A contemporary Indigenous-run art gallery & performance space showcasing THE artworks from GLOBAL Indigenous cultures

Blak Dot Gallery acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, live and create: the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people and Elders past and present of the Kulin nations, Naarm (Melbourne).

Blak Dot Gallery, based in Narrm (Melbourne), is the leading gallery for contemporary First Nations art in Australia. Blak Dot Gallery was established in 2011 as a contemporary First Nations artist-run space to showcase contemporary artworks from world Indigenous cultures.

Blak Dot Gallery enables First Nations people to continually re-define and evolve contemporary culture through First Nations art, culture and cultural protocols. Blak Dot Gallery works with a strong network of First Nations artists from all over Victoria and Australia and has an ongoing commitment to ensuring First Nations artists have opportunities and access to a professional gallery environment. We deliver a vibrant and innovative exhibition schedule, catering to solo, group and community work, host regular community events, workshops, panel discussions, lectures, artists markets, and we are an a core participant to six major arts festivals across Melbourne which facilitates the engagement of Blak Dot’s community with a wider audience. Through Blak Dot Gallery, First Nations artists who work in non-traditional and mixed-media, have an opportunity to present their interpretation of lived experiences in contemporary society.

Our work gives insight into the cultural values and experiences of Indigenous communities through the creative use of modern practice. At Blak Dot Gallery we are committed to working with the following values:

Sovereignty: We are a First Nations led organisation that places primacy on the voices of First Nations peoples in everything that we do. We encourage and support self-determination through artistic and cultural expression.

Reciprocity: We embrace and are embraced by the communities around us. We acknowledge that our communities contribute to the vibrancy of our organisation and seek to support the positive development of the communities we work within.

Respect: We are an inclusive and safe space for all - particularly so for women, young people and people from the LGBTQI community.

Vibrancy: We strive to be a dynamic organisation that continually re-defines and evolves contemporary First Nations culture.

Leadership: The leadership of our organisation is centred around First Nations cultural ways and protocols. We lead and operate our organisation according to First Nations values and knowledges.

Blak Dot Gallery also provides opportunities to teach and mentor aspiring Indigenous curators and art workers. We offer a dedicated critical Indigenous learning space for First Nation Creatives, Blakademy. Blakademy is now home to five community groups and individual artists. Blakademy has hot desks for study or group workshops, reading and writing, as well as a large collection of global and local Indigenous and non-European diasporic texts (catalogues, monographs, anthologies, magazines).

Blak Dot Gallery is a non-for profit organisation governed by a Board of Directors.

Blak Dot acknowledges the support of Australian Government Indigenous Language and Arts, Creative Victoria and Merri-bek Council.

Blak Dot is a proud member of Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOA).