Associate Professor Diana Young

Associate Professor in Museum Anthr

School of Social Science

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

djbyoung@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 51210

Overview

I am a social and cultural anthropologist specialising in material, visual and digital cultures including the anthropology of art. I have a continuing research interest and publication track record in the materiality of colours.

I have an undergraduate degree in Architecture, a Masters degree in Anthropology of Art from University College London and a PhD in Social Anthropology from University College London where I was part of the Material Culture group in the Department of Anthropology. My doctoral research was on the role of colours and the senses among Anangu Pitjanjatjara Yankunytjatjara in central Australia. I won an ESRC Post Doctoral Fellowship and a Post Doctoral fellowship at ANU before becoming the Anthropology Museum Director at UQ for 8 years. I am currently Director of the Museum Studies Masters Program at UQ.

My research interests include the anthropology of art and consumption practices, landscape and ecology, clothing, film and photography, historical anthropology, design anthropology. In museum studies my interest is broad and includes photographing collections for digital purposes, exhibition design, research through exhibition curation as public anthropology, the process of decolonizing museums, and in re-inventing ethnographic museums for the 21st century. I welcome students for higher degree research supervision in any of these subject areas.

My ARC Discovery (2013-2016) A desire for things concerns the relationship of money, art markets, consumption practices and art making among Indigenous artists working in central Australia.

I have curated 18 exhibitions where I sought to promote the work of women. These exhibitions include Art on a String, Threaded objects from Central Australia and Arnhem Land with Louise Hamby for Object, the Australian Centre of Craft and Design (Visions funded tour of Australia 2001-2006), a Retropsective of Nyukana Baker's work at the JamFactory (2009). My curatorial work for the UQ Anthropology Museum including exhibtions; In the Red-on the Vibrancy of things; Written on the Body curated with Judy Watson; Solomon Islands Re-enchantment and the Colonial Shadow with a curatorium. I commissioned the exhibitions, Gapuwiyak Calling- Phone made media from Arnhem Land developed with Miyarrka Media, Wild Australia-Meston's Wild Australia show 1892-1893 from Michael Aird, Manada Mapara and Paul Memmott, and Musical Landscapes of Lihir from Kirsty Gillespie and the Lihir development corporation, Papua New Guinea.

I am the first woman to direct the UQ Anthropology Museum where I sought to promote the work of women and to feminize the collection structure and content. The museum aquired more than 80 named works by women during my time as director. I created a new research infra structure for the museum that includes a dedicated 240m square gallery and a new global best practice collection store. I led the creation of a new online digital catalogue for the museum with innovative object imaging. More than 60,000 people visited the UQAM’s new teaching, research and engagement facilities, and raised more than AUS$1.1 million for the museum. I initiated a gallery program to show the museum's collection that included collaborative exhibitions derived from research in the museum’s collection. I am expert at successfully profiling academic research for public engagement. These projects aim for inclusivity and an inter-cultural understanding that promote ever widening networks which assist in the continuing process of decolonising the museum.

Research Interests

Colour as Material, Digital and Visual Culture.
I am influential in establishing the contemporary research of colour in anthropology. My work centres on the role of colour as a concept, and colours as substances, in social and cultural life. This research is centred on visual, digital and material culture using fieldwork and draws on linguistics, cognitive science, architecture, archaeology, ecological studies, contemporary art theory and museum collections.
Western Desert Art Histories
My interest is in the development of the art histories of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands since the establishment of the mission at Ernabella (now Pukatja) in South Australia 1937. Overall this work is a contribution to reassessing Australia’s colonial history and the creativity of Aboriginal women artists who gained autonomy and an expansion of themselves through art practices. I have curated public exhibitions (1998 'Warka Iritii munu Kuwari Kutu/ Work from the past and the present 50 years of Ernabella Arts'; 2001 'Art on a string' ; 2009, 'Nyukana Baker. A Retrospective') and catalogues on this topic. This research includes fieldwork and archival study - both textual and photographic.
Consumption Practices in Central Australia.
This project was funded by an ARC Discovery ( 2013-Dec 2016) which researched the neglected history of consumption after colonisation among Australian Indigenous peoples. The research based on long term fieldwork. Findings from this recently completed research are in press.
Public Anthropology through Curatorial practice and the future of the ethnographic museum
This research examines the role of so-called ethnographic museums now. I have collaborated in the curation of 17 public exhibitions in many venues in Australia including at UQ. I have developed collaborative research in museums with the aim of generating innovative exhibitions, using little seen objects combined with contemporary academic theory, to engage wide audiences.

