The Leonