| Media release 20 May 2026, Sydney
Acclaimed artist Tony Albert and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) today launch the Aboriginalia Appeal to celebrate the opening of his major solo exhibition – Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir.
Throughout his career, artist Tony Albert has sparked conversations about Australian history and identity by reclaiming ‘Aboriginalia’ – kitsch objects that feature stereotypical portrayals of Aboriginal peoples and cultures.
Tony has been collecting Aboriginalia since childhood. As a young Aboriginal boy growing up surrounded by these objects, collecting them was a way of trying to understand the world around him and his place within it.
But from ashtrays to tea towels to boomerangs, these artefacts tell a complicated story that reflects the commodification and misrepresentation of Aboriginal cultures into decorations, souvenirs, and mascots. While some came from remarkable Aboriginal entrepreneurs such as Bill Onus and Jimmy Pike, who strategically entered the tourist and souvenir markets on their own terms, most were produced from non-Indigenous perspectives and reduced First Nations people to stereotypes.
For many of us, whilst we might not have bought or made these objects, we’ve been living with them ever since: their presence lingering in our collective cultural unconscious as relics in dusty cabinets, op-shops, and vintage stores.
The Appeal provides a simple pathway to donate found, inherited or collected items that feature inauthentic representations of Aboriginal peoples and cultures created without their consent. The public are invited to bring Aboriginalia to a collection point at MCA Australia. By donating, they join Tony Albert in his ongoing mission to remove and repurpose these objects and celebrate Indigenous survival, truth-telling, and cultural pride.
The Aboriginalia Appeal launches alongside MCA Australia’s major exhibition Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir – a vibrant, optimistic celebration of Indigenous survival and cultural pride. Bringing together Albert’s work across sculpture, photography, installation, painting, and assemblage alongside major new commissions, the exhibition demonstrates how even the most difficult materials can be used to help us understand the past – and shape the future.
‘I’ve been collecting Aboriginalia since I was a child. And if I had my way, I’d love to take the whole lot of it out of circulation. This isn’t about guilt; it’s about what we do next,’ says Albert. ‘It’s about taking these objects and turning them into something that celebrates our survival and our vibrancy as the world’s oldest living culture.’
Suzanne Cotter, Director of MCA Australia, says: ‘Tony Albert’s work has always been about the power of the image to both harm and heal. Not a Souvenir is a radical reimagining of Australia’s complex histories. Most of all it is a joyful and deeply optimistic exhibition. The Appeal is an invitation for all Australians to play an active role in truth-telling – moving these objects from a place of private discomfort into a public space of creativity and cultural vitality.’
Get Involved
The MCA invites the public to bring Aboriginalia to the Museum during the exhibition period.
- Collection point: A dedicated drop-off station will be located in the MCA.
- The future of the objects: The objects will be passed on to artist Tony Albert, who will decide how they are used and transformed.
- Archive: Donors will be invited to share where the object came from and what their relationship to it is, to form a powerful social archive and a companion narrative to the physical material. This will be done by asking them to email a photograph of the object and write its story when donating.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir
When: 21 May – 19 October 2026
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Circular Quay
Tickets: tix.mca.com.au |
