About the Art and Object collection

The Art and Object collection reflects the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural expression.

This collection has a strong connection with the work of the Institute since the early 1960s with particular strengths in late 20th-century and contemporary materials.

A wide variety of media are represented including acrylic, ochre and bark paintings, works on paper, weavings, woodcarvings, shell works and glass sculptures.

The Art and Object collection currently includes over 6000 items and continues to grow through donations and purchases.

Further information is available to:

 
Untitled (Animals and Figures) painting

Untitled (Animals and Figures) painting

The Jimmy Pike Collection

The Jimmy Pike collection offers insight into the life of a Walmajarri artist deeply connected to his country in the Great Sandy Desert.

Donated in 2016 by Pat Lowe, the artist’s wife and long-time collaborator, the collection includes over 440 individual artworks, many adapted by Desert Designs in the 1980s and 1990s into internationally renowned fashion.

Jimmy Pike collection »

The AIATSIS Possum Skin Cloak

The AIATSIS Possum Skin Cloak

The AIATSIS Possum Skin Cloak

Designed and created by Yorta Yorta, Mutti Mutti, Boon Wurrung artist Lee Darroch, the AIATSIS possum skin cloak relates the story of AIATSIS as a major national cultural institution.

This is the first time this story has been represented in a cultural form.

The cloak design features canoe forms that navigate and link the different parts of the Institute, with shared waterways depicting the flow of materials and knowledge between communities and AIATSIS.

View the online exhibition on the AIATSIS website.

View the Possum Skin cloak »