Intervention Intervention
Curated by Teena McCarthy & Brendan Penzer
13 – 30 January 2011
“These measures (The Northern Territory Intervention) overtly discriminate against aboriginal peoples, infringe their right of self-determination and stigmatize already stigmatized communities.” Professor James Anaya, Visiting UN Rapporteur, 27 August 2009.
The Northern Territory Intervention (The Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007), enforced upon Aboriginal communities in the territory, has now extended three and half years, seeing three prime ministers and three federal governments preside over it.
Interestingly, The Intervention came about after allegations of ‘widespread child sexual abuse’, yet failed to mention child protection once in the 500 pages of legislation, concocted over a mere 48 hours, without debate or consultation. Furthermore, The Intervention has failed to uncover or convict any perpetrators of alleged child sexual abuse.
Taking a closer look, this Intervention came about to continue a recent and ongoing series of funding and resource cutbacks that have annihilated successful existing employment, education and health programs, and through small cunning changes of legislation, here and there, have usurped Aboriginal self-determination and autonomy over the programs and decision-making in their own communities.
The NT Intervention is an experiment, a prototype. The measures introduced throughout the period of The Intervention have seen our government forcibly take the lands off aboriginal communities in exchange for basic human services that are not being delivered, basic human services that every one of us has a birthright to and should have existed in the first place.
The Intervention is an attempt to move the Australian First Nation peoples off their lands and into towns and cities, to assimilate into mainstream society, to abandon their cultures, their languages, their futures. Furthermore, it is an economic initiative, a draconian welfare reform, and a land-grab – cultural genocide by coercion. A national and international crime – the most shameful of shameful international acts of the 21st century, thus far.
In order to stage The Intervention the Howard government (continued by Rudd and Gillard) implemented ‘special measures’ in the guise of being ‘for the benefit of Aboriginal people’, and suspended The Racial Discrimination Act. The act is yet to be fully reinstated.
Staggeringly, The Intervention, contravenes 25 articles under The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and 30 articles under The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Intervention Intervention is an exhibition that attempts to bring to the forefront, the reality and truths of The Northern Territory Intervention, a community awareness-raising of the many little-known facts and realities of what has developed over the last number of years – a call to, and for, action.
ATVP invites artists to submit proposals of artwork, of any medium or format, that responds to, examines or elicits further light on the reality that is The NT Intervention – artworks that will come together collectively to form an Intervention Intervention.
Proposal Form:
Intervention Intervention
13 – 30 January 2011
At The Vanishing Point – Contemporary Art Inc. (ATVP)
565 King Street Newtown
Proposals due 5:00pm Sunday 2 January 2011
(Artists to be notified of selections by 9am Monday 3 January and artwork to be delivered to arrive at ATVP by Tuesday 11th January)
In your submission please include:
* Name: / Postal Address: / Email Address: / Phone:
* A brief description of your proposed artwork: (up to 150 words)
* A brief description of any special installation requirements.
* 1-5 images, concept drawings (jpeg’s 1-2MB in size), or a dvd of your proposed artwork, or similar previous works:
* A brief artistic CV: (1/2 page max)
Email your proposal to:
or send it to ATVP, 565 King Street Newtown NSW 2042
* ATVP is an artist-run-initiative. Intervention Intervention is a part of ATVP’s 2011 program that has been supported by funding through ARTS NSW. There are no exhibition fees (charges) for participating artists in this exhibition.
For further information or enquiries please call Teena McCarthy 0410 709 152 or Brendan Penzer 0430 083 364.