For nearly 200 years, the Australian Museum has been at the forefront of Australian scientific research, collection, and education. Australia’s first public museum was established in Sydney in 1827 and today the Museum has over 21 million cultural and scientific objects in its collection as it continues its roles in research and education.
Commencing in 2021, The Balnaves Foundation is partnering with the Australian Museum to deliver three First Nations exhibitions, with the Foundation’s support ensuring free entry for the public.
Unfinished Business is currently showing at the Australian Museum from November 2025 until April 2026. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional and urban communities across Australia. The exhibition is a thought-provoking recognition of the ongoing impact of colonisation, and a call for meaningful social and systemic change. Each participant determined how their visual story would be shared, using their own words and imagery.
The body of work was created by a Sydney-based human rights documentarian Belinda Mason OAM and her sons Dieter and Liam Knierim, utilising the 3D-effect of lenticular photography to demonstrate the diversity of disability. Alongside this, the Australian Museum carefully designed an inclusive exhibition space, with multiple sensory elements including, tactile panels, audio descriptions, online resources and Auslan content.
Barka: The Forgotten River opened from February until July 2023 focusing on the stories, culture and people who have Barka (the Darling River) running in their veins. Developed by Uncle Badger Bates and Justine Muller with the Barkandji community, the exhibition used multidisciplinary works, created by Bates and Muller, alongside objects from the Museum’s First Nations collection, to advocate for the health and future of Barka. To find out more about Barka: The Forgotten River, visit the Australian Museum’s site here.
Unsettled was a ground-breaking First Nations-led and informed exhibition recognising Indigenous responses to the legacy of colonisation. Curated by Laura McBride, Director, First Nations and Dr Mariko Smith, Manager, First Nations Collections & Engagement; Unsettled opened in 2021 as the first project supported by the Foundation. Drawing on extensive First Nations community consultation Unsettled uncovered the untold histories behind this nation’s foundation story, through the voices of First Nations peoples, revealing hidden stories of devastation, survival and the fight for recognition.
First Nations Elders and contemporary artists contributed to the exhibition with lived experiences and large-scale artworks, shown alongside long-hidden historical documents and objects from the Australian Museum’s collections. At the 2021 IMAGinE Awards, Unsettled was recognised for the breadth of curatorial research and the quality, scale and creativity of the exhibition. Laura McBride won the ACHAA Award for Excellence by an Aboriginal Curator and Unsettled was named Winner for Exhibition Project, Large Museums.
To learn more about Unsettled, including a 360-degree interactive tour and in-depth information on the objects, artworks and documents that were on display, visit the Australian Museum here.