Barry Loo, Bounding for Home, c1950. The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork, Curtin University Art Collection. Gift of Colgate University, USA, 2013

The Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling

Shining a light on the injustices of our past and examining their consequences across generations so we can build a fairer and more inclusive future together.

When a collection of Carrolup artworks came home to Nyungar country in 2013, a unique and precious resource was returned to Western Australia.

Lost overseas for more than 60 years, the exquisite artworks by young children of the Stolen Generations offer a rare glimpse into the lived experiences of Aboriginal children during a dark chapter of our past, when systemic racism and discrimination tore Indigenous families and culture apart.

Curtin University is embarking on a project to create a dedicated home for these artworks that will become a centre for truth-telling, healing and reconciliation.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are warned that photographs/videos on this page may contain images of deceased persons, which may cause sadness or distress.

The story

The story

During the 1940s, Aboriginal children were detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement, where a remarkable talent in art emerged.

The Centre

The Centre

We seek to establish a dedicated and easily accessible home to honour the significance of the Carrolup artworks and the story they embody.

Support truth-telling

Support truth-telling

There are many ways to walk with us on this truth-telling journey.

Education and Community Programs

Education and Community Programs

Find out more about our educational and community programs.

News

News

Read more of Carrolup in the media.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions

Interested in more exhibitions at John Curtin Gallery?

The Carrolup Centre will commemorate how young Aboriginal children – forcibly separated from their families, isolated, segregated, traumatised and living in an unknown place – still found beauty and connection to Country through their art. It will be an enduring reminder that while racism seeks to destroy all that is good about a people, it never can. Like water, cultural beauty and goodness always finds a way; at Carrolup, that way was through children.

Tony Hansen,
Chair, Carrolup Elders Reference Group

Vale Alma Toomath

It is with deep sadness we share the news that Alma Toomath (nee Cuttabut), the last known artist from Carrolup, passed away on 23 May 2021 in Albany.

Aunty Alma was a Stolen Generations survivor, taken from her family as a young child and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s. She played a key role in the Establishment Ceremony last November at the John Curtin Gallery, where she entrusted her own artwork, alongside others repatriated from Colgate University to Western Australia in 2013, into the care of the Gallery to be protected and remain accessible to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people throughout Western Australia and beyond.

Establishment Ceremony recap

Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS)

CAS is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-managed research and education centre offering a variety of courses and providing an empowering and supportive base for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying at Curtin.

Reconciliation at Curtin

Curtin is committed to embedding voices and perspectives of First Nations peoples at the forefront of our decision making to create an environment in which everyone thrives.

How you can help

With your support, we can create a home for The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks and take an important step forward on our shared journey towards reconciliation and building a society that values and respects Indigenous culture, knowledge and heritage.