Redland City Council will unveil its Standing Together: the Art of Reconciliation exhibition on Tuesday 4 August at Cleveland Library as part of ongoing NAIDOC celebrations.
The exhibition showcases artworks created during National Reconciliation Week 2015 by Quandamooka artists Josh Walker, Shara Delaney, Craig Tapp and Mandy Blivett with members of the public and students from Dunwich State School.
Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the unveiling would include the premiere of a short film about the Council-run project.
“Aboriginal film-maker Rhea Stephenson has gone to great effort to create a film capturing the inspiration, collaboration and spirit of mutual respect that went into the 11 exhibition canvases,” Mayor Williams said.
“It will be exciting to see this played for the first time at the exhibition opening.”
Redland City Council’s cultural spokesperson Cr Lance Hewlett said the exhibition had diverse artworks with the same key theme.
“The Standing Together project drew inspiration from not only National Reconciliation Week, but also the 2015 NAIDOC Week theme ‘We all Stand on Sacred Ground’,” Cr Hewlett said.
“These artworks began as a blank canvas each morning of National Reconciliation Week and evolved during the course of the day.
“Throughout the week Josh, Shara, Craig and Mandy shared their culture and invited people to add their own touches, creating a visual story of reconciliation in the Redlands.
“It was great to see Dunwich State School also create two canvases, with the end result a truly stunning collection of artworks and film, made by the hands of people of all ages, abilities and cultures in the Redlands.”
The exhibition can be viewed at Cleveland Library for four weeks before visiting Dunwich State School in September for their NAIDOC celebrations. It will then tour other Redland Libraries and locations.
The exhibition’s original NAIDOC Week opening was postponed to 4 August to respect Quandamooka cultural observances.