Shedding Raj legacy: 'We actively recognise that Australian art didn’t begin with the arrival of the British in 1770'

Queensland Gallery of Modern Art; and QAGOMA Director Chris Saines. (Gallery image credit: kgbo/Wikimedia Commons 4.0; Chris Saines photo via Australian High Commission, New Delhi)

Recognizing indigenous arts and returning stolen artefacts of cultural significance are both subjects of intensifying discussion around the world. In 2021, the National Gallery of Australia returned 14 pieces that were thought to have been taken out of India illegally. In 2022, the US returned over 300 objects valued upwards of USD 4 million. Last year, the US's Metropolitan Museum of Art returned 15 antique pieces that are thought to have been smuggled out of India. To be sure, these are just some examples of those that have come to light and been resolved - there still remain unnumbered treasures in museums around the world. And, this is not just true for Indian art but much of the once-colonized world. Consider the examples of the Benin bronzes from Nigeria or the ivory and jade taken away from China's Old Summer Palace. "It’s crucial that we tackle the legacy of colonial practices and of cultural theft," Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines told Moneycontrol in an email interview. "Provenance and restitution are major issues for collecting institutions, indeed they have been in recent years for several major Australian art museums."

Saines was in India, among other things, to join a panel discussion at the 2025 India Art Fair. In the interview with Moneycontrol, he spoke about Indian art in the QAGOMA's collection, why Australia has invited Indian artists to the Asia-Pacific Triennial every edition since 1996, the commitment to supporting contemporary First Nations Australian art, and what the museum looks for when acquiring Indian art today.

You were part of a panel discussion on the 'DNA of cultural institutions' at the recently concluded India Art Fair. How do you see art museum spaces evolving in 2025, amid louder calls of restitution of stolen or appropriated art, wars in various parts of the world, climate change and resulting extreme events, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence?

As places for mindful retreat and learning, the role of art museums as social and cultural hubs to foster wellbeing and empathy is more important than ever. Contemporary art can address the big issues of the day, just as viewing historical art can give us much needed longer perspectives on the best and worst of humanity, and our capacity to build, evolve and change the world.

Provenance and restitution are major issues for collecting institutions, indeed they have been in recent years for several major Australian art museums. The good news, however, is that a number of important historical works have subsequently been repatriated to India through the Australian Federal Government. It’s crucial we tackle the legacy of colonial practices and of cultural theft, as well as ensure we adhere to the highest ethical standards when it comes to collecting, documenting and interpreting the work in our collections.

Social and environmental sustainability is also a crucial consideration right now. We are taking active steps to prepare for carbon neutrality and do everything we can to reduce our waste outputs. We’re also collaborating with institutions across the world in a concerted effort to reduce our footprints from activities that are the most carbon intensive, such as internal climate control and international shipping.

Artificial intelligence is another impossibly fast-moving field. I have no doubt artists will use aspects of this technology to create new and meaningful works, but it’s the human element, the human creative urge, that attributes by far the greatest meaning and significance to a work of art.

Is there a key Indian presence in the QAGOMA art galleries – given that Indians were settling in Australia as far back at 4000 years ago or at least since the 1800s, depending on which historical records one refers to.

There is definitely a strong presence of historical and contemporary Indian artwork in Australia’s major galleries. QAGOMA’s Asia Pacific Triennial has featured Indian artists in every edition since the second in 1996, and our curators regularly travel to the region. As an acquisitive project, the Triennial has led to us having one of the most significant collections of contemporary Indian work outside the country, with major works by the likes Bharti Kher, Shilpa Gupta, Thukral & Tagra, Sumakshi Singh, and Mayur and Tushar Vayeda. We are currently staging the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial, which features stunning paintings by young Indian artist Rithika Merchant, the exquisitely detailed paintings of Hyderabad’s Varunika Sarif, and an expansive multi-channel video work by Mumbai-based collective CAMP. We also hold works by artists from the Indian diaspora in Australia, which in this triennial features the work of Queensland-based artist Sancintya Mohini Simpson.

Are you also looking to acquire pieces here? If yes, could you tell us broadly what areas of Indian art interest you and why?

For historical works, we’re interested in pieces that reflect cross-cultural currents and influence, including around colonialism and histories of trade and exchange between Asia and Europe. These might include miniature paintings that provide context for our strong holdings of contemporary miniature paintings from India and elsewhere in the region. For contemporary art, works that investigate and contextualise relationships between contemporary and traditional practice are especially interesting to us. I have already identified some works I will be asking our curatorial team to consider.

Tell us about the Indigenous art collection at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art collection.

About 15 percent of our collection of more than 20,000 objects are works by indigenous Australian artists. The first indigenous Australian works acquired, in 1947, were by ground-breaking Central Australian watercolourist Albert Namatjira, and since then we have collected works from across the country, with an emphasis on Queensland, a state which is unique in Australia for being home to two distinct indigenous cultures – Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We have a deep commitment to supporting contemporary First Nations Australian art, particularly work by Queensland artists. Brisbane is home to a collective called ProppaNow—a cross-generational group of artists including Vernon Ah Kee, Tony Albert, Richard Bell, Megan Cope. They maintain an unwavering commitment to truth telling, exposing and addressing the historical and ongoing inequalities and injustices that continue to face many First Nations people in Australia. Equally, there is remarkable work being made by indigenous artists in the tradition of customary desert painting and paintings of country, as well as innovative sculpture, photography, video and new media works.

How do you reconcile this with earlier sidelining of indigenous art and forms of knowledge?

The art museum is a natural place to challenge the historical narratives that have marginalized this country’s first inhabitants, which are in fact the world’s oldest continuous cultures. We have strong imperatives in our collecting and exhibiting policies, and as an institution we have a Reconciliation Action Plan that allows us to make concrete, practical steps to foreground the incredibly valuable systems of First Nations knowledge that Australia is privileged to be home to. Like all major art museums in Australia, we actively recognise that Australian art didn’t begin with the arrival of the British in 1770, when the continent was declared terra nullius (belonging to no one). Artistically, that long disproved claim has been comprehensively refuted by a brilliant exhibition that recently opened in Melbourne, titled 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art.

What’s your take on Australian Indigenous Art compared with American or Indian indigenous art? Do you see interesting parallels or points of divergence?

All cultures’ specific histories and stories are so unique and complex that we need to be careful not to generalise, but I think we can learn from how other institutions engage with their cultures and knowledge systems. It’s important to have voices from these cultures telling their own stories, embedded in the museum, or contributing to their interpretation in an open collaborative process. It’s why we work closely with in-country co-curators and advisers for many projects in the Asia Pacific Triennial, our flagship contemporary art series that we’ve staged in Brisbane since 1993. This is especially important where we engage with art communities that have previously had very little exposure on the world stage.

In our 2015 Asia Pacific Triennial, we included a significant project of Indian indigenous and folk art, which had never been seen in Australia on such scale. It was a revelation for our visitors, who saw a different side to the subcontinent, one not all that well recognised in India at the time. There can be resistance in the art world to the inclusion of traditional or customary practices in contemporary art contexts, but I believe the Asia Pacific Triennial’s embrace of all these diverse dimensions of visual culture is what distinguishes the exhibition globally.