A culture crying out for celebration

Momentum is building for a national indigenous arts centre, writes Joyce Morgan.

Hetti Perkins acknowledges her call for the creation of a national indigenous arts institution is not a new idea. But comments by the indigenous art curator have reignited a debate that has simmered for several years.

And one advocate argues there is a prime site for such an institution in Sydney - Barangaroo.

Perkins, who is about to depart the Art Gallery of NSW as its highly regarded head of indigenous art, believes the need is self-evident. No institution exists that reflects the range and depth of contemporary indigenous culture.

''We have such an amazing and rich varied culture in Australia,'' Perkins says. ''You've got visual arts, performing, film, books, literature. [We need] some sort of key venue for bringing together all of those different strands of our culture … Our culture isn't a commodity, something on the walls for sale and hopefully in 10 years' time it will be worth three times as much.

''I think we need to go against that trend, otherwise there's not much longevity. There's an important legacy we can leave for future generations.''

But if we need such a centre, what might be in it? And how would it avoid duplicating the work of existing cultural institutions? The state galleries, the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian Museum and the National Museum of Australia all have substantial indigenous collections.

Sydney's deputy Lord Mayor, Marcelle Hoff, says the creation of such a centre is vital. She cites the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, as examples of what is possible.

''We're not looking for a place that is just great for tourists and people who are curious,'' she says. ''We need a place for Aboriginal people to visit and feel proud.''

Barangaroo could be a suitable site, although she does not favour putting it into the proposed underground cultural centre.

''If the land was retained without putting the mound there … that land would be ideal, but certainly not underground,'' she says.

The symbolism of an indigenous centre buried below ground is unacceptable, she argues.