3 March - 19 December 2025

Generations of Australian Indigenous and Pacific peoples have worked to preserve and celebrate cultural continuity through making, sharing stories and documenting the everyday objects and practices of Country. These storied collections contain and convey cultural, social, spiritual and economic significance.
Over the past seventy-five years thousands of objects have made their way into the Anthropology Museum’s custodianship. Since the 1950s Indigenous makers, storytellers and cultural knowledge holders have connected with their material culture in the collection, to re-imagine cultural continuity for future generations.
The Museum has been a place for critical discourse and this exhibition celebrates the collaborative relationships forged between generations of Indigenous and non-indigenous producers and scholars. Reflecting on these collaborations, we acknowledge the many artists and researchers who continue to share valuable insights into the dynamism of living cultures with deep connections to country.
Banner image: Makers unrecorded, shield, early to mid 20th century, Pomio district, East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea, donated by Sir Raphael Cilento 1950. Teaser image: Makers unrecorded, attributed to Biwat people, bird carving, before 1950, attributed to Yuat River, East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea.