Gapu Murnuk Art Exhibit at the Australian Embassy

For the Yolngo people, Gapu Murnuk is the coming together of freshwater and saltwater, the muddy and the clean

AAFSW cordially invites you to celebrate the fall with a guided tour of an interesting Indigenous art exhibit from the island of Milingimbi in the remote Northern coast of Australia on Monday, October 23 at 11:00 a.m. at the Embassy of Australia.

Aboriginal people have inhabited the island of Milingimbi for over 40,000 years, and the island is a central point for cross-cultural contact and research. Art holds a high place in society.

Henry Skerritt, curator of the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia, said that the “Gapu Murnuk” Exhibit at the Australian Embassy is an example of people both preserving their culture and sharing it with others: “These communities used art to keep them strong and to show their art to the outside world.”
Gapu Murnuk is celebrated for its wealth and abundance in Yolngu ceremonies, and often represents the interconnected relationship between Yirritja and Dehuwa, the two complementary categories that structure every element in the universe.

RSVP to office@aafsw.org by Friday, October 20. There is no cost for this program. The beautiful Australian Embassy building is located at 1601 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC.
For those driving, there is a Colonial Parking Inc. on the same block at 1625 Massachusetts Ave. The closest metro stations are Dupont Circle and Farragut North.

We look forward to seeing you.

Sheila Switzer
AAFSW Program Chair