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museum exhibitions schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 2 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into art

Tony Albert, a 45-year-old artist of Girramay, Yidinji, and Kuku-Yalanji heritage, has spent decades collecting thousands of objects he terms 'Aboriginalia'—kitsch, caricatured, and often racist depictions of Aboriginal people created by non-Indigenous Australians. His solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney on 21 May, showcasing over 3,000 items from his collection alongside transformed artworks. The MCA is inviting the public to donate additional Aboriginalia items to Albert's collection, which is housed in his Brisbane studio.

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This First Nations artist wants your racist 'Aboriginalia' – video

Indigenous artist Tony Albert has issued a public call for Australians to donate their 'Aboriginalia'—objects that depict Aboriginal people and designs but were created by non-Indigenous people, often as caricatures or exoticized souvenirs. Over 3,000 items from Albert's own collection, including tea towels, ashtrays, and playing cards, are now on display in his solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, opening on 21 May.