NEWSLETTER

Photo : 1 2 3 4 5 6

In large-sign format, We Are Sorry, by Canadian artist Cathy Busby, presents excerpts from the 2008 landmark apologies to Aboriginal peoples for policies of assimilation, delivered by Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd (Australia) and Stephen Harper (Canada).
Apologies for both the Stolen Generations in Australia and the Indian residential schools in Canada were of major cultural and political significance when they were delivered, yet each was a relatively fleeting media moment. We Are Sorry gives these apologies a renewed and sustained presence, while highlighting the shared histories of two British colonies that wrongly sought to assimilate Aboriginal peoples. The work aims to encourage dialogue between people in Australia and Canada, while promoting deeper understanding of the damage caused by colonising practices.

Originally commissioned as part of the Laneway Commissions 2009 – an annual season of temporary public artworks by the City of Melbourne – We Are Sorry has remained in-situ and will continue to adorn the façade of the sub-station for the foreseeable future.

Cathy Busby, We Are Sorry (2009)
Printed vinyl banner.
620-640 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Photos:
Photo 2 - Greg Sims
Photo 4 - Greg Sims
Photo 6 - Greg Sims

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publicart@melbourne.vic.gov.au

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/ArtsandEvents/Pages/PublicArt.aspx