The Art Gallery of Swan Hill will open three significant exhibitions celebrating contemporary First Nations storytelling, creativity and cultural connection on Friday, May 29, marking an important evening in the gallery's 2026 exhibition program.
The opening night will launch JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live, Gulgawarnigu | Thinking of Someone. Something, and Big Place — three exhibitions that bring together powerful works from across Australia, connecting stories from Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Islands and South Australia to Swan Hill.
JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is the first major solo retrospective exhibition of the late Josh Muir, following his passing in 2022.
A Yorta Yorta, Gunditjmara and Barkindji artist born and raised on Wadawurrung Country in Ballarat, Muir developed a distinctive artistic language that fused street art, pop aesthetics and digital innovation with deeply personal and cultural storytelling.
Co-curated by his partner Shanaya Sheridan, his mother Justine Berg and the curatorial team at Koorie Heritage Trust, the exhibition traces Muir's artistic journey through painting, digital prints on aluminium, neon works, animated video and augmented reality experiences.
Across a prolific but tragically short career, Muir's work explored themes of cultural identity, the legacies of colonisation, mental health, addiction, grief and healing.
His vibrant geometric style and fearless storytelling established him as one of Australia's most important contemporary First Nations artists.
Originally presented by Koorie Heritage Trust in 2024, the exhibition is now touring galleries across Victoria.
Also opening is Gulgawarnigu | Thinking of Someone. Something, an impressive exhibition of digital portraits and landscapes created by young Indigenous artists from Ieramugadu (Roebourne), Western Australia.
Developed through the Digital Lab in Roebourne in partnership with NEO-Learning and presented by Big hART, the exhibition showcases vibrant works that reflect Country, identity and community through digital media.
Thomas Roeburn by RJ Parker. (Image: Art Gallery of Swan Hill)
What began as part of an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery has grown into a celebrated touring project, bringing regional and remote voices to audiences across Australia.
Digital art workshops will also be held during the exhibition period, offering local participants the opportunity to explore the same creative tools used by the Roebourne artists.
Completing the opening night is Big Place, a new exhibition drawn from the Art Gallery of Swan Hill's permanent collection.
Featuring First Nations works from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Islands and South Australia, the exhibition creates connections between diverse artistic practices and cultural storytelling traditions from across the continent, bringing these stories into dialogue with Swan Hill and the broader Murray region.
Together, the three exhibitions offer visitors a rich and layered exploration of First Nations perspectives, identity, memory and connection to place.
Art Gallery director Ian Tully said the exhibitions demonstrate the power of art to connect communities across vast distances.
"This opening night brings together extraordinary First Nations voices from across Australia - from the deeply personal and groundbreaking works of Josh Muir to the digital storytelling of young Roebourne artists, and the important cultural narratives held within our own permanent collection," he said.
"These exhibitions highlight the strength, innovation and diversity of contemporary First Nations art, while creating meaningful connections between communities, Country and culture here in Swan Hill."
Opening Night will take place on Friday the 29th May 2026, at Art Gallery of Swan Hill.
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