Bringing the ancient First Nations Australian tradition of songlines to Goan shores, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the National Museum of Australia will showcase the international touring immersive art experience Walking Through A Songline (WTAS) at the Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne.
Produced by Mosster Studio (Melbourne-based artist duo) the exhibition will be making a stop at MOG for the final leg of its Indian tour. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from March 14 to April 4, 2025, at the Pilerne-based contemporary art museum.
The India tour of WTAS is supported by the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR), Deakin University, Tata BlueScope Steel, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).
Produced by Mosster Studio (Melbourne-based artist duo) the exhibition will be making a stop at MOG for the final leg of its Indian tour.
The exhibition aims to explore the stories and knowledge of First Nations Australian communities documented through art, songs, motifs and patterns, preserved and showcased through modern technological interventions such as projection mapping.
These artworks and traditions show significant similarities to ancient documentational artworks by indigenous communities in India and Goa, like the Usgalimal petroglyphs.
“WTAS explores the link between ancient Australian First Nations knowledge and cutting-edge technology, interpreting the work of more than 100 artists. Such stories form the foundational history of the Australian continent as told by artists, custodians and traditional owners," said Paul Murphy, Australian Consul-General in Mumbai.
"Songlines explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and how to live sustainably on this planet, as Australia’s First Nations peoples have for millennia,” Murphy added.
Songlines explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and how to live sustainably on this planet, as Australia’s First Nations peoples have for millennia
Paul Murphy, Australian Consul-General in Mumbai
“The exhibition, which depicts the ancient story of the Seven Sisters from indigenous Australian culture through state-of-the-art digital technology, aligns with Museum of Goa’s role as a contemporary space dedicated to highlighting artworks and practices rooted in the cultures of individuals, communities from all walks of life,” said Dr Subodh Kerkar, founder of Museum of Goa, Pilerne.
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.
Songlines, also called dreaming tracks, are a way of holding and passing on knowledge in non-text-based societies.
This immersive digital experience visualises the Seven Sisters Songline. This Songline begins in Australia’s Western Desert and as the Seven Sisters travel through the desert and across the sky, they map the land for millennia to come.
In many cultures including Greek and Indian astrology and Australia’s First Nation people refer to the Pleiades star cluster as seven women.
For the duration of the showcase, visitors across age groups can engage in several activities to further explore the exhibition, including workshops, and a dedicated daily interaction corner will offer hands-on activities, storytelling sessions, and personalised interactions with MOG’s educators. Details of these will be publicised on the Museum’s social media account (Instagram: @museumofgoa).
For registrations and further inquiries, contact Nazneen Luth at Nazneen.Luth@dfat.gov.au or call MOG on 77220 89666.