TOLEDO – Acclaimed Aboriginal art expert Wally Caruana will discuss "The Emergence of
Aboriginal Australian Art " June 6 at 6 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. This free
presentation is part of the museum’s Masters Series.Aboriginal art, or Indigenous Australian art,
traditionally has been based on ancient stories and symbols related to ancestral stories about the creation
of the world ("the Dreamtime"). Many of these stories are over 50,000 years old. Some contemporary
Aboriginal artists, particularly urban artists, have focused more explicitly on identity politics and social
issues.Caruana is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on Aboriginal Australian art.
Currently an Aboriginal Art specialist with the Michael Reid Gallery in Australia, he is also a visiting
fellow in the Department of Art History at the Australian National University and is the senior consultant
of Aboriginal Art to Sotheby’s Australia. Caruana is the author and editor of several books and catalogs on
Aboriginal art.His presentation complements two current exhibitions: Crossing Cultures: The Owen and Wagner
Collection of Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Hood Museum of Art on view through July 14, and Prints by
Australian Artists: The Bicentennial Folio, on view through July 21.Music and refreshments will be available
in the Museum Caf?© preceding Caruana’s talk from 4-6 p.m. Tickets for the pre-lecture food and one drink
are $20 and $15 for members and $20 nonmembers.
