“Visual Rhetoric in Australian Colonial Art”, a joint event with ArtsNational Tasmania.

Professor Greg Lehman, an internationally respected authority on the history and representation of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, will share his insights into visual narratives that continue to shape Australian cultural understanding.

If you wish to attend, please use the “Register” button on this page. Note that the cost per attendee is $25.

This engaging presentation will explore how early Australian colonial art drew heavily on visual traditions developed in French and British North America a century earlier. These images, often marked by naïveté and contradiction, nonetheless carry enduring influence, shaping perceptions of Aboriginal people and informing how we understand our place within the Australian landscape today.

Greg Lehman, an internationally respected authority on the history and representation of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, is a descendant of the Trawulwuy people of north-east Tasmania. He brings both scholarly depth and personal insight to his work. His distinguished career includes advanced study at Oxford, a PhD from the University of Tasmania, and major curatorial projects such as First Tasmanians at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and the award-winning touring exhibition The National Picture: The Art of Tasmania’s Black War.

This is a rare opportunity to hear from a leading voice in the field and to gain fresh perspective on the visual narratives that continue to shape Australian cultural understanding.

All are warmly encouraged to attend. Following the lecture, please join us in the foyer to continue the conversation with the speaker and enjoy viewing a selection of rare colonial engravings and lithographs.

This event is a joint presentation between The Royal Society of Tasmania and ArtsNational Hobart.