Exhibition celebrates Indigenous history and culture through fashion

The latest exhibition at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland is a celebration of Indigenous history, culture and art through fashion.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion was an exciting exhibition created by Bendigo Art Gallery.

“We are very pleased to be able to show this wonderful collection and to be the first Queensland venue for this exhibition,” Cr Williams said.

“Piinpi has already toured nationally to Canberra’s National Museum of Australia and internationally to the Australian Embassy in Paris, so it is really exciting to welcome it to Redlands Coast.

“This dynamic exhibition of contemporary fashion and textiles is something we don’t often see in a gallery setting but is sure to be of interest to a wide audience.

“It also aligns with Redland Art Gallery’s commitment to supporting and representing contemporary and Indigenous artists and providing opportunities for emerging artists.”

The exhibition brings together a selection of garments and textiles by First Nations designers and artists from around Australia.

Bendigo Art Gallery’s First Nations curator Shonae Hobson said many of the garments selected for the exhibition were an expression of Country and contemporary Indigenous culture.

“Through the use of natural and recycled materials, traditional weaving techniques and hand-painted prints, First Nations artists and designers are expressing their culture and connection to Country in very exciting and bold ways – distinct from anything else being produced around the world – and this is something worth celebrating,” Ms Hobson said.

Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion will be at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland until Sunday 30 April 2023.

There will be an exhibition floor talk and morning tea on Sunday 5 March from 10am­ – 11am.

More information, including how to register for the floor talk, is available on the Redland Art Gallery website.