The Australian Government has acquired Archie Moore's kith and kin. Commissioned by Creative Australia and curated by Ellie Buttrose, it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the La Biennale de Venezia 2024.
kith and kin is being acquired by the Australian Government to be gifted to the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane who, along with their acquisition partner Tate, in the UK, will see two of the world's leading art museums ensure its enduring legacy on the global stage.
Nick Mitzevich (NGA), Ellie Buttrose, Jodie Haydon, Adrian Collette (CEO Creative Australia), The Hon. Anthony Albanese, Archie Moore, The Hon. Tony Burke and The Hon. Susan Templeman (Special Envoy for the Arts), standing in front of Family Tree by Archie Moore currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia
In kith and kin, Moore charts his First Nations Australian connections spanning more than 2,400 generations and 65,000 years in a vast hand-drawn genealogical chart. As a memorial it confronts how the ongoing legacies of Australia's colonial history - with a focus on the overincarceration of First Nations peoples - sever familial connections. kith and kin represents the expansiveness of First Nations Australian history, whilst speaking to the universality of the human family.
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Tate's connection with kith and kin is implied by the artwork itself following maternal First Nations (Kamilaroi/Bigambul) and paternal convict (British/Scottish) lines and along a complex terrain that defines and connects Australia and the United Kingdom as nations.
The gift of kith and kin to these public art museums ensures the act of First Nations truth-telling that kith and kin forcefully and poetically presents will remain on a global platform, continuing to increase international awareness of Australia's first histories, languages and cultures and foster action for the issues facing First Nations Australians.
Following its display at the Australia Pavilion, Venice, kith and kin will be presented at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane from August 2025.
On the news of the gift and acquisition, Archie Moore said:
"I am so grateful for this generous donation that enables kith and kin to be seen both here in Australia and overseas, in the near and distant future."
Leading Indigenous scholar and curator Stephen Gilchrist notes:
"Through the unfolding of a single-family tree, Moore's work kith and kin pushes ancestral memory into the present and immerses audiences into the fullness of Indigenous time. Moving from the personal to the cosmic, it visualises Indigenous understanding of the interconnectedness of all things and all people and questions what it means to encounter the world on these terms. Honouring the life force of 2400 generations, this significant shared acquisition amplifies the power of Indigenous presence and politics globally."
Australian Government Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke MP, said:
"kith and kin is a great Australian story first exhibited in Venice, but now comes home."
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Director, Chris Saines CNZM, said:
"Encountering Archie Moore's kith and kin at the Venice Biennale was a spectacular and moving experience that resonated with the weight of history and ancestry. In its unimaginable endeavour to map a personal genealogy through more than two thousand generations, Moore has summoned up an extraordinary image of human connection through deep time. kith and kin has that rare power to still you into silence and reflection. We are profoundly grateful to be the joint custodians of this historic work and we look forward to showing the project, curated by QAGOMA's Curator of Contemporary Australian Art, Ellie Buttrose, in Brisbane from August 2025."
Queensland's Minister for the Arts, the Hon Leeanne Enoch MP, said:
"Through his award-winning work kith and kin, Queensland-based Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist Archie Moore has encapsulated tens of thousands of years of First Nations stories in a stirring and ambitious installation.
"The recognition of Archie Moore's work at this year's Venice Biennale has highlighted the powerful stories and creative talent of First Nations artists in Australia, and the country's leadership on the global contemporary art scene.
"The Queensland Government is thrilled that kith and kin will be part of the state's Art Collection, with its potent message of truth telling also to be shared with wider audiences through the joint acquisition with the Tate."
Tate Director, Maria Balshaw, said:
"Archie Moore's kith and kin is both highly personal and political, and it offers a powerful meditation on humanity's interconnections stretching back into deep time. Sharing this great work with QAGOMA also reflects the ever-stronger ties between Tate and our fellow art museums in Australia. I'm very grateful to Creative Australia and all our friends and colleagues in the region who have helped make these relationships blossom."
