Cultural Learning

Vincent Namatjira, Western Aranda people, Australia b.1983 / Dingo Cavalerie 2025 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / 198 x 198cm / Proposed for the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Collection / Courtesy: The artist and Iwantja Arts / © Vincent Namatjira/Copyright Agency / View full image

The cultural learning education resource provides a way of engaging with artworks that centres First Nations perspectives of identity, knowledge and responsibility. It asks us not only to look at art but to listen deeply, reflect carefully and share respectfully.

The framework is guided by three interconnected pillars: Identity, Memory and Community. Each offers a pathway for students and teachers to consider who they are, how they learn and how they act together.

Through discussion, storytelling and reflection, students are encouraged to share perspectives, recognise missing voices, and consider how art connects us to ourselves, each other and the world around us.

Cultural Learning

Identity

Who am I, and how do my experiences shape how I come to this work?

When we encounter artworks, we bring with us who we are. Our family, community and lived experiences shape the way we see, feel and interpret. No two people come to an artwork in the same way. By sharing our perspectives, we learn more about ourselves and others.

Identity asks us to consider who we are and how we belong to Country, to family and to community. It recognises that our relationships and responsibilities shape how we live, learn and understand the world. From a cultural learning lens, identity invites viewers to reflect on their own positioning and how it influences the way they engage with artworks and stories.

Memory

What do I know, how do I learn and whose knowledge is represented here

Knowledge and memory are held in many places: within ourselves, in families,
Elders, Country, and in recorded histories. Artworks can spark personal memories, connect us to shared histories, or invite us to recognise knowledge beyond our own.

Memory is knowledge carried through story, experiences, creative expression,
relationships and Country. It connects past, present and future, showing how learning is kept alive through cultural practice and shared histories. From a cultural learning lens, memory centres artworks as living knowledge. They hold the stories and experiences of First Nations peoples and are often part of a much broader community and historical context.

Community

What do I do with what I know? What are my responsibilities to others and to Country?

Community reminds us that knowledge comes with responsibility. Artworks often reflect how people live, work, gather and share knowledge, inviting us to think about our role in contributing to and caring for others and for Country.

Community is how we exist together — in collaboration, reciprocity and shared
responsibility. In cultural learning, community reminds us that learning is collective: programs, artworks and classrooms become spaces where relationships guide action, and knowledge is created with others — not for others.

Activities

Discussion Questions

How do our different identities and experiences shape the way each of us interprets this artwork? What do we notice when we listen to each other’s perspectives?

What stories, memories or knowledge do we each bring to this artwork? How do these different voices help us recognise whose knowledge is represented and whose might be missing?

When we learn together through artworks, what shared responsibilities do we take on as a group? How can we support each other and honour the knowledge shared?

Reflection Prompts

Share one aspect of your identity that influenced your response to this artwork. How does hearing others’ reflections expand your own understanding?

Think about a memory or story shared by someone else in the group. How does their perspective change or add to the way you see the artwork?

Consider one action you could take with others, inside or outside the classroom, to care for community or Country in response to what you have learned.

Activity Ideas

Preliminary discussion to inform creative responses in the classroom.

Shared stories

In small groups, each person shares a short personal story, memory or feeling sparked by the artwork. After listening, group members identify one common thread across their stories and note how their different perspectives connect.

Knowledge mapping

Groups sketch a simple map or diagram on paper showing what they already know, what they learn from the artwork, and questions they still have. They then share their maps with another group to see how knowledge overlaps and differs.

Perspective swap
Each person in the group writes down one word or phrase about what they see or feel in response to the artwork. They then swap papers with another group member and explain the meaning behind someone else’s word, showing how interpretation shifts when perspectives are shared.

Combined voices

Group members each make a quick sketch of a detail in the artwork without talking. Afterward, they place their drawings together and discuss why they chose those details and how they come together to tell different stories, revealing different ways of seeing.

Glossary of cognitive verbs

Describe

To give a detailed account of the features of something by identifying and communicating what can be seen, heard, felt or otherwise sensed. In relation to works of art, this includes visual elements such as colour, shape, line, texture and subject matter, as well as other perceptual qualities such as sound, movement, scale, spatial presence and materiality.

Analyse

To examine the parts and features of something in detail to understand how they work together. In relation to works of art, this involves breaking down visual and sensory elements — such as colour, composition, texture, sound and materials — and considering how they work together to create meaning or effect. It also includes identifying techniques, processes and relevant contextual influences that shape the work.

Interpret

To draw conclusions about the possible meaning of an artwork, considering the artist’s intent and the viewer’s own ideas and feelings.

Evaluate

To make a judgement about the quality, effectiveness or impact of something, based on criteria or evidence. In relation to works of art, this includes assessing how successfully the artist has used materials, techniques and elements to convey ideas or achieve an intended effect, as well as considering the work’s originality, impact or relevance.