HAYLEY MILLAR BAKER:  ‘THERE WE WERE ALL IN ONE PLACE’ CATALOGUE AWARDED HIGHLY COMMENDED IN AAANZ AWAPAS

The catalogue for Hayley Millar Baker’s early career survey, There we were all in one place, has been awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the AAANZ Arts Writing and Publishing Awards (AWAPAs) which recognise the best in arts writing and research across Australia and New Zealand. With excerpts by Stella Rosa McDonald, Talia Smith, Hetti Perkins and Vicki Couzens, it was nominated in the ‘Best Small Exhibition Catalogue’ category.

“The publication is notable for the way in which the catalogue essays, which offer both critical and personal perspectives, illuminate the meaning of these complex photographic works which retell and reimagine Australian history from an Aboriginal (particularly Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung) point of view. The essays convey the particular power of the medium of photography to First Nations artists in interrogating the past; as well as the importance of oral traditions of storytelling, reflections of lived experience, and intergenerational bonds within the creative process. The simple and elegant book design allowed the black and white photographs to be viewed to best effect, and direction towards the exhibition’s educational material, which complemented the key themes of the catalogue, was a useful addition.” – AAANZ