Unveiling the Hidden Gems: Get Your First Glimpse of the Adelaide Aboriginal Art Gallery Now!

The Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre (AACC) in Adelaide, Australia, is set to become a global tourism attraction that celebrates the oldest living cultures in the world. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot, the AACC is a project of national and international significance that pays homage to the deep Aboriginal connection to country, place and kin. The reference design embodies the vision of the AACC as a gateway to Aboriginal cultures by incorporating the elements of earth, land and sky.

The AACC will be built on Kaurna land as part of the Lot Fourteen global innovation precinct. The concept originates from the Aboriginal conception of the elements that link us to place: earth, land and sky – and which were the backbone of the design partnership’s winning proposal for the project’s earlier incarnation, Adelaide Contemporary. The design team engaged in deep conversations with members of the AACC Aboriginal Reference Group to discover the design vision. Working directly with the AACC Ambassador David Rathman AM, the team translated the aspirations and ambitions of the ARG into a design response.

The DS+R and Woods Bagot design collaboration began in the international design competition winning entry for Adelaide Contemporary in 2018. The striking reference design features overlapping layers encircling a central gathering space, offering extraordinary immersive experiences that combine traditional storytelling with modern technology. The AACC will be a building of the 21st century, while remaining agile enough to allow future generations to evolve their storytelling.

The AACC is a new paradigm in cultural space design, according to DS+R partner Charles Renfro. The building will welcome visitors through a radically open ground floor into a safe space with storytelling at its heart. It will be a place of pride that authentically honours the oldest living cultures on the planet. The Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre will be a place for all Australians to remember ourselves, learn the truth-telling of our past, and re-imagine ourselves to create new memories as a connected community. It will be a platform for developing Australian culture – informed by history, shaped by the now, for our future.

According to Woods Bagot principal Rosina Di Maria, the consultation process was a humbling and emotional experience. The design team’s role was to listen and translate the aspirations and ambitions of the ARG into a design response. The architecture evokes a sense of welcome to all visitors – particularly First Nations peoples – and a connection to culture offered through the human experience. The AACC will be a building that reveals its workings overarchingly embodies truth-telling and transparency – a cultural vessel flexing to curation, use and time.

The AACC project celebrates the deep Aboriginal connection to country, place and kin. It is a building of the 21st century that is agile enough to allow future generations to evolve their storytelling. The consultation process was a humbling and emotional experience that resulted in a design that evokes a sense of welcome to all visitors – particularly First Nations peoples. The AACC is a building that reveals its workings overarchingly embodies truth-telling and transparency – a cultural vessel flexing to curation, use and time.

Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot

Images: © Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot