24 JANUARY 2008
The shores of Lake Burley Griffin will come alive on Australia Day in celebration of Indigenous arts and culture with a free Family Festival Day at the National Museum of Australia from 10am to 3pm, Saturday January 26, 2008.
Now in his sixth decade in the entertainment industry, veteran musician Jimmy Little has become a living legend. Jimmy performing with members of iconic Australian band GANGajang is just one feature of a full program of music, dance, storytelling and performances by accomplished Indigenous artists.
The Family Festival Day will be hosted by emerging Australian actor Luke Carroll, known for his recent television roles on The Alice and Home and Away. Luke hosted the Deadlys, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, sport, entertainment and community awards, in 2007 and has been nominated in the category of 'male actor of the year' for the 2008 awards.
Visitors can relax in the National Museum's lakeside amphitheatre, watch artists at work in the Garden of Australian Dreams, make friends with native Australian wildlife at the Taronga Zoomobile or learn about Indigenous food in a bush tucker tour. Other activities include face painting, craft, pony rides, boomerang throwing workshops and traditional Indigenous games.
The Family Festival Day coincides with Papunya Painting: Out of the Desert, a free exhibition showcasing the work of Aboriginal artists and their supporters in the early days of the Papunya Tula art movement, between 1974 and 1981. The exhibition reveals the perpetuation of a living culture and the people behind the stories. Consultation and collaboration with Papunya community elders and artists has greatly contributed to the exhibition which is on display at the National Museum of Australia until Sunday 3 February 2008.
For more information about the National Museum of Australia Family Festival Day 2008 visit www.nma.gov.au
For interviews, images and more information please contact
Dennis Grant on 02 6208 5351, 0409 916 481; Caroline Vero on 02
6208 5338, 0438 620 710 or media@nma.gov.au