GML launches first Reconciliation Action Plan
GML Heritage is proud to announce that Reconciliation Australia has endorsed our first ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan, featuring a compelling work by First Nations artist Tony Albert on the cover.
GML has long been committed to developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of First Nations cultures, histories and heritage learning from First Nations communities.
We believe First Nations histories and heritage are at the heart of Australia’s distinctive cultural identity, diversity, and richness. We appreciate that the future of heritage in Australia is deeply embedded in an honest reckoning with the past.
We are dedicated to truth-telling and supporting First Nations communities in telling their stories of resilience, strength and survival. Our First Nations Speaker Series, developed in partnership with Museums of History NSW and the Research Centre for Deep History at ANU, has provided a platform for First Nations people to voice and share powerful stories.
GML’s first RAP marks our official journey towards reconciliation. To us, developing this Reflect RAP is a defining step towards growing stronger relationships with First Nations peoples through expanded connections and enhanced collaborative opportunities. As part of the implementation of this RAP, we will be working to strengthen our knowledge of First Nations cultures and to better support self-determination, and the rights of First Nations peoples within our sphere of influence.
Our RAP encourages everyone at GML to be part of the journey towards greater understanding, healing, and reconciliation with First Nations peoples.
We encourage you to read GML’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.
About the cover art
On the cover of our RAP is work by contemporary First Nations artist Tony Albert from his ‘You Wreck Me’ series. In this series, Tony Albert playfully and powerfully expresses some of the myriad challenges implicit in colonialism that are at the heart of Australian nationhood.
Aboriginal history and heritage are central to Australian politics, culture, and identity. Tony Albert’s work resonates with a provocation, helping us creatively imagine how we might work towards an honest reckoning with the past. He ingeniously confronts us with a different truth, asking us to reconsider the still persistent mythologies and versions of Australian history and heritage. The work motivates us to remember that telling the truth about our past matters for reconciliation, for our nation, and all our nation’s peoples.
Learn more about our RAP cover art.
Cover image:
Tony Albert
You Wreck Me #9, 2020
Printed photographs and vintage
Captain Cook ephemera on archival paper
24.5 x 24.5 cm
Courtesy of Sullivan+Strumpf
