East Coast Encounter

Curators: John Waldron & Dr Lisa Chandler

National tour: May 2014 - June 2017

East Coast Encounter includes the work of Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and writers to re-envisage the encounter by James Cook and his crew with Aboriginal people in 1770. Cook’s 1770 voyage has become central to narratives of Australian history and precipitated European colonisation of the country. Consequently there are aspects of this seminal journey that continue to resonate powerfully today. Instead of conveying a literal history or a primarily Eurocentric world view, East Coast Encounter imaginatively presents this shared story from diverse perspectives. It also brings historical events into the present by incorporating contributors’ reflections on their relevance today. By enabling this significant encounter to be expressed in multiple ways and from varied points of view, East Coast Encounter seeks to promote cultural dialogue and reconciliatory understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Installation images: East Coast Encounter,  Photographs by John Waldron, for Blue Sky View