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In a short statement released today (16 April), the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) has formally adopted Aboriginal names for its two buildings.
Sydney Modern – previously known as the North Building – has been given the Aboriginal name Naala Badu, meaning “seeing waters” in the Sydney language.
The original Gallery building, with its 19th century sandstone façade that faces the Domain parklands and the city, has also been given an Aboriginal name – Naala Nura meaning “seeing Country”.
In the statement, Director Michael Brand said the new names ‘evoke a powerful sense of place – this place of extraordinary physical beauty with its complex, contested histories. We intend to carry these names with the deepest respect’.
The organisation itself will remain unchanged as the Art Gallery of New South Wales – the same name by which it has been known for 153 years.
Brand added: ‘These new names for our buildings draw on both their architecture and their location, on Gadigal Country. Naala Badu references both the adjacent waters of Sydney Harbour and those that have always sustained communities throughout the state. Naala Nura acknowledges both Indigenous Country in general and the golden sandstone of the Art Gallery’s original building, hewn from local Country.’
The importance of consultation
The organisation faced some mild criticism when it named its buildings as the North and South Buildings within its campus, shortly after Sydney Modern opened its doors.
At the time, the Gallery announced its ambition to adopt Aboriginal names. But, considering the project had been many years in the making, it was widely considered a missed opportunity that the consultation – and launch of these respectful names – had not happened at the time of Sydney Modern’s opening, and when the global art world had its eyes on Sydney.
Of note, the specially commissioned entrance garden – created Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones and linking the space between the two buildings – was not ready for the Sydney Modern’s opening in November 2022. No explanation was given as to why, other than that the work would be revealed mid-2023. To date, it is still not been opened to the public, and remains behind barricades.
Read: It’s a great building, but…
Brand said: ‘The Art Gallery engaged extensively with key Aboriginal stakeholders and communities – including the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council – about receiving Aboriginal names for its buildings. This process was supported by the Art Gallery’s Board of Trustees, Indigenous Advisory Group and Indigenous Art Gallery staff.’
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