Research Impacts

As an influential curator of anthropology, I am at the forefront of object centred teaching and learning for university and school students. I directed the creation of a new research and teaching infrastructure for the UQ Anthropology Museum and transformed it into a public institution with loans to many state galleries and museums and to local projects. See the online catalogue at http://catalogue.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/ and exhibtions at http://anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/exhibitions/. These digital sites have been visited by people in 157 different countries globally (Google analytics June 2017).

Key Exhibitions

2016 Director of curation Solomon Islands; Re enchantment and the colonial shadow, UQ Anthropology Museum. http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/solomon-islands

2015 commissioned Wild Australia. Meston’s Wild Australia show 1892-1893 curated by Michael Aird and Mandana Mapar, research Paul Memmott UQ Anthropology Museum; http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/wild-australia. Toured to Grafton Regional Gallery 2016.

2014 written on the body commissioned and co curated with Judy Watson UQ Anthropology Museum; http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/written-on-the-body

2013 Musical Landscapes of Lihir, commissioned, developed, director of curation with Kirsty Gillespie and the Lihir Development Project, New Ireland province Papua New Guinea, UQ Anthropology Museum; http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/musical-landscapes-of-lihir

2012 In the red on the vibrancy of things director/curator UQ Anthropology Museum, commissioned work Fiona Foley, Miyarrka media; http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/in-the-red-on-the-vibrancy-of-things

2012 What do objects want? director/curator UQ Anthropology Museum; http://www.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/what-do-objects-want and on line exhibtion; https://catalogue.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/search/?q=what+do+objects+want.

2009 Nyukana Baker; A retrospective, curator at the Jam Factory Adelaide for SALA (South Australia Living Artists festival). Australia Council funded.

2001-2005 co curated Art on a String. Threaded objects from the Western Desert and Arnhem Land, Object centre of Australian craft and design touring show (venues included Object Gallery Sydney, Museum of Victoria, Bathurst regional gallery, NSW, Araluen cultural centre, Alice Springs, Tandanya cultural centre, Adelaide). Australia Council funded.

1998 consultant curator for Ernabella Arts Inc., ‘Warka irititja munu kwari kutu. Work from the past and the present a celebration of 50 years of Ernabella Arts,’ Tandanya Cultural Centre Adelaide

Qualifications

PhD Socio Anthropology, University College London
MA Anthropology of Art, University College London

Publications

Journal Article: What do museum objects want? Re‐thinking photographic conventions in ethnographic museums

Young, Diana J. B. (2022). What do museum objects want? Re‐thinking photographic conventions in ethnographic museums. Visual Anthropology Review, 38 (1), 60-84. doi: 10.1111/var.12265
Journal Article: In the red: substances and materials in the Australian Western Desert

Young, Diana (2020). In the red: substances and materials in the Australian Western Desert. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 26 (2), 269-283. doi: 10.1111/1467-9655.13248
Other Outputs: On some street ecologies

Young, Diana (2019). On some street ecologies. Berlin, Germany: CARMAH Humboldt University.

View all Publications

Grants

Preservation needs assessment of University of Queensland Anthropology Museum photographic collection

(2017–2018) National Library of Australia
Operationalising research collections in archaeological science and museum studies

(2015–2016) UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
Significance Assessment of the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum Photographic Collection

(2015–2016) National Library of Australia

View all Grants

Supervision

Creativity, practices, and place: The (re)creation of a transnational subculture

(2021) Doctor Philosophy
Threadbare: the Bhutanese textile industry. Contemporary innovation in Bhutanese weaving and its translation to market

Doctor Philosophy
Digital Practices in a South Korean County

Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Publications

Book

Rematerializing colour: from concept to substance

Diana Young ed. (2018). Rematerializing colour: from concept to substance. Canon Pyon, United Kingdom: Sean Kingston Publishing.
Solomon Islands: re-enchantment and the colonial shadow

Young, Diana (2017). Solomon Islands: re-enchantment and the colonial shadow. Brisbane, Australia: Anthropology Museum, The University of Queensland.
Strong women strong painting strong culture

Diana Young ed. (2014). Strong women strong painting strong culture. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Art on a string: Aboriginal threaded objects from the Central Desert and Arnhem Land

Hamby, Louise and Young, Diana (2001). Art on a string: Aboriginal threaded objects from the Central Desert and Arnhem Land. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Object-Australian Centre for Craft and Design, Australian National University.

