February 19, 2022

You Can Go Now

50 years of First Nations activism in Australia through the lens of contemporary Australian Aboriginal artist Richard Bell

Richard Bell is one of the most important contemporary artists in Australia and one of the most important First Nations contemporary artists in the world today. Richard’s work challenges preconceived ideas about Aboriginal people and art, taking part in national and international debates surrounding identity and politics. From his first works in Redfern in the 1970s to having his installation work, Tent Embassy, headline Documenta and take over the Turbine Room at the Tate Modern in 2021, You Can Go Now tracks the course of Richard’s remarkable career as an artist and provocateur. It also look at his strong ongoing commitment to the politics of Aboriginal emancipation and self-determination. He is an activist masquerading as an artist.

A supporting cast of artists, academics, musicians and more will flesh out this journey of over 50 years. Richard’s often collaborative art practice is a lens through which to examine First Nations activism in Australia: how much it has achieved and how much is yet to be done.

Winner of Best Documentary, Maoriland 2024.