Art Making and Exhibiting VCE Units 1–4

The VCE Art Study Design recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have ‘diverse
cultures, social structures, cultural traditions, languages and dialects’. This brief introduction is here
to encourage you to investigate Australia’s First peoples’ significant contribution to visual art.
The worldviews of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are highly integrated. Each
aspect of culture, history and society connects with all other aspects. Each community also has its
own unique system of knowing, being and doing, based on tens of thousands of years of sharing
culture and engaging with Country.
In order to understand any system, Indigenous or otherwise, time and effort are needed to
appreciate it. Though time is limited in this course, it is wrong to generalise the Indigenous culture of
Australia, or even Victoria. Instead, the limited coverage in this resource should be taken as examples.
Both teachers and students should read up on and engage with their local Indigenous
community, to hear the perspectives of local First Nations artists, and to appreciate the strength
and resilience of Australia’s First Nations peoples. To find out whose Country you are on – for
example, Wurundjeri, Bunurong, Djadjawurrung – you can use your preferred search engine to
find land councils or local government authorities to find their acknowledgement of the Traditional
Owners of the land. You can also search for a map of Indigenous Australia and try to locate where
you live or go to school.