SYDNEY.- The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Tate have today announced the acquisition of six artworks by five artists, as part of the International Joint Acquisition Program for contemporary Australian art, bringing the total number of co-acquired works to 29.
Since the inception of the program, 29 artworks by 21 artists have been acquired into the Collections of Tate and MCA, promoting Australian art globally and helping Australian artists reach new audiences. This ground-breaking acquisition program was made possible through a $2.75 million corporate gift from the Qantas Foundation in 2015.
The new acquisitions include an early bark painting, Buluwana, Female Ancestor (1989) by Kuninjku artist John Mawurndjul AM; a recording of an early performance work, Jabiluka UO2 by Bonita Ely (1979); a single-channel video work, A World Undone by Nicholas Mangan (2012); an abstracted landscape painting, The Aftermath and the Ikon of Fear (1984–5) by Vivienne Binns; and two multimedia installations, Snare (1972/2019) and But the Fierce Blackman (1971/2011) by Peter Kennedy.
Ely and Mangan’s works feature as part of a major new presentation of the MCA Collection, Perspectives on place. Curated by MCA Senior Curator, Collection, Anneke Jaspers, this exhibition focuses on works from the MCA Collection relating to land, mapping and environmental change. Ely and Mangan’s works are currently on display at the MCA along with Colombian-born Maria Fernanda Cardoso’s Corn Cob Coil (Espiral de Tusas) (1989), which was also co-acquired as part of the International Joint Acquisition Program in 2018.
A substantial group of joint acquisitions will soon go on display at Tate Modern as part of a free new exhibition, A Year in Art: Australia 1992. This exhibition investigates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ relationship to their Country as well as colonisation’s ongoing impact on issues of representation, social injustice and climate emergency. Ely’s Jabiluka UO2 and Mawurndjul’s Buluwana, Female Ancestor will both feature in the exhibition, alongside other co-acquired works by artists such as Gordon Bennett, Dale Harding, Helen Johnson, Vernon Ah Kee and Judy Watson.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Director, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, said: “This partnership between the MCA and Tate is extremely important as it places contemporary Australian artists in a global context. Tate Modern’s upcoming exhibition is a ground-breaking moment for the partnership, but more significantly, for the artists’ whose works are being placed into this significant context.”
“I am also extremely proud that renowned bark painter, John Mawurndjul, has been acquired by an international museum dedicated to modern art. This program has been transformative for both institutions, changing the way we approach our respective collections.” concluded Macgregor.
