CANBERRA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national art museum will take indigenous art to Asia, including China, as part of a major touring exhibition.
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) announced a six-year, 4 million Australian dollars (2.83 million U.S. dollars) partnership with Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers that would include launching the Indigenous Australian Masterpieces exhibition in 2020.
The exhibition, which will tell the story of the evolution of indigenous art from rare 1800s pieces through to modern watercolors and contemporary work, will travel to Singapore and multiple cities in China.
Wesfarmers was ranked as the 198th biggest company in the world and biggest in Australia as of March 2017 with 2016 revenues of 48 billion U.S. dollars.
The conglomerate has been a supporter of the NGA since 2009 and established the gallery's Indigenous Arts Leadership and Fellowship program.
"We are grateful and honored to grow our partnership with Wesfarmers who have shown that generosity and leadership in the arts can make a major difference in the cultural lives of Australians," NGA Director Nick Mitzevich said in a media release.
In addition to supporting the touring exhibition, the funding will also go towards commissioning a major new work of art that will be gifted to the NGA, creating a new digital platform that promotes indigenous art and year-round events in Australia to showcase indigenous art.
"Wesfarmers is very pleased to be deepening its long-term commitment with the National Gallery of Australia so we can continue to promote and celebrate the culture of our First Peoples and take their stories to the world," Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott said.
