In close collaboration with the Buku-Larŋgay Mulka Centre, the Art Gallery of New South Wales presents Yolŋu Power: the art of Yirrkala. The exhibition marks a historic moment as the first Australian art exhibition to be held in the Ainsworth Family Gallery in the new Naala Badu building. It also signals a powerful beginning for Maud Page's tenure as director of the Gallery.

"Yolŋu artists have used art as a tool of diplomacy, education, and resistance for nearly a century," said Ms Page.

"It felt right to open this new chapter by foregrounding one of the oldest and most sophisticated systems of knowledge and cultural expression in the world."

Curated by Cara Pinchbeck, the Gallery's Head of First Nations, the exhibition spans nearly a hundred years of Yolŋu cultural production, from early bark paintings and message sticks to contemporary video works and immersive installations by The Mulka Project.

Artists from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre and The Mulka Project were present at the preview to discuss their work and the living power it embodies. Senior artists reflected on the enduring presence of miny'tji (sacred clan designs), which are more than visual motifs—they are the physical manifestation of songlines, law, and land.

A leader of the Madarrpa Clan, Djambawa Marawili AM spoke about Yolŋu art as a means of cultural assertion and political activism: "When we need strength to fight against political attacks, all we could do was paint those patterns and say, 'This is our pattern, this is our story, this is our document.' We never wrote it in a book, we showed it through the patterns and designs. In our paintings, we show that we own these places."

Highlights of the exhibition include the Yirrkala Church Panels (1962) and the Ṉäku Dhäruk (Yirrkala Bark Petitions) (1963) that document Yolŋu creation stories. These were the first petition documents received by Parliament in an Aboriginal language, which eventually led to a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr Marawili said "my message is clear: we need to make harmony and peace".

Yolŋu Power is not simply an exhibition to be viewed—it is one to be listened to. It is a call to walk alongside, to slow down, and to learn. It is a powerful act of cultural leadership.

Yolŋu Power: the art of Yirrkala is showing at the Art Gallery of NSW from 21st June to 6th October 2025. MobTix are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.