Book Chapter

The light is looking at us

Young, Diana J.B . (2019). The light is looking at us. James Turrell - night life. (pp. 53-63) edited by Rebecca Mutch. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: QAGOMA.
Color

Young, Diana (2018). Color. International encyclopedia of anthropology. (pp. 330-360) edited by Hilary Callan. New Jersey, United States: John Wiley and Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2210
Colour as the edge of the body

Young, Diana (2018). Colour as the edge of the body. Rematerializing colour: from concept to substance. (pp. 145-164) edited by Diana Young. Wantage, United Kingdom: Sean Kingston Publishing.
Colour palettes and beauty

Young, Diana J. B. (2018). Colour palettes and beauty. Anthropology and Beauty: From Aesthetics to Creativity. (pp. 148-166) edited by Stephanie Bunn. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315681566
Introduction

Young, Diana (2018). Introduction. Rematerializing colour: from concept to substance. (pp. 1-21) edited by Diana Young. Wantage, United Kingdom: Sean Kingston Publishing.
Coloring Cars: customising motor vehicles in the east of the Australian Western Desert

Young, Diana (2017). Coloring Cars: customising motor vehicles in the east of the Australian Western Desert. Design anthropology: object cultures in transition. (pp. 147-159) edited by Alison Clarke. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Introduction

Young, Diana (2017). Introduction. Solomon Islands: re-enchantment and the colonial shadow. (pp. 1-7) Brisbane, Australia: Anthropology Museum, The University of Queensland.
Introduction

Young, Diana (2015). Introduction. Wild Australia. Meston's Wild Australia 1892-93. (pp. 2-3) edited by Michael Aird, Mandana Mapar and Paul Memmott. Brisbane, Australia: Anthropology Museum, The University of Queensland.
Colouring cars: Customising motor vehicles in the East of the Australian Western Desert

Young, Diana (2011). Colouring cars: Customising motor vehicles in the East of the Australian Western Desert. Design anthropology: Object culture in the 21st century. (pp. 117-129) edited by Alison J. Clark. Wien, Austria ; New York, U.S.A.: Springer.
Dingo scalping and the frontier economy in the north west of South Australia

Young, Diana (2010). Dingo scalping and the frontier economy in the north west of South Australia. Indigenous participation in Australian economies. (pp. 91-107) edited by Ian Keen. Australia: ANU E-Press.
Dressing the body in the Western Desert, Australia

Young, Diana (2010). Dressing the body in the Western Desert, Australia. Berg encyclopedia of world dress and fashion. (pp. 37-41) edited by Joanne Eicher. Oxford, United Kingdom: Berg. doi: 10.2752/BEWDF/EDch7007
The colours of things

Young, Diana (2006). The colours of things. The handbook of material culture. (pp. 173-185) edited by Christopher Tilley, Webb Keane, Susanne Kuechler, Mike Rowlands and Patricia Spyer. London: Sage Publications.
The life and death of cars. Private cars on the Pitjantjatjara Lands, South Australia

Young, Diana (2001). The life and death of cars. Private cars on the Pitjantjatjara Lands, South Australia. Car cultures. (pp. 35-59) edited by Daniel Miller. London: Berg Publishers.
Punu metaphors and markets- wood carving in the Ernabella area

Young, Diana (1998). Punu metaphors and markets- wood carving in the Ernabella area. Warka iritita munu Kuwari kutu. Work from the past and the present: a celebration of Fifty years of Ernabella Arts. (pp. 38-43) Ernabella, SA, Australia: Ernabella Arts .

