Awakening Histories reveals deep ties between Australian First Nations Peoples and Indonesian Makassans
Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Gunyaŋara Makassan's 2025. Monash University Collection, Naarm/Melbourne. Image courtesy of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Gadigal/Sydney. Photo: David Suyasa
Monash University Museum of Art will next month debut the landmark Indigenous exhibition Awakening Histories, exploring the deep connections between the First Nations Peoples of Northern Australia and the Makassan seafarers of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The exhibition brings together 27 artists and collectives from Australia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines, including seven new commissions, alongside significant works from national and international collections.
MUMA Director, Dr Rebecca Coates, said the exhibition honours a shared history of migration, trade and cultural exchange that spans more than a millennium.
“Foregrounding Indigenous sovereignty and ocean-centred storytelling, Awakening Histories offers a powerful counter-narrative to Eurocentric notions of ‘discovery’ and colonisation,” Dr Coates said.
“This exhibition reveals a powerful truth; that First Nations Peoples have long histories of connection and exchange across the seas, challenging colonial versions of Australia’s past.”
Developed in collaboration with a group of nine researchers and curators from across Australia and Indonesia, Awakening Histories extends the ground-breaking work of the Australian Research Council Laureate project Global Encounters and First Nations Peoples: 1000 Years of Australian History led by Professor Lynette Russell AM.
Dr Coates said previous exhibitions on the Makassan subject have foregrounded Australian First Nations perspectives, given the strength and proclivity of artmaking around this subject.
“This is the first exhibition to look at Makassan exchange from equal perspectives; looking out, and looking in,” Dr Coates said.
“This is one of the learnings or aspects of the Global Encounters research that we have developed the exhibition around.”
Professor Russell said the exhibition reclaims these shared histories and invites attendees to reflect on their significance through the voices of contemporary artists.
“By foregrounding First Nations perspectives alongside those from South Sulawesi and beyond, Awakening Histories challenges colonial narratives and amplifies the deep cultural and diplomatic ties that existed across the Arafura Sea long before European contact,” Professor Russell said.
“This exhibition is a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness; past, present and future.”
Makassar State University lecturer and founder of the MAREGE Institute, Nurabdiansyah, said the exhibition revitalises the important global history of exchange and will help attendees learn more about the role of key cultural elements such as tamarind and palm wine.
“We initiated the MAREGE Institute, named for Marege, which is what the trepangers called northern Australia, to honour the seafarers as historical and cultural figures, and it’s exciting to see this research contributing to a prestigious exhibition,” Nurabdiansyah said.
Awakening Histories maps enduring reciprocal relationships across the Arafura Sea and beyond.
Through painting, drawing, video, textiles and ceramics, the exhibition explores stories of memory, connection and sovereignty.
Anchored in the historic trepang (sea cucumber) trade, this commodity connects the continent of Australia into a wider trade network, rethinking connections and exchange — of plants, people, language and culture.
Key works by John Bulunbulun, Nancy McDinny, Mathaman Marika, Mr N. Wunuŋmurra and Ms D. Yunupiŋu examine material and ceremonial practices surrounding the Makassan Prau, the knife dance, the tamarind tree and batik textiles — symbols of exchange, resilience and cultural renewal.
These stories are reimagined and extended by a new generation of artists including Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Aziziah Diah Aprilya, Cian Dayrit, Karrabing Film Collective, Jenna Lee, Wilda Yanti Salam, The Mulka Project and Bulthirrirri Wunuŋmurra.
Featuring in the exhibition are six new commissions by Abdullah, Aprilya, Dayrit, Guan Wei Lee, and Darrell Sibosado, alongside powerful contributions from artists such as Gunybi Ganambarr, Dhambit Munuŋgurr and Margaret Rarru Garrawurra, whose works span land, water, sky and lore.
For more information, visit the MUMA website.