What happens when technology meets Ancient Australian First Nations’ knowledge?
The result is ‘Walking Through A Songline,’ an immersive and digital art exhibition that brings the storytelling of Australia's First Nations’ people to Goa.
Hosted at the Museum of Goa (MOG) in Pilerne, North Goa, the exhibition, was recently inaugurated by the Australian Deputy Consul General in Mumbai, Christian Jack.
The art exhibition reimagines the Seven Sisters Songline, one of Australia’s oldest indigenous narratives, through digital artistry, drawing unexpected connections to India’s own oral and artistic traditions.
Songlines, also called dreaming tracks, are a way of holding and passing on knowledge in non-text-based societies. These are millennia-old pathways of knowledge in the form of story, performance and art, that span the entire Australian continent, forming its foundational stories.
The songlines map the routes and activities of ancestral ‘creator beings’ that explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and living sustainably on the continent.
Presented by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the National Museum of Australia, and produced by the Melbourne-based Mosster Studio, the exhibition uses digital craft to take a relook at Australia's epic Seven Sisters Songline, an ancient tale of pursuit, survival of the continent's First Nations’ people and cosmic connections.
Interpreting the work of more than 100 artists, the exhibition transports visitors into the heart of Australian First Nations’ storytelling, drawing unexpected parallels with Goa's own prehistoric art, like the Usgalimal petroglyphs in Quepem.
The songlines map the routes and activities of ancestral ‘creator beings’ that explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and living sustainably on the continent.
“Indigenous art is often sidelined as ‘primitive’, when in reality, it is as contemporary as any other form of artistic expression,” said the founder director of MOG, Dr Subodh Kerkar, during the inauguration.
“This exhibition extends the spirit of Reconciliation Place in Canberra, and Australia’s efforts to celebrate its First Nations’ people,” he added.
Reconciliation Place in the Australian capital of Canberra is a public space dedicated to acknowledging the continent's indigenous history, culture and the ongoing journey of reconciliation in Australia.
At the opening, Australian Deputy Consul General, Christian Jack, highlighted the exhibition’s broader significance. “We are thrilled with the response 'Walking Through A Songline' is receiving in Goa."
"Songlines, like India’s oral traditions, are ancestral maps of knowledge, passed down through generations. The multi-sensory art exhibition showcases the power of digital storytelling in preserving one of the world’s oldest cultures and it has been an honour to share this experience with the people of Goa,” he continued.
Beyond the digital installation, the exhibition features workshops, storytelling sessions and interactive activities, ensuring engagement beyond the screen.
Beyond the digital installation, the exhibition features workshops, storytelling sessions and interactive activities, ensuring engagement beyond the screen.
The India tour of 'Walking Through A Songline' has been organised in tandem with the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR), Deakin University, Tata BlueScope Steel and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).
The 'Walking Through A Songline' exhibition at MOG in Pilerne represents the last leg of the exhibition's India tour and will be open for public viewing till April 4, 2025.