Museum installations were created in Yirrkala, under the supervision of Yolngu leaders. The Yirrkala museum has a long history and rich collection but since its development in the 1980’s, no investment had been made into its public displays.
A photo archive was developed featuring over 50,000 images of local people and events. Displayed using a range of platforms, the archive is now a community tool for managing local history. Images are repatriated from a range of sources and produced by community members, then extracted for ceremonies, publications and family albums.
An archive of the 20th century is captured in the film history of Northeast Arnhem Land. The dialogic exchange continues through a range of workstations and installations in the museum. School children, researchers and artists come together to rework documentation of cultural practice.
Aboriginal owned and operated museum collection on country involved not only displaying public ceremonies, but also repatriating ethnographic collections.
Robert Lazarus 