Tate Modern opens its first major exhibition of Indigenous Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray (c. 1914–96), featuring over 70 works including early batiks and vast late-career paintings. The show, adapted from a presentation at the National Gallery of Australia, is co-curated by Hetti Perkins and Kelli Cole, who emphasize presenting Kngwarray's work within its Anmatyerr cultural context rather than through a Western abstraction lens. Concurrently, London's Camden Art Centre hosts an exhibition of Duane Linklater and his family, and a Manchester show features Santiago Yahuarcani, signaling a broader UK focus on contemporary Indigenous artists.
This exhibition matters because it represents Tate Modern's strategic shift toward Indigenous practices as a core programming priority, following the launch of an Indigenous fund last year. By centering Kngwarray's work—created in just two decades and deeply rooted in ceremonial body painting traditions—the museum challenges Western art historical frameworks and amplifies Indigenous voices. The simultaneous UK exhibitions of Linklater and Yahuarcani underscore a growing institutional commitment to diversifying the canon and fostering community-led curatorial approaches.