Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion arrives at Melbourne Museum's Bunjilaka Aboriginal Culture Centre after being created for Bendigo Art Gallery. The exhibition shines a light on 36 of Australia's leading First Nations creatives, tracing an Indigenous design movement that has evolved into a national phenomenon.
Witness the beauty and story of 24 hand-crafted garments by Indigenous artists and designers, created across the nation from the inner city to remote desert art centres. The diversity of these garments reflects the strength and breadth of the rapidly expanding Indigenous fashion and textile industry in this country.
The exhibition is the first major survey of contemporary textiles and fashion by First Nations artists in Australia. Piinpi features artists including Grace Lillian Lee, Maree Clarke, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Lisa Waup x Verner, Hopevale Arts and Culture Centre, Maara Collective, Lore, Aarli Fashion, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists and Lyn-Al Young (who was commissioned to create five new pieces for the exhibition).
This remarkable collection is curated by Bendigo Art Gallery First Nations curator and Kaantju woman Shonae Hobson, who says the exhibition will be unlike anything else audiences have seen.
“Throughout the gallery, we present beautifully crafted fabrics and wearable fashion items, each expressing a connection to culture and to Country through very bold and exciting ways – distinct from anything else being produced around the world.”
The exhibition title, Piinpi, is a Kanichi Thampanyu (East Cape York) term referring to changes in a landscape that happen across time and space.
“For Indigenous peoples, our knowledge of the land and seasons is culturally important as it signifies the abundance of certain bush foods, when we can travel, and when a good time to collect traditional materials for ceremony and dance,” says Hobson.
Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion will run from May 28 until November 17, 2024. Children and some concession holders can see the exhibition for free, and tickets are priced at $10 for seniors and $15 for adults. The price of entry to this exhibition is included in general museum entry and tickets are available here.