25 February - 4 March

Opening Event: Wed 4 March, 6pm-8pm

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As part of International Women's Day, this exhibition presents work by Indigenous women artists from Australia, Latin America, India, Fiji, and Peru, working across painting, ceramics, sculpture, and music. 

Together, the works reflect on strength as something practiced daily, through care, resistance, cultural knowledge, and connection to place. They speak to honour and belonging not as fixed ideas, but as ongoing processes shaped across generations. 

 

Curatorial Statement

The curatorial concept for this exhibition developed during the lead-up to the 2023 Voice Referendum and the Mapuche Struggle for the Recognition of its Nation. I reflected on the alignment of my two homes, cultures, and countries - Australia and Chile. Unfortunately, 2023 was a profoundly challenging and discouraging year for First Nations peoples in both Australia and Chile, marked by significant electoral setbacks as national referendums to grant them greater constitutional recognition and rights were defeated.

The emotional turmoil leading up to and following the "No" vote and "Against" vote, respectively, fuelled my creative process. I pondered what might have happened if the proposal to amend the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice had passed. Chile remains one of only two countries in Latin America (along with Uruguay) that does not constitutionally recognise its Indigenous populations.
The catalyst to curate “Women of Strength & Honour” came from listening to an exclusive interview with Elisa Loncon on SBS Spanish. She visited Australia to launch her latest book and connect with indigenous Australian scholars. She shared childhood memories of growing up in Mapuche culture, her defence of languages, her time as president of Chile's constituent convention, and the recognition of Australian Indigenous peoples in the Constitution.

The acts of resistance in Chile and its diaspora influence my current body of work, inspired by my 2019 sojourn to Chile and Peru. Since the end of Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship in 1990, Chile has faced ongoing human rights issues and the most significant civil unrest in recent decades. Over 1.2 million people took part in the 2019 protests, which led to a plebiscite and the appointment of the first Mapuche woman and academic, Elisa Loncon, to lead the drafting of Chile’s new constitution. My Latin American identity was further strengthened during a 2025 six-week exploration of Mapuche culture and artisans.

I am inspired by the canon of Latin artists, and my goal as an artist is to foster empathy and critical thinking. Living in Australia, I see myself as a Latin American artist, and I hope my work encourages the community to celebrate humanity and social justice. My commitment to my roots is to keep creating artworks that highlight resilience in the face of adversity and reveal the cultural bonds that unite us.

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      - Miriam Cabello