It was a landmark day for Aboriginal Australia when the new Michael C Rockefeller Wing of the Oceanic Art Galleries was recently officially opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York.

Artists and dancers from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala were invited to attend and perform at the dawn ceremony on the steps of The Met.

Milminyina Dhamarrandji, a senior woman and celebrated artist, alongside Yinimala Gumana who was the lead dancer and spokesperson for the group including Wurrandan Murrawili, Barayuwa Mununggurr, Dhamarrarr Munuŋgurr and Bulmirri Yunupiŋu, represented their community and Australia in great style.

Recognition of the importance of artworks from this community was evident through the display of two works of the celebrated artist, the late Noŋgirrŋa Marawili (1939 - 2023). Her art stands alongside other contemporary works from the Pacific and Oceania, contextualizing the exhibited collections of Michael C Rockefeller that he acquired in the early and mid-twentieth century. The fact that Marawili's series was originally purchased by a collector in Europe, who then gifted to The Met, emphasises the global reach and influence of the art of the Yolŋu people.

Nongirrna Warawili's Baratjala series (2022 - 2023) is comprised of natural pigments and recycled printer toner on eucalyptus bark. Dave Wickens, Coordinator of Buku, explained the importance of her innovation and leadership in that she repurposed printer toner to achieve the brilliant magenta effect we can all enjoy today.

Marawili has depicted the activity of the ancestral serpent Mundukuḻ who spits forth the lightning bolts that fill the skies during the tropical seasons of her homelands. She has also depicted the salt-water spray yurr'yunna on the rocks, in her clan country where she spent much of her childhood.

It has been the Asia Society in New York with a history of exhibiting Australian Aboriginal art to high praise. Most recently this was the exhibition Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala that was the talk of New York; it was immensely popular. This was followed by the panel discussion Cross Currents: Collecting Australian Indigenous Art with Respect and Resonance that included the renowned Yolŋu artist Mayatili Marika, leading curator Kelli Cole, distinguished collectors Steve Martin and John Wilkerson, art market reporter Eileen Kinsella, and D'Lan Contemporary Founder + Director, D'Lan Davidson.

The Asia Society engagement with Aboriginal Australian art began in the lead-up to the 1989 exhibition "Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal Australia". This was developed by a team from the South Australian Museum, headed by the renowned anthropologist Dr Peter Sutton. The impetus for this development came from the Australian Consul General in New York, John Taylor who raised the idea with the Director of the Asia Society Galleries at the time, Andrew Pekarik, who then approached the South Australian Museum with the idea.

The staff of the Asia Society Galleries were responsible for the conception of this exhibition, and the production of a landmark book that marks the exhibition. The staff of the South Australia Museum realised this conception and the contents of the publication.

It can safely be said that New York, with its plethora of galleries, exhibitions, auctions, investments and high public interest, is an important world centre for Aboriginal art. The opening of the Michael C Rockefeller wing allows New Yorkers and visitors to dive deep into the art and culture of Oceania and Aboriginal Australia in a profound way.

Dr Victoria Grieves Williams is Warraimaay from the midnorth coast of NSW and an historian.