TarraWarra Biennial to Adopt 'First Peoples' Approach

Conversation Léuli Eshrāghi on Curating the TarraWarra Biennial Rebecca Coates

TarraWarra Biennial, an exhibition platform showcasing developments in Australian contemporary art, will open its ninth edition at TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, Victoria, in March.

We Are Eagles (29 March–20 July 2025) is curated by Yorta Yorta writer and curator Kimberley Moulton and seeks to address a pivotal moment in Australian history through new commissions by 22 artists, including Nathan Beard, Nadia Hernández, and Angela Tiatia, whose practices contend with subjects related to land, memory, and regeneration.

Notably, its title refers to a 1938 speech by Aboriginal Australian pastor Douglas Nicholls calling for Aboriginal rights on the 150th anniversary of Australia’s colonisation, stating ‘we do not want chickenfeed.’

Galleries will be transformed by installations such as Shireen Taweel‘s Pilgrimage of a Hajjonaut (2024–2025), a speculative fiction project that explores celestial navigation technologies and feminist narratives in relation to migration and pilgrimage.

Pitjantjatjara artist Iluwanti Ken will showcase new work that conveys eagle stories from her community. Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall presents an installation addressing artefact repatriation.

‘Through this exhibition I am applying a First Peoples curatorial approach to a wide range of contemporary Australian artists and hope to share ways in which creative practice can re-story our connections to object and memory,’ said Moulton, whose current roles include Adjunct Curator Indigenous Art at Tate Modern in London and Senior Curator at RISING, an arts festival in Melbourne.

‘Under Moulton’s visionary curation, moving beyond traditional museum display techniques, We Are Eagles highlights the creative practices of artists that look to reclaim cultural space in innovative ways,’ added Director of TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria Lynn. —[O]

Main image: Shireen Taweel, Pilgrimage of a Hajjonaut (2024–2025) (production still). Three-channel video. Courtesy the artist and STATION, Australia. The artist acknowledges this work was filmed on the lands of Te Waipounamu, Aotearoa. Photo: Spencer Reid.