Journal Article

What do museum objects want? Re‐thinking photographic conventions in ethnographic museums

Young, Diana J. B. (2022). What do museum objects want? Re‐thinking photographic conventions in ethnographic museums. Visual Anthropology Review, 38 (1), 60-84. doi: 10.1111/var.12265
In the red: substances and materials in the Australian Western Desert

Young, Diana (2020). In the red: substances and materials in the Australian Western Desert. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 26 (2), 269-283. doi: 10.1111/1467-9655.13248
Winifred Hilliard and the cultural brokerage of the Ernabella craft room

Young, Diana J. B. (2017). Winifred Hilliard and the cultural brokerage of the Ernabella craft room. Aboriginal History, 41, 71-94. doi: 10.22459/AH.41.2017.04
Focus on the exhibition

Young, Diana (2017). Focus on the exhibition. Oceanic Arts Society, 22 (1), 7-8.
Mutable things: colours as material practice in the north west of South Australia

Young, Diana (2011). Mutable things: colours as material practice in the north west of South Australia. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 17 (2), 356-376. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01684.x
Australia: William Blandowski's illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia by AllenHarry (Ed.) Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 2010, x + 176pp., ISBN 978 0 85575 713 7

Young, Diana (2011). Australia: William Blandowski's illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia by AllenHarry (Ed.) Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 2010, x + 176pp., ISBN 978 0 85575 713 7. The Australian Journal of Indigneous Education, 40, 125-126. doi: 10.1017/S1326011100000181
On materiality - a review of two Australian exhibitions

Young, Diana (2006). On materiality - a review of two Australian exhibitions. Museum Anthropology, 29 (2), 133-139. doi: 10.1525/mua.2006.29.2.133
Water as country in the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands South Australia

Young, Diana (2006). Water as country in the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands South Australia. World Views: Environment, Culture and Religion, 10 (2), 239-259. doi: 10.1163/156853506777965839
The smell of greenness: cultural synaesthesia in the Western Desert

Young, Diana (2005). The smell of greenness: cultural synaesthesia in the Western Desert. Etnofoor, 18 (1), 61-77.
Review of Theories, technologies, instrumentalities of color: anthropological and historiographic perspectives by Barbara Saunders & Jaap van Brakel

Young, Diana (2004). Review of Theories, technologies, instrumentalities of color: anthropological and historiographic perspectives by Barbara Saunders & Jaap van Brakel. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 10 (3), 707-708. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2004.00208.x
The material value of colour: The estate agent's tale

Young, Diana (2004). The material value of colour: The estate agent's tale. Home Cultures, 1 (1), 5-22. doi: 10.2752/174063104778053572

Other Outputs

On some street ecologies

Young, Diana (2019). On some street ecologies. Berlin, Germany: CARMAH Humboldt University.
The Anthropologist

Young, Diana (2018). The Anthropologist. Making Faces - A Jewellery Playbook. (pp. 33-33) Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Manon van Kouswijk.
On revealing and concealing

Young, Diana (2017). On revealing and concealing. Songlines: tracking the seven sisters. (pp. 72-75) edited by Margo Neale. Canberra, ACT, Australia: National Museum of Australia Press.
Solomon Islands: re-enchantment and the colonial shadow

Young, Diana (2016). Solomon Islands: re-enchantment and the colonial shadow. Brisbane, Australia:
In the red

Young, Diana and Hardjo, Camella (2016). In the red. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.14264/uql.2017.569
Snake relations

Young, Diana (2015). Snake relations. Brisbane, Australia:
Strong Women Strong Painting Strong Culture. Indigenous women's art of the central and western deserts from the Simms Dickson Collection and the UQ Anthropology Museum Collection

Young, Diana (2014). Strong Women Strong Painting Strong Culture. Indigenous women's art of the central and western deserts from the Simms Dickson Collection and the UQ Anthropology Museum Collection. Brisbane, QLD, Australia:
The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum 5 year report July 1 2009- June 30 2014

Young, Diana (2014). The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum 5 year report July 1 2009- June 30 2014.
Written on the body

Watson, Judy and Young, Diana (2014). Written on the body. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Written on the body and Gapuwiyak Calling opening event and curator talks

Young, Diana, Willcock, Jane and Strelan, Charla (2014). Written on the body and Gapuwiyak Calling opening event and curator talks. UQ Anthropology Museum:
How did we get here?

