ANU to take part in Yolngu ceremony in Arnhem land<»

The purpose of the visit is not just to officially acknowledge ours and other institutions' involvement in this practice, but to also establish new ground rules for future exhibitions so that curators and museum directors involve the Yolngu people. The Australian National University (ANU) will join 20 other cultural institutions from around the world in a special reconciliation event with the Indigenous Yolngu people this week to improve with them over the display of their artefacts and artworks. The institutions will meet with the Yolngu people on an island off the central Arnhem Land coast from 11 to 14 August. As part of the visit, the institutions will work on reaching an agreement with the community that will see them formally acknowledge where the artefacts have originated from and the stories behind them. The Makarrata, or peace making ceremony, is part of research being conducted by ANU Anthropologist Dr Louise Hamby into Yolngu works in 50 institutions around the world. "The purpose of the visit is not just to officially acknowledge ours and other institutions' involvement in this practice, but to also establish new ground rules for future exhibitions so that curators and museum directors involve the Yolngu people when exhibiting art and artefacts," Dr Hamby said. Dr Hamby, a Research Fellow with the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at ANU, said the new procedures will also ensure the stories behind the works are understood when museums are exhibiting them.