After the Rain

As an artist I produce a visual journal for most of my works. The journal for After the Rain became my tool for communicating with artists, highlighting the immersive potential of the exhibition spaces, and encouraging artists to utilise these fully. As the first artist-led Triennial, thinking and working differently was important. The journal was a visual medium to express ideas, and the publication grew from that, becoming a deeper exploration and reflection of the exhibition.

Tony Albert, Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku-Yalanji peoples

After the Rain documents the creative processes of 10 contemporary art projects commissioned for the National Gallery of Australia's major recurrent exhibition dedicated to First Nations art and artists in Australia, the National Indigenous Art Triennial.

Edited by the Triennial's Artistic Director Tony Albert and long-time collaborator Sally Brand, the publication shares stories of artistic collaborations, longstanding friendships, and generational practices from Erub, the most north-eastern island in Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait, to Ntaria/Hermannsburg in Central Australia and Naarm/Narrm/Melbourne.

Alongside artist profiles, the publication includes commissioned essays addressing legacies, identities, and climate change by contributing First Nations writers Bruce Johnson McLean, Jilda Andrews, Daniel Browning, and Yessie Mosby. Original portraits of the exhibition's artists by the celebrated Western Aranda painter Vincent Namatjira punctuate a vibrantly illustrated publication.

The publication is accompanied by a pull-out map created by Tony Albert showcasing his travels across Australia to meet with artists and their communities.

After the Rain invites readers to engage with First Nations art and artists and acknowledge and celebrate the cultural warriors of the past, present, and future.