A creative collaboration between the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and leading Australian contemporary artist Tony Albert, lit up the iconic brutalist facade for Canberra’s 2019 Enlighten Festival. Albert’s animated illumination, I AM VISIBLE, draws attention to the issues Indigenous people face and their representation in a national conversation.

The NGA’s facade included projections of proud young Aboriginal men, each emblazoned with red targets on their chests, along with statements of love and respect for family and community. The projection references Albert’s Brothers series, which includes two works of art in the NGA’s collection, Brothers (New York Dreaming) (2015) and Brothers (Unalienable) (2015). The commission connects issues of racial profiling and miscarriages of justice. By making visible the strengths and vulnerabilities of young men in our community, Albert seeks to destabilise stereotypes and offer new images for now and our collective future.

‘The National Gallery of Australia has long recognised the importance of Albert’s contribution to Australia’s cultural debate,’ Nick Mitzevich, NGA Director said. ‘This commission provides the artist with a new visual platform – a 50 metre illumination on the facade of the NGA building. Tony has relished this challenge and created an exceptional and original work of art. He is using art to bridge divides in our diverse community.’