An exhibition titled "65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art" opens at Melbourne University’s Potter Museum of Art on 30 May, celebrating the long-overlooked contributions of Indigenous Australian artists. Co-curated by Judith Ryan and Marcia Langton, the show argues that Indigenous art dates back millennia before European settlement but was only recognized as fine art from the 1980s, having been previously confined to ethnographic categories. It highlights frontier artists like Tommy McRae, William Barak, and Mickey of Ulladulla, as well as contemporary photographers Ricky Maynard, Naomi Hobson, and Destiny Deacon, while addressing the link between racist policies and the denial of Indigenous art's value.
This exhibition matters because it challenges the historical marginalization of Indigenous Australian art within the fine art canon, connecting it to broader issues of human rights and colonial injustice. By reframing the timeline of Australian art to include 65,000 years of Indigenous practice, the show forces a reckoning with systemic racism in the art world and beyond. It also underscores the ongoing relevance of Indigenous voices in shaping Australia's cultural narrative, as co-curator Marcia Langton notes the shock of how little other Australians know about Indigenous heritage.