Australian Indigenous art takes over the museum

The Portland Art Museum has a big one on right now, and it's the kind of show that doesn't come around often. "The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art" opened on September 5 and runs through January 3, so you've got a good window to catch it before the end of the year. It's spread across galleries 101, 110, 212, and 213, and the scale is the first thing worth noting: more than 100 works by more than 130 artists, representing over 250 distinct Indigenous nations of Australia. The museum is billing it as the largest presentation of Australian Indigenous art ever mounted outside Australia, which gives you an idea of the ambition behind it.

For a lot of people in the Northwest, this is a first real introduction to the visual languages of Indigenous Australia. The exhibition walks you through the watershed moments of that art from the late 19th century right up to the present, and it doesn't stick to one medium. You'll find ochre bark paintings, weavings, sound and video art, and photography all in the same show. It's organized into sections that help make sense of the range: "Kimberley: Painting Country," "Conceptual Maps," and "Fiber and Adornment." The names on the walls are the ones to know, too — Emily Kam Kngwarray (Anmatyerr), Gulumbu Yunupiŋu (Yolŋu), Brook Andrew, Destiny Deacon, Betty Muffler, Patju Presley (Pitjantjatjara), Maggie Napangardi Watson (Warlpiri), Charlotte Phillips Napurrula (Warlpiri/Luritja), and Tony Albert.

There's some serious curatorial weight behind the scenes. Myles Russell-Cook, the former senior curator of Australian and First Nations art at the National Gallery of Victoria and current artistic director and CEO of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, put the show together, and Kathleen Ash-Milby, the museum's senior curator of Native American art, coordinated it here in Portland. It's a collaboration between the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, with the Denver Art Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum also in the mix.

On the practical side, admission is $27.50 for adults, and the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you're looking to save, entry is free on the first Thursday of each month, and there's a free day on October 25 as part of the Miller Family Community Free Days, so that's worth planning around if you're on a budget. A few of the opening events have already passed — the Opening Conversation with Dr. Jessica Clark and Ricky Maynard was back in September — but the show itself is the main draw and it's here for the long haul through early January.

It's a lot of ground to cover, and the sheer number of nations and artists represented is part of the point. Whether you've spent your life in galleries or you're just looking for something substantial to do on a weekend in the Pearl District, this is a show that earns its place on the calendar. With the museum at 1219 SW Park Ave, it's an easy stop, and since it runs well into the new year, there's no need to rush it — though a show this size is better when you give it a proper afternoon.