Shining a light on First Nations design, NGV Senior Curator Myles Russell-Cook speaks with Dr Russell Kennedy about First Nations knowledge systems in the context of design anthropology.

Speakers

Dr Russell Kennedy is an academic and practitioner of both communication design and filmmaking (drama and documentary). He is the Academic Head of Screen and Design at Deakin University and the Co-Director of Design Mind, Deakin’s International Design and Innovation platform. Russell’s research is positioned within the fields of communication design, national identity design and design advocacy. His research has a particular focus on the representation of Indigenous culture in professional design practice. In 2015 he was awarded a PhD from Swinburne University with his thesis titled, ‘Designing with Indigenous Knowledge Protocols for Respectful and Authentic Cross-cultural Representation in Communication Design Practice’, leading to co-authorship of the award winning Australian and International Indigenous Design Charters.

Myles Russell-Cook is Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Myles’s passion is for First Nations contemporary art. He has published extensively on art, design and fashion, and curated a number of exhibitions at the NGV. Myles derives much personal and professional influence and inspiration from his maternal Aboriginal heritage in Western Victoria with connections into Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands.