Dr Christian Thompson AO | House of Gold – ENGAGEMENT AND REACH
Across M&G NSW’s touring exhibitions there are in-built programs that promote community interaction, practical learning opportunities, professional development, and new tools for connecting with audiences. Our touring exhibitions and programs are designed to prioritise access and accessibility, particularly for regional audiences, as well as presenting creative practice that is reflective of the diversity of cultures and breadth of Australian experiences – two key pillars and principles of REVIVE – the National Cultural Policy.
A further REVIVE pillar is ‘recognising and respecting the crucial place of First Nations stories at the centre of Australia’s arts and culture.’ Dr Christian Thompson AO is an artist and academic with both Indigenous (Bidjara) and Chinese Australian heritage. His House of Gold exhibition elevates First Nations stories and language whilst also focusing on the stories and histories of Chinese Australians and how these have contributed to Australian’s cultural diversity, reflecting ‘the contribution of all Australians as the creators of culture’.
The House of Gold tour will benefit regional venues, providing opportunities for the reciprocal sharing of knowledge between the artist and local communities. Tour venues have been strategically chosen to align with the cross-cultural themes of the exhibition, with venue locations having specific Chinese or Indigenous histories or a personal connection with the artist. This allows both Chinese & First Nations communities to see themselves represented, whilst also providing benefits for the artist and venues to delve deeper into local histories and cultures through public programming, with the potential to ‘conserve cultural memory’. As the tour will extend across 11 venues and three calendar years, it will provide ‘long-term and sustainable’ benefits for the artist, allowing increased exposure and engagement with his work across regional locations in four states.
House of Gold | LETTERS OF SUPPORT
Our touring exhibitions are developed with the needs of regional and public galleries and their audiences in mind, these letters of support from venues and partners demonstrate the enthusiasm for this touring exhibition which will speak to varied communities and provide opportunities to strengthen engagement with them.
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Students painting Tony Albert’s Terra Nullius (with Scrooge), OCCURRENT AFFAIR, Gosford Regional Gallery. Image Gosford Regional Gallery
proppaNOW, OCCURRENT AFFAIR Education Symposium, NAS Gallery, National Art School, NSW, 2023. Photos: Jacquie Manning.
Artist Anna Louise Richardson speaking at The Good exhibition at The Condensery, QLD, 2023. Photo by Jim Filmer
Soft Core artist Koji Ryui undertaking workshops at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery. Photo: Simon Woods
Students painting Tony Albert’s Terra Nullius (with Scrooge), University of Sunshine Coast Connect Week, OCCURRENT AFFAIR, image University of the Sunshine Coast Art Gallery.
Anna Louise Richardson, The Good, Creation Station at The Condensery, QLD, 2023. Photo by Jim Filmer
Humula Public School students take part in a workshop with Soft Core artists Tully Arnot and Simon Yates at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. Photo: Tayla Martin.
Cape making workshop with Dennis Golding, Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, POWER; The Future is Here, image Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery.
House of Gold | EDUCATION AND LEARNING
All M&G NSW touring exhibitions are accompanied by an Exhibition Information Pack, which includes artwork lists, promotional details, installation guides, marketing templates, an Education Kit and Mediation Handbook, among other useful details to assist with a successful exhibition. These packs are modified and adapted to suit the needs of individual tours.
For the House of Gold tour, the Mediation Handbook will be culturally focused on both First Nations and Chinese histories and experiences with information, links, further reading and suggestions to help support staff, volunteers and councils to relate to and speak about the themes of the show with confidence. The Education Kit will offer educational opportunities for primary, secondary and tertiary students and teachers across visual arts, performance, visual literacy and social history. This will provide opportunities for teaching staff to ensure that students ‘receive an education that includes culture, creativity, humanities and the arts,’ consistent with the principles of the Revive framework.
The following links are some recent examples of Education Kits and Mediation Handbooks:
Dr Christian Thompson AO on location at House of Gold, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, photography by Kai Wasikowski
House of Gold | ENGAGEMENT TOOLS
To promote audience engagement with the cross-cultural stories and themes of the exhibition as well as the key REVIVE pillar of ‘making sure our stories connect with people at home and abroad’, a range of engagement tools will accompany House of Gold. These tools will allow audiences to connect both within the Gallery spaces and beyond, across multiple mediums, addressing the REVIVE principle that ‘Australian stories are seen and heard, regardless of platform.’
These resources aim to broaden the possibility for connection with multiple audience segments and include:
- An Audio Resource presenting an interview with Dr Christian Thompson AO, with insights into the artist’s exploration of identity and history. The interview is part of the ‘4A Talks’ series, produced by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.
- A free folded publication including curatorial essays, images and further information about the exhibition and the artist will be developed for the tour. This will be a take home element allowing visitors to leave the exhibition with something tangible, with the potential to spark further creative processes, learning and conversations.
- 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art Commissioned Essays responding to the House of Gold exhibition, by Cher Tan and Lee Tran Lam. The essays delve into the connections between culture and food, the Chinese Gold Rush history of the 1850s, migrant resilience, and intersectional identities.
- A free Audio Guide will be developed to provide descriptive and creative insights into the themes of the show and the works on display. It will be available for venues to use in the gallery and online and will also include transcripts of the audio to increase access.
- Curatorial labels for children and families will contain active prompts to encourage looking and responding to the exhibited artworks.
- The 4A Library is accessible online and includes publications from Australia and the Asia Pacific, focusing on Asian arts and culture. It serves as a critical resource for exploring Australia’s cultural interactions with Asia and the global Asian diaspora.
- Venue appropriate bespoke cultural engagement linking with local Chinese and First Nations communities and histories.
‘While House of Gold is a homage to his Chinese ancestors and undeniably a statement against erasure, it also honours the Chinese proverb, that “to hold a book in one’s hand is to hold a house of gold”: the idea that life is an ongoing journey of learning, whether about oneself or the world.’
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art“Nan was very proud of being Gold Rush heritage,” says Thompson, referring to her father’s arrival in Australia during the 1850s. “She would always say: ‘you’re Aboriginal, but you’re Chinese, too. And don’t forget it.’”
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art“It’s interesting to me how identity is passed down through food. And this is such a simple recipe, but it’s survived generations – right down to me.”
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian ArtWhen people watch the video, the artist hopes it resonates with them – regardless of their cooking ability. “Food and identity are inextricably linked,” Thompson adds.
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art“There’s a real history of erasure,” the artist says, pointing to the under-celebrated history of Chinese migrants here, and their Indigenous connections. “There’s been trading and intermarriage going on long before the British even arrived in Australia,” he says. “People like myself are a living manifestation of those intersections of Australian history.”
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian ArtHouse of Gold | PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Public programming at tour venues will provide broad opportunities for ‘all Australians, regardless of language, literacy, geography, age or education’ to ‘access and participate in arts and culture’, consistent with the pillars and principles of the REVIVE framework.
M&G NSW works with venues to develop public programs tailored to their audiences and needs. Thompson’s practice lends itself to rich programming opportunities and engagement with communities interested in collective workshops and making, talks and storytelling, all powerful ways to bring audiences into the gallery and to build social cohesion and community ownership of cultural spaces such as regional and public galleries.
House of Gold offers venues the opportunity to connect with the work of a high-calibre artist, and engage with nationally significant content, First Nations and Chinese histories, arts and cultures. The exhibition includes a range of contemporary themes that will appeal to broad audiences including: the connection between culture and food, the passing down of cultural wisdom, relationships between Aboriginal and Chinese communities, migrant resilience, and historical injustices, as well as concepts of identity, race, protest, sexuality and gender. The exhibition also make links with libraries, research, botanical studies, family histories and the preservation of Indigenous languages.
These themes are a great starting point for developing public programming ideas and relating them to issues, interests and histories of local communities. Some examples of public programs might be:
Chinese Culture & Identity – Workshops, classes, talks, visits
- Connect food with culture, visit market gardens, explore local Chinese supermarkets and restaurants
- Cooking Class – engage a local or renown Chinese chef or food expert
- Family recipes – share recipes passed down through families
- Make Chow Mein
- Cultural celebrations, eg. Lunar New Year
- Make connections with local Chinese temples or associations
- Chinese art and calligraphy workshop
- Explore local Chinese histories and Chinese Goldrush history
Scholarship & Research – Workshops or Talk Series
- Make connections with local libraries
- Research workshop – find out about local Chinese or Indigenous history
- View and discuss local photographic archives
- Start an exhibition themed Book Club
- Learn about Chinese proverbs
Racism & Stereotypes – Curriculum-linked Workshops, Storytelling, Panel Discussion
- Engage students in critical thinking about global perspectives
- Storytelling workshop – Share cultural differences
- Discuss the importance of diversity
- Learn about policies that have shaped our nation eg. White Australia Policy, Yellow Peril, Queensland’s Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act.
- Explore Identity with a local Indigenous Elder- complex identities, intersectional identity, immigrants
- Host a Panel discussion on the whitewashing of Indigenous history/Chinese Goldrush history, cultural erasure, discrimination, systemic racism, marginalisation, racist stereotypes
- Art & Protest – Artist talk on resistance, rebellion, institutions as power structure
- Migrant resilience – multicultural panel discussion on perseverance, cultural tenacity and resilience
- Preservation of Language – artist led talk and performance, Indigenous Bidjara language
Botanicals & Symbols – Making Workshops
- Artist or local Indigenous representative talk on native flora as a Connection to Country
- Workshop – botanical drawing or painting
- Symbolism in Indigenous art making – the use of Rarrk (First Nations cross-hatching technique)
- Floral motifs in traditional Chinese art
- Explore the symbolism of ‘gold’ – traditionally related to wealth, in the Chinese culture, also power, happiness and longevity
House of Gold | TOUR VENUES & REACH
A 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art exhibition, in partnership with Golden Dragon Museum Bendigo, supported by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global and touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW.