A Decade of Carrolup

In this exhibition we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the landmark repatriation of the Carrolup child artist’s drawings in The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork from Colgate University, New York to Nyungar Boodja in 2013.

Since the inaugural Koolark Koort Koorliny [Heart Coming Home] exhibition in August 2013 – when the entire Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork was exhibited for the very first time – we are committed to create a permanent and accessible home for this unique collection. The power of these artworks to be an effective catalyst of positive change forms the foundation for the development of the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling.

We explore the impact of the return of this remarkable collection of artworks by Nyungar and other Aboriginal children of the Stolen Generations detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s. For the first time we extend their story by bringing together other Carrolup artworks from notable Western Australian public collections.

Alongside these works, we also showcase a selection of additional Carrolup artworks that have been acquired over the last decade, especially since 2020 when plans for the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling emerged as the new permanent home for The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork.