The ‘Art. Knowledge. Data.’ Symposium is a co-located event with the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2025. It will explore the complex and dynamic relationships between Indigenous art, cultural collections, and digital data. Drawing on insights from anthropology, art history, Indigenous knowledge systems and data science, the event will consider how best to protect, preserve, access, share and enliven Indigenous data through digital means.
Discussions will focus on the diverse types of knowledge embedded in cultural objects and how these intersect with principles of Indigenous data governance and sovereignty. Participants will examine strategies for advocating for Indigenous knowledge rights in museum and gallery collections and consider the ethical and practical challenges associated with digitisation and data sharing.
The Symposium will also address critical concerns such as the protection of culturally restricted information, the retention of copyright by Indigenous artists, the payment of appropriate copyright fees, and the need for museums to open their collections to communities in culturally appropriate ways, guided by respectful and inclusive protocols. The importance of recognising and upholding Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights will be a central focus.
This event forms part of the Living Legacies International Research Project (CNRS) and the Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities Project (Indigenous Data Network, University of Melbourne), which is supported by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC).
Sponsored by:
Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities Project 2021-2028 (ARDC)
CNRS International Research Project 2025–2029 (Lesc CNRS–Université Paris Nanterre)
In partnership with:
The University of Melbourne
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris
With collaborators:
Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
Milingimbi Art and Culture
