Terra Foundation brings Scholars of First Nations Art to Sydney
The 聽and the at the University of Sydney will partner with the in the three-year partnership: The Terra Foundation Visiting Professorship in First Nations American Art.
鈥淭his exciting new post will advance the University of Sydney鈥檚 ambitious approach to a truly global history of art by reinforcing and deepening dialogue between scholarship on Indigenous art and culture of the聽North American continent聽and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies in Australia,鈥� said聽, Dean of the聽.
The grant will support three 10-month-long Terra Foundation Visiting Professorships in First Nations American Art and an associated program of research at the University of Sydney.
Starting next year, the program will introduce First Nations Art of the North American continent to Australian students and initiate research on connections between Australian, Asia-Pacific, and North American art histories. The Visiting Professor will teach undergraduate and graduate students, lecture at various off-campus institutions, and organise a public conference or symposium.
鈥� exist in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan but this is the first Terra Foundation visiting professorship in the Southern Hemisphere,鈥澛爏aid Terra Foundation Executive Vice President Amy Zinck.
鈥淚t will also be the first Terra Foundation professorship dedicated to exploring questions that are vital to the understanding and recognition of First Nations Art in North America and worldwide鈥�
鈥淎t the University of Sydney, and particularly in the Department of Art History, we have over the past decade emphasised both the multiplicity and the connectedness of cultures, and begun to teach a globally aware , diverse history of art,鈥� said聽, current Chair of the聽.
鈥淎 visiting professorship in First Nations art of North America will not only further understanding of an underrepresented art form in Australia but lead to new and exciting cross-continental explorations in teaching and research, and establish a positive relationship between innovative scholars across the Pacific.鈥�
鈥淲e will seek a leading expert on First Nations Art in North America to complement and deepen our strengths in Indigenous Australian art and activate our rich museum collections of arts of the Pacific, and help us engage further in the very vibrant and salient debates about art, sovereignty, and the complex visual cultures of Indigenous peoples worldwide,鈥� said , Director of the聽.