Blue Art Journal

This week saw the announcement of Blue Art Journal, the first publication in Australia dedicated to critical writing about local and global First Nations art. With support from the University and its Power Institute, the journal is sure to revolutionise how we think about Indigenous art.

Blue Art Journal, under the leadership of curator and writer Erin Vink (Ngiyampaa) and artist Hayley Millar Baker (Gunditjmara), will release its inaugural content later this year, on a website designed by Gulumerridjin (Larrakia)/Wardaman and KarraJarri artist Jenna Lee.

The journal will reflect the strength and depth of First Nations peoples, communities and art, and promises to build a whole new way of thinking and writing about art. As artist Tony Albert (Girramay/Kuku Yalanji/Yidindji) has stated:

Blue Art Journal is more than a publication—it’s a movement. It creates space for us, as First Nations artists and storytellers, to speak with truth, strength and complexity. For too long our voices have been filtered through others. Blue Art Journal allows us to champion one another, challenge the status quo, and share our stories the way they were always meant to be told.

Head to our website to read all about it.

Image: A mock-up of the the first print issue of Blue Art Journal features a self-portrait by Brenda Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra), which is part of the work Naabami (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me), 2019-22.

The Power Institute is a Foundation based at the University of Sydney dedicated to understanding the visual world, through art and visual culture. We support research, publish texts, and organise public programs.

The Power Institute would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the land upon which the University of Sydney, and the Power Institute, is built. As we share our own knowledge, teaching, learning and research practices, may we also pay respect to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of Country.