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Spirits in the Ink
Exhibition | 6 June - 12 September 2026
Mulgrave Building, Cairns Art Gallery
This exhibition showcases the extensive archive of Djumbunji Press Kick Arts Fine Art Printmaking, a hub for printmaking by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Far North Queensland, that was active from 2009 to 2014. Shown alongside selected works from the Cairns Art Gallery Collection and selected loans, the works in this exhibition showcase the rich and diverse cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in the region, expressing their strong and vast cultural connection to Country.
Spirits in the Ink was first exhibited at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery in 2024, and then at Redcliffe Art Gallery in 2025 and tells the compelling story of First Nations printmaking in Far North Queensland.
From emerging artists through to leading practitioners, the artists represented in this exhibition explore traditional and contemporary visual elements in a variety of techniques and styles, expressing their unique stories through the medium of print.
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OAS Calling for Donations
A special message from our President
The 2026 OAS Forum at Burrinja Cultural Centre on 14 November is one of the major events held by the OAS this year. It is an important event, not only to celebrate Torres Strait Islander art and culture, but also to raise funds to allow the OAS to continue to operate and publish our wonderful Journal in print.
A key way of raising money is through our raffle and art auction held at the Forum Dinner. Please consider donating an item for the raffle or auction.
We are pleased to acknowledge your generosity on the night, if you wish, and any artefacts or suitable objects will be gratefully accepted. Please send images and details of your proposed donation to [email protected].
Thanking you in advance!
Jim Elmslie
President Oceanic Art Society
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Oceanic Art Speaks - Robert J Foster
Live Talk | 15 September 8pm (East Coast USA) / 16 September 2026 10am (East Coast Australia)
Online
Register to hear Robert J Foster, Professor at the University of Rochester and Western Sydney University present his latest research on Reimagining Provenance Research: Following « Primitive Art » from New Guinea to US Department Stores.
This presentation responds to recent calls in art history and museum studies to broaden the concept of provenance (e.g., Higonett 2012 ; Jones and Forbes 2025). It outlines three phases of provenance research, the last of which moves in the direction of anthropological accounts of « the social life of things » (Appadurai 1986).
It identifies the challenges and opportunities of this development through a case study of the sale of « primitive art from New Guinea » in US department stores during the 1960s. These exhibition sales, organized by St. Louis art collector Morton D. May and facilitated by prominent New York dealer Julius Carlebach, offered middle-class American shoppers an opportunity to acquire original objects of art at affordable prices. These sales also stimulated the growth of a post-WW2 art market in New Guinea, especially in economically marginal areas.
The case study focuses on the social life of one carving that travelled from the Sepik region to its current resting place at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
This presentation will not be recorded so don’t miss the live talk.
events.humanitix.com/oceanic-art-speaks-robert-j-foster
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Oceanic Art Society Forum XIV
Forum | Saturday 14 November 2026
Burrinja, Victoria, Australia
We are pleased to announce that Art and Material Culture of the Torres Strait Islands is the theme of the Oceanic Art Society’s Fourteenth Forum to be held at the Burrinja Cultural Centre on the outskirts of Melbourne on Saturday 14 November in conjunction with the opening of Billy Missi’n Wakain Thamai (northsite.org.au/exhibitions/billy-missi-wakain-thamai).
Hear from world leading scholars, curators and artists present on many aspects of the artistic practices past and present of the people in Zenadth Kes Torres Strait. All the details are available on our website (www.oceanicartsociety.org.au/event/oas-forum-xiv).
Book your tickets for our 2026 Forum to be held at Burrinja in Victoria, Australia Saturday 14 November 2026 which will be followed by a Forum dinner at the Holiday Inn Bistro in Dandenong. You can book your ticket for the Forum directly from the Burrinja Cultural Centre website (www.burrinja.org.au/whats-on/14th-oceanic-art-society-forum-2026). If you are in Melbourne, drop in to see Lesley Wengembo’s landscape exhibition.
Oceanic Art Society Forum Dinner
Saturday 14 November 2026
7:00 - 10:00 pm, Holiday Inn Bistro, Dandenong, Victoria.
Come along after the Forum and enjoy convivial conversation and share stories from the day over a two course meal (entree and main) after a free drink and nibbles on arrival.
The dinner will also feature an auction of Oceanic Art objects.
You can book your dinner on our website (events.humanitix.com/oceanic-art-society-forum-dinner).
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Opening event: Saturday 29 August, 2pm
With a special performance by West Papuan activist and performer, Koteka Wenda and friends.
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Join us to celebrate the opening of Lesley Wengembo’s ‘The Papua New Guinea Sublime: Landscape Paintings & Representations of Identity’
- an exciting new body of work shaped by lived experience, cultural memory and the enduring relationship between people and place.
🔗 in bio for more info about the exhibition.
All are welcome, light refreshments provided. See you there!
Lesley Wengembo
Koteka Wenda
painting_rmit
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