This program is appropriate for children 5 years old and above. 

Join us for an interactive painting program for the whole family, featuring a hands-on workshop and artist demonstration that explores the materiality of bark painting from Yirrkala. Drawn from techniques used for thousands of years and materials sustainably harvested from the gaḏayka (eucalyptus tetrodonta) forests of northeast Arnhem Land in Australia, this workshop will allow participants an opportunity to delve into the process of ochre painting on bark. 

Visiting Yolŋu artists will demonstrate how they make paint brushes of human hair and grind ochres to create natural pigments. Participants will gain perspective on this unique approach to painting that’s been passed on through generations of leading artists. We will also learn about the importance of these contemporary artists becoming custodians of the patterns and designs displayed in works on view in Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala.

This program is presented in conjunction with Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala, on view at Asia Society Museum September 17, 2024 - January 5, 2025. 

Maḏayin is organized by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia in partnership with Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre.

The exhibition is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Australian  Government, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Mellon Foundation, Creative Australia, Australian Capital Equity Pty Limited | Kerry Stokes Collection, Fondation Opale, the Jefferson Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Crozier Fine Arts.
The presentation at Asia Society is generously funded by our lead sponsors News Corp and Pratt Foundation, with additional support from George and Mary Dee Hicks, D'Lan Contemporary, the National Endowment for the Arts, and others.