In 1972 a group of Aboriginal activists planted an umbrella in the lawn across from the Australian Parliament in Canberra, proclaiming it the “Aboriginal Tent Embassy.” Acting in response to new legislation announced by then Prime Minister William McMahon that severely curtailed land rights for Indigenous Australians, the establishment of this Aboriginal Tent Embassy would become one of the longest continual protests for Indigenous land rights in the world. Revisiting archival footage from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Still We Rise reflects deeply on the inciting moment and referencing ongoing activism for Indigenous rights and sovereignty. (John Harvey/Torres Strait Islander, 2022, DCP, 57 minutes)

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art.

Image caption: Still from John Harvey’s Still We Rise, courtesy of Brown Cabs