traverse the Western and Central deserts of Australia.
Songlines (or Dreaming) are central to the existence of Australia’s First Nations’ (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) peoples, mapping the routes of Ancestral beings as they travelled across Australia, creating the land and its people. They are a way of holding and passing on knowledge to new generations.
Sarah Hooper, Australia’s Consul-General, said: “The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to learn about – and celebrate - the cultures of Australia’s First Nations people. I’m very pleased to bring it to Vietnam as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations and encourage everyone to see it while it’s here in Ho Chi Minh City or when it moves to Hanoi in April.”
An explanatory video featuring Margo Neale, Senior Indigenous Curator and Head of Indigenous Knowledges at the National Museum, can be viewed on the Australian Embassy Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianEmbassyVietnam/videos/732813668374338/
The exhibition is free to enter and will be open at The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, 15 Nguyen U Di, Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City every day until 16th April from 09:00 to 21:00. It will then move to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi from 28th April until 21st May.
For more information contact Trang Le Nguyen on [email protected] or 024 3774 0216.
