Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels, national touring exhibition, has recently been acquired by the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.
Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels is the eighth in Australian Design Centre’s Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft series.
The national touring exhibition, which celebrates the cultural life of respected Tasmanian artist, Lola Greeno, has recently been acquired by the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.
"This beautiful work by one of Australia's prominent artists will now have a permanent home in Tasmania. QVMAG Director, Richard Mulvaney is to be congratulated for making this acquisition possible," says Australian Design Centre Director, Lisa Cahill.
The first Indigenous Living Treasure, Lola Greeno is a shell worker from Launceston whose career spans 30 years.
Richard Mulvaney says "Shell necklace work is considered one of the most important elements of Tasmanian Aboriginal women’s culture.
"The necklaces continue to be highly prized and labour-intensive. Processing them is also time-consuming as they have to be collected whilst alive so the shell lustre is retained.
"Then there is the extensive creative effort involved in stringing them together with natural fibre.
"We are absolutely delighted to be able to acquire this very important collection currently touring Australia. Thanks also to the Australian Design Centre who have agreed to donate the bespoke necklace display cases once the tour ends.
The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery has a comprehensive collection of Tasmanian Aboriginal necklaces dating back to the 1830s. Collectors recognised their value and trading was common.
The exhibition has been seen by thousands of people across Australia at 16 different venues and will continue to tour until mid-2018 with many rating it as the highest calibre exhibition and excellent in content and presentation. A beautiful award winning catalogue accompanies the exhibition along with a film that documents Lola Greeno’s practice.
The Australian Design Centre’s national touring program is supported by the Commonwealth Government’s Visions of Australia touring program.
Read more about Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels
Lola Greeno with QVMAG Exhibitions & Conservation Manager, Andrew Johnson and Australian Design Centre Director, Lisa Cahill at the announcement of the acquisition of Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels on Friday 1 July 2016.