Connecting Indigenous community photographies: a transnational case study (ARC Discovery Project administered by Swinburne University of Technology) (2021–2024)
Abstract:
The project aims to conduct the first transnational comparison of Indigenous community-controlled photography,
exploring Indigenous peoples¿ ways of seeing and documenting their worlds. The project seeks to significantly
advance Australian and global understanding of Indigenous vernacular photography through investigating formerly
unexplored private collections of images created by Indigenous photographers during the mid 20th Century in four
communities across three countries. One of the outcomes of the project is a nuanced visual history that cannot be
excavated from other sources. The benefits of this project include public exhibitions, a book, symposiums, and a
scholarly anthology that encourages the public¿s connection with the past.