- Background -
Scott Turnbull is in his fourth term as chair of the Parkes Aboriginal Community Working Party.
Mr. Turnbull was a spearhead in the formation of the Parkes chapter of the party which recognises the diversity of cultures, ceremony, kinship structure, languages, arts, and ways of life of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
He is the former Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer of the lower Murdi Paaka/ Binall Billa region for Parkes Forbes Business Enterprise Centre and the NSW Department of Education.
In that role he helped develop small business for indigenous entrepreneurs and the setting up of programmes for teaching business practices to indigenous and non indigenous participants. He is a Co-founder of the first inland Aboriginal Regional Business Awards 2002 to 2006.
Mr. Turnbull is working to close the various gaps between Aboriginal and mainstream Australians.
Mr. Turnbull expresses his Wiradjuri heritage in painting, focusing on traditional mark making. His work was selected for the Australian Embassy sponsored 2012 NAIDOC Week exhibition at the Asia Centre, Manila, where it was widely commended.
Critics hailed the work’s portrayal of a fractured culture, striving to regain its former strength and consistency in a rapidly changing Australian society.
The artist is pleased that modest to high end galleries are discovering Wiradjuri art.
‘Taking responsibility for promoting Wiradjuri art, the galleries support an ancient culture seeking to maintain its integrity while evolving in the 21st Century,’ he said
Mr. Turnbull recognises how vital art is to any culture. For Indigenous Australians, art is an important part of ceremonies and rituals; it has a spiritual value above its beauty. The aesthetic power of the work has developed with its practical and ceremonial purpose.
Today Aboriginal art through its unique qualities, gives wider audience for a people’s voice.