1999 :: National Indigenous School in New Media Art

The inaugural National Indigenous School in New Media Art—the first ANAT Summer School to be dedicated exclusively to Indigenous artists—focused on helping participants to develop digital arts practices by providing access to appropriate training, computer equipment and software. It took place at Northern Territory University, Darwin in July and was project-managed by Indigenous (Gurindji) artist, curator, writer, lecturer and consultant, Brenda L Croft.

With support from the Emerging Artists program run by the Australia Council’s Visual Arts/Crafts Fund, ANAT then initiated a series of follow-on residencies specifically aimed at website development. NT-based Jason Davidson-Hampton’s site, for example, was based on stories and imagery from the Kimberley region, while Victorian Christian Thompson’s featured a series of text-based works exploring knowledge, literature, and the importance of theory for Indigenous people and academics. These were created during residencies at 24Hr Art, Darwin and the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne respectively.

1999 also saw the inauguration of ANAT’s Scientific Serendipity residency program, aimed at facilitating mutually beneficial collaborations between artists and scientists.

View Jason Davidson (NT) at 24Hr Art, Darwin, website based on stories and images from the Kimberley region here.

Back