Richard Bell

On November 15 and 16, Asia Society is proud to present the work of Richard Bell. Bell is a member of the Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang communities. He works at the intersection of activism and art and is committed through his practice the politics of Aboriginal emancipation and self-determination. His mediums include painting, installation, performance, and video, through which he explores the complex artistic and political problems of Western, colonial and Indigenous art production.

Richard Bell’s program at Asia Society begins with a Viewpoints conversation between the artist and Carin Kuoni, Senior Director and Chief Curator of Vera List Center for Art and Politics at the New School, to retrace his journey from activist to artist, and how his work and his role in the Aboriginal art community shapes the discourse on Indigenous and human rights in Australia and beyond. Through his multimedia art practice, he addresses the mainstream systemic colonialism that permeates Australian society, a reality that many First Nations people around the world continue to experience. The conversation will explore a timely and central question: Can art have social impact?

The following day, Bell’s major work Embassy (2013–present) opens at Asia Society. A space for activism and dialogue in support of Aboriginal and Indigenous land rights, Embassy is activated through a series of public events. Created in 2013, it is inspired by the original Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which was pitched on the grounds of Canberra’s Parliament House in 1972 by four young activists. It has previously been presented at various locations around the world, including Tate Modern, London (2023); documenta fifteen, Kassel (2022); 20th Biennale of Sydney (2016); and Performa 15, New York (2015).

The Asia Society edition of Embassy features an afternoon of conversations joined by artists, scholars, and educators focusing on issues including Indigenous sovereignty, land rights, and arts education in Australia and North America. It is presented in conjunction with Asia Society Museum’s exhibition “Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala” and on the occasion of Native American History Month in the United States. Also on view at Asia Society are Richard Bell’s painting, Umbrella Tent Embassy (2023), and the exhibition “Approaching Abstraction: Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Across Australia.” 

Participating speakers include: 
 Joe Baker (Lenape), Executive Director and Co-founder, Lenape Center, New York / Richard Bell, artist / Mario A. Caro (Colombian Mestizo), Director of MFA Program in Studio Arts, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe / Katina Davidson (Kullilli and Yuggera), 2024–2025 Curatorial Fellow at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville / Megan Davis, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair at Harvard University and Visiting Professor Harvard Law School; Balnaves Chair in Constitutional Law, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney; and Pro Vice Chancellor Society UNSW / Candice Hopkins (Carcross/Tagish First Nation), Executive Director & Chief Curator, Forge Project, Taghkanic / J. Kēhaulani Kauanui (Kanaka Maoli), Eric and Wendy Schmidt Professor of Indigenous Studies in Anthropology and the Effron Center for the Study of America at Princeton University / Alan Michelson (Mohawk), artist, curator, and educator / Yasufumi Nakamori, Vice President of Arts and Culture and Museum Director at Asia Society.

Event information
Viewpoints lecture with Richard Bell and Carin Kuoni: Art and Post-Colonial Activism
November 15, 2024, 6:30–8:30pm
Richard Bell appears in conversation with Carin Kuoni to discuss his art and activism. Asia Society Museum will be open until 6:30pm and admission to the galleries is free on Fridays.

Embassy at Asia Society
November 16, 12:30–6pm
Conversations on Indigenous sovereignty, land rights, and arts education in Australia and North America.

Both events are followed by a reception.