Young, Diana (2014). How did we get here?. Strong Women Strong Painting Strong Culture. (pp. 7-12) edited by Diana Young. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
The domestication of things

Young, Diana (2014). The domestication of things. Written on the body. (pp. 1-3) edited by Diana Young. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Written on the body

Young, Diana (2014). Written on the body. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Women with clever hands past and present

Hamby, Louise and Young, Diana (2013). Women with clever hands past and present. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Musical landscapes of Lihir

Gillespie, Kirsty, Lihir Cultural Heritage Association and Young, Diana (2013). Musical landscapes of Lihir. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Anthropology Museum Digital Collection

Young, Diana and Hardjo, Camella (2013). Anthropology Museum Digital Collection. The University of Queensland. (Collection) doi: 10.14264/uql.2017.25
Hector Burton Tjupuru. My Country

Young, Diana (2013). Hector Burton Tjupuru. My Country. NEWv: selected recent acquisitions 2011-2013. (pp. 34-35) edited by Ian Were. Brisbane, Australia: UQ Art Museum.
What do objects want?

Young, Diana (2012). What do objects want?. Brisbane, QLD, Australia:
In the red, on the vibrancy of things

Young, Diana (2012). In the red, on the vibrancy of things. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri; rock holes and country near the Olgas’

Young, Diana (2012). Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri; rock holes and country near the Olgas’. New, v. 2: selected recent acquisitions, 2009-2011. (pp. 86-86) edited by Ian Were. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Art Museum.
The social life of things: UQ centenary exhibition

Young, Diana (2010). The social life of things: UQ centenary exhibition. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Double Up: Pasifika Treasure in the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum

Young, Diana (2010). Double Up: Pasifika Treasure in the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum. St Lucia, Qld, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Double up: Pasifika treasure in The University of Queensland, Anthropology Museum

Young, Diana and Willcock, Jane (2010). Double up: Pasifika treasure in The University of Queensland, Anthropology Museum. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Nyukana Baker: Retrospective

Young, Diana (2009). Nyukana Baker: Retrospective. Adelaide, Australia: JamFactory Gallery.
Art on a String. Aboriginal Threaded objects from the central desert and Arnhem Land

Hamby, Louise and Young, Diana (2001). Art on a String. Aboriginal Threaded objects from the central desert and Arnhem Land. Sydney, Australia: Object-Australian Centre for Craft and Design.
Warka Irititja munu Kuwari kutu. Work from the past and the present. A celebration of Fifty Years of Ernabella Arts

Young, Diana and Ernabella Arts artists (1998). Warka Irititja munu Kuwari kutu. Work from the past and the present. A celebration of Fifty Years of Ernabella Arts. Tandanya Cultural centre Adelaide:

Grants (Administered at UQ)

Preservation needs assessment of University of Queensland Anthropology Museum photographic collection

(2017–2018) National Library of Australia
Operationalising research collections in archaeological science and museum studies

(2015–2016) UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
Significance Assessment of the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum Photographic Collection

(2015–2016) National Library of Australia
A desire for things: an investigation of the inter-relations of art making, consumption and exchange among Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara.

(2013–2016) ARC Discovery Projects
A social science e-research hub for data management, analysis and dissemination in material and visual culture

(2012) UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
The Mobile Museum: Digital 3D objects and participatory design in the Pacific

(2011–2013) UQ Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund
Transforming Qualitative Research: Creating, preserving and re-using digital data

(2010) UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Threadbare: the Bhutanese textile industry. Contemporary innovation in Bhutanese weaving and its translation to market

Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
- Dr Adam Bowles
Digital Practices in a South Korean County

Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
- Associate Professor Adrian Athique
How culture tunes technology and technology tunes cultures of healthcare: An ethnographic study of rural healthcare and the design and use of artificial intelligent (Ai) technologies

Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
- Dr Jenny Munro

Completed Supervision

Creativity, practices, and place: The (re)creation of a transnational subculture

(2021) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
- Dr Rebecca Olive
Garamut (Slit-drums) Among the Kayan: A case study of the historical and contemporary significance of garamut among the Kayan people of Madang, Papua New Guinea

(2015) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
- Associate Professor Nick Bainton

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Material and visual culture, Anthropology of design, Collecting cultural material in SE Queensland, Art History - Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjara, Indigenous Australian art history, museums, inter cultural colour concepts

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

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