Artist Dean Cross (Worimi) presents a new multi-media work for Nolan50, responding to Nolan’s designs for the ballets, The Rite of Spring, 1963, and The Display, 1964.

Anniversaries are a time of celebration, and deep reflection, as Cross explains: ‘My interest in Nolan is borne from a desire to unpack his pictorial ambivalence to Aboriginal people; something that seems at odds to his personal affections toward concepts of Country and belonging.

If a non-Aboriginal artist were to present the same designs today, they would be considered racist and inappropriate. A fertile case study for the changing attitudes in contemporary thinking and expectations. My works will deploy parallel modes of making – one drawn from Nolan and Helpmann’s processes’ and another drawn from Country and my connection to it as a Worimi man.’

Dean Cross will also present a solo exhibition of new work in the Nolan Gallery, Canberra Museum + Gallery from 10 Oct 2026 until 27 June 2027.

This project is supported by Creative Australia, the Australian Government’s Arts Funding and Advisory Body.