Into the Art of Australia Travel Tips - Cruises Near Me, Deals & Cruise Travel Agents Near Me

Scientists speculate that Australian Aborigines have occupied the Australian continent for over 60,000 years, possibly more than 100,000, making it the oldest living culture in the world. Yet in the last few years, it is their beautiful and original artwork that has shed an international light on the Aboriginal culture.

Early Aboriginal art was etched and stained into the walls of caves and stony outcrops, and in the open expanses of desert, elaborate images were traced in the sand to describe “Dreamtime” – all that is known and all that is understood. Today, these sacred images are exquisitely interpreted into prints and carvings found in various areas throughout Australia.

Over the last decade, Aboriginal art has gained a wider international audience and is now represented in major public and private collections both in Australia and the United States. Since Sotheby’s first auction of the work in 1997, the elite auction house has sold over $40 million worth of original Aboriginal art. It is this progress that has led art critics such as Robert Hughes to call it “the most important movement today.”

But Aboriginal art is more than something to hang on the wall. Because it emerges from a living culture, the artwork offers a window into history for visitors to Australia. Like the peoples who created it, Aboriginal art reaches into every corner of the Australian continent. Part of its allure to collectors is that this art is not just a single style or a narrow range of designs. With a virtually inexhaustible resource of Dreamtime imagery, distinctive patterns, colors and materials define the artwork’s origins by tribe and geographic region. Many of the same images, which still carry rich cultural importance, find their way into contemporary art.

From the earliest cave drawings to present-day creations, artwork from Australia’s “Top End,” in the Northern Territory, reflects the area’s lush tropical landscapes and geological structures. The Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, on the harbor in Darwin, offers continuous displays of indigenous art, including bark painting and carved totem figures. Kakadu National Park is treasured for its 20,000-year old rock art along with its remarkable natural features.

In contrast, from the vast desert landscape of Central Australia, Aboriginal artwork carries the visual legacy of sand and stone. Sand drawings have evolved into enormously appealing images created with dot patterns. Desert creatures are often represented by a footprint, as would be seen in the sand, instead of the skeletal outline similar to cave drawings more common in the Top End.

For Central Australian artwork and culture, Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) have, for tens of thousands of years, been crossroads where Aboriginal peoples gathered. In Alice Springs, the Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre offers a hands-on introduction to the ancient Arrernte culture. And at Uluru, famous as the world’s largest monolith, visitors can learn more on heritage tours that explore rock art at the ancient Mutitjulu Waterhole. Nearby, the beautifully designed Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre combines art, soundscapes, videos, collages and interactive displays.

Although 60 to 70 percent of Aboriginal art originates in Australia’s Northern Territory, visitors can experience the Aboriginal culture throughout Australia. In Queensland, north of Cairns, Tjapukai Cultural Park offers award-winning theatrical interpretations that include music, dance and storytelling. And in Sydney, we recommend the Gavala Aboriginal Art and Cultural Education Centre in Darling Harbour. Exhibits include native bush foods and medicines, a cultural theatre with Aboriginal storytellers and traditional dancing, didgeridoo playing and painting.

Wherever you visit in Australia, the Aboriginal people are happy to share their culture and art with you. After all, they’ve been preparing for your arrival for thousands of years.