Acknowledgement of Country

Renowned Indigenous curator, Margo Neale, tells the fascinating story behind the exhibition, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters.

Overview

Indigenous curator Margo Neale is the force behind the magnificent exhibition, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters. In this onstage interview, convened by the directors of the Menzies Australia Institute at King’s College London, Margo explains the fascinating story of how the exhibition came to be. In recalling the desert trips that put Margo and her colleagues in touch with artists and elders in the Australian deserts, she will explain the transformation of her own understanding of the complex concept of Songlines, which involves the transmission of song, guided by the constellations.

About the artist

The Menzies Australia Institute was initially established in 1982 as the Australian Studies Centre at the University of London. It is now part of the School of Global Affairs at King’s College. Funded by the Menzies Memorial Trust and the Australian Government, the Institute’s aim is to promote Australian studies in British and European universities and to act as an Australian base in London, providing a forum for the discussion of Australian issues through its cultural program.

In 2019, the Institute launched King’s Indigenous, an Indigenous-led research and service project in the heart of London.

In 2019, the Institute signed a partnership with the Australian National University. This allows senior scholars from Canberra to reside in London and lead the Institute. The current co-directors, historian Martin Thomas and literary scholar Béatrice Bijon, have previously worked together as documentary filmmakers. Dr Bijon is the Institute’s first woman director.