Balancing Act

Our story is not one story, but many stories to share. Balancing Act features Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander works of art from the State Art Collection. In this exhibition, you will encounter a vast range of material revealing the wide scope of First Nations truth-telling and art-making practice. Radical observations about the ups and downs of life are placed side by side with expressions of relationships with Custodial Country; the locations and places artists and communities care for, according to their kin and family ties with place. Different versions of history are told, at times emotional and challenging, alongside moments of great beauty and poignancy. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists use their cultural production to investigate feelings and unpack ideas around identity in the wake of colonisation. Others use their work as a way to support and express their own grief and healing, as well as to express joy and cultural belonging. Balancing Act invites you to be surprised, delighted and challenged by the stories told through the eyes of First Nations artists and their works of art.