Indigenous knowledge systems are currently gaining cultural capital, and we are witnessing the art academy actively courting these knowledge systems into its fold as a form of “decolonising”. We might ask: is it decolonising or recolonising? To decolonise is a continued project of the Anglo-Celtic value system. Therefore it is imperative to ask: who benefits from the labour of such research?

This forum is a provocation in relation to research paradigms. It situates itself at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, exchange and embodiment. We are interested in how non-western knowledge systems can be employed beneficially in artistic research, while considering the implications and ethics in the turn towards Indigenous knowledge systems within the art academy.

The panel encourages submissions from artistic, sociological and legal fields that demonstrate how western and Indigenous knowledge systems may exist with mutual benefit and responsibility towards each other. Where can a meeting house exist, where rivers collide, breaking into re-Indigenised rapids that transform the way we ask questions?

We encourage actions that embrace trust and longevity, and adopt an ongoing consultation process with Indigenous people. Words like urgency can be left behind, creating an empowering space for systemic change that reflects and embraces Hauora.

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• Session convenors: Tyson Campbell and Sara Daly (Monash University)
• Submit paper proposals to: [email protected]