The Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) stands in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and tangata whenua (Indigenous peoples) of Aotearoa New Zealand and all those who seek racial equality and justice.
We recognise that systemic racism extends to people of colour across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, as Australia’s border policies and exclusion of non-white bodies continues across its detention centres and beyond.
We abhor state-sanctioned violence that has occurred through the generations and resulted in inequities across all aspects of contemporary life. We see the effects in art galleries and museums, universities and other institutions where systemic racism is experienced daily. We acknowledge the cultural disruption and destructive effects on the lives of so many people resulting from colonisation and call for the redress of these historical wrongs. Australian and New Zealand art institutions – museums and art history departments – have white supremacy and colonialism at their basis. AAANZ stands for advancing structural change across the arts and opposes past, present and future violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori communities in Australia and New Zealand.
As the AAANZ we call on those in the art sector in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to actively address institutional racism particularly through hiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori and Pasifika staff in all sectors and at all levels. We encourage AAANZ members to undertake cultural safety training and to call out all forms of racism. We as the AAANZ are committed to truth-telling and championing the work of Indigenous colleagues, artists, curators, writers and students.
We recognise that Aboriginal land in Australia was never ceded or extinguished and respect the deep cultural links Indigenous people have to Country. We are committed to the establishment of a First Nations Voice to the Australian Parliament as outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and call upon federal politicians to enact constitutional change to recognise Australia’s First Peoples.
We equally recognise the unceded tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) of whanau/hapu/iwi (family/sub- tribe/tribe) over their ancestral lands in Aotearoa New Zealand. AAANZ supports demands for the recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as outlined in the recent WAI 262 Report.