The Stars We Do Not See | Myles Russell-Cook

The Stars We Do Not See | Guest Lecture by Myles Russell-Cook

Myles Russell-Cook is the Artistic Director and CEO of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, one of Australia’s leading contemporary art spaces in Naarm/Melbourne. He visits Joondalup as a guest judge for the 2026 Invitation Art Prize.

In this special event, hear from Myles about his experience curating The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art – the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented in North America.

Myles will take audiences on a journey through Indigenous art from across Australia, sharing works and stories from the Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land, Far North Queensland, the Torres Strait, the Central Desert, the Kimberley and beyond.

He’ll also share what it was like to bring this major exhibition to North American audiences and explore key moments in Indigenous Australian art, celebrating a rich and diverse creative history spanning thousands of years.

Light refreshments and drinks will be provided following the event. 

About the speaker:

Myles Russell-Cook commenced in the role of Artistic Director and CEO of ACCA in 2024 and was formerly Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Myles has a long-standing interest in cultural, gender and sexual diversity within both Australian and International contemporary practice, and has worked across a broad range of exhibitions and projects. For over eight years Myles was one of a team of curators who oversaw major contemporary art exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, including NGV Triennial, and Melbourne Now.

Myles has curated a number of significant exhibitions and programs at NGV including Colony: Frontier Wars (2017), From Bark to Neon (2019), DESTINY (2020), Maree Clarke: Ancestral Memories (2021), Found and Gathered: Rosalie Gascoigne I Lorraine Connelly Northey (2021), Bark Ladies: Eleven artists from Yirrkala (2021), Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection (2022), Wurrdha Marra (2023), and REKOSPECTIVE: The Art of Reko Rennie (2024).

Internationally, Myles has curated several exhibitions, including a series of shows in collaboration with the Australian Embassy in Paris: DESTIN: l’art de Destiny Deacon (2022), Rituel et Cérémonie: extrait de Mémoires ancestral (2022), Blak Rainbow: L’Art de Dylan Mooney (2023) and La terre est bleue: l’art de Dhambit Munuggurr (2024).

Myles is the curator of The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art, presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. This exhibition is the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented in North America and is currently touring until 2027.

Other

This event forms part of the 2026 Invitation Art Prize public program, with Myles Russell-Cook visiting Joondalup as one of this year’s guest judges.

The Invitation Art Prize brings together ten Western Australian artists presenting brand-new works, with one artwork selected for the City of Joondalup’s $25,000 acquisitive prize. Find out more about this year's Invitation Art Prize here. 

Image Credit: Tiger Palpatja, Wati Wanampi Tjukurpa, 2010. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased in memory of Graeme Marshall with funds donated by Harriet and Richard England and Anne and Ian McLean, 2011 © Kunmanara Palpatja/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia.

Headshot: Myles Russell-Cook. Photo by Casey Horsfield