Recently we had the pleasure of inviting back to AIATSIS our dear friend, Professor Greg Lehman to deliver the 2023 Wentworth Lecture; examining how colonial art subdued the national history.
Professor Lehman is a descendant of the Trawulwuy people of northeast Tasmania and is a well-known Tasmanian art historian, curator, essayist and commentator on Indigenous identity and place. He has an intimate relationship with the island’s Indigenous culture and his creative works explore the impact of colonisation on Tasmania’s social fabric.
Prior to appointment in January 2020 as Pro Vice Chancellor, Aboriginal Leadership at the University of Tasmania, Professor Lehman was a McKenzie Research Fellow at the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne.
He has a past association with AIATSIS – in 2011 he was appointed as an Indigenous Visiting Research Fellow with the institute. He later worked in several research roles at the Australian National University’s National Centre for Indigenous Studies and at Deakin University’s Institute for Koori Education.
In 2012, Professor Lehman was awarded a Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Scholarship to complete a Masters in the History of Art and Visual Cultures at Balliol College, University of Oxford. He received the 2016 AAANZ award for ‘Best Art Writing by an Indigenous Australian’ for his essay Benjamin Duterrau: the Art of Conciliation. And in 2017 he completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania’s Academy of the Arts, submitting his thesis ‘Regarding the Savage’ – an exploration of the understanding of Aboriginal culture, history, and identity through visual history.
AIATSIS were so thrilled to have Professor Lehman back to present the Wentworth Lecture 2023, and if you missed his lecture, you can watch the recording here.
If you would like to present your research at a future Wentworth Lecture, we would love to hear from you, please reach out to our communication team, details are below.
The Wentworth Lecture is held in honour of the Honourable W C Wentworth AO. It was established in 1978 to pay tribute to Mr Wentworth's contribution to Indigenous studies in Australia and as a means to encourage all Australians to gain a better understanding of issues that go to the heart of our development as a nation. Past orators include Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM, Dr Megan Davis and Justice The Hon. Michael Kirby AC, CMG among others.
Media enquiries: Commsmedia@aiatsis.gov.au or SMS to 0476 843 522