Artworks licensed for NITV’s Aboriginal arts game show with a twist
February 4, 2020
Premiering on NITV in February 2020, the Art Gallery of NSW’s deadly gallery event Faboriginal will bring a new form of game show based on Aboriginal art into living rooms across the country.
The Copyright Agency worked closely with the gallery and production company Noble Savage Pictures to license 59 artworks for the program. They represent a broad cross-section of the gallery’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection, spanning remote and urban artists from the 1940s to now and showcasing a variety of mediums from painting to sculpture to photography.
Hosted and co-created by comedian, actor and writer Steven Oliver, Faboriginal is a fun mix of trivia, discussion and comedy featuring two teams of celebrity contestants battling it out to answer questions about Aboriginal art.
What is raark? How do you make an eel trap? Which mountain ranges appear most often in Albert Namatjira’s paintings? These are just some of the fascinating questions which will be put to the panel, which includes actors Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt and Ursula Yovich; singer/songwriter Emma Donovan; journalist and radio broadcaster Daniel Browning; and actor/director/comedian Elaine Crombie.
“Faboriginal is a wonderful way for us to give Indigenous art the profile it deserves and to show its importance within an artistic, cultural and societal context,” Oliver said.
The eight-part series, based on the Gallery’s hugely successful live event of the same name, was filmed in front of a live audience at the Art Gallery of NSW and features an entirely Indigenous cast.
Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Cara Pinchbeck said: “We are thrilled to be able to profile the works by the extraordinary artists represented in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection in such a fun way.”
NITV’s Channel Manager Tanya Orman added: “Art is a central pillar of Indigenous Australian culture, and Faboriginal brings some of the best creations from the Art Gallery of NSW’s remarkable collection to our screens along with a whole heap of fun and laughs. We’re really looking forward to introducing Faboriginal to our audience in February.”
Test and increase your knowledge of Aboriginal art and culture when Faboriginal premieres on NITV at 8.30pm, Thursday 13 February 2020.
Faboriginal set featuring Minyi Puru, 2008 by Jakayu Biljabu © Jakayu Biljabu/Copyright Agency, 2019. Photo courtesy of Noble Savage.
Faboriginal is a Noble Savage Pictures production for NITV. Principal production investment from NITV, in association with the Art Gallery of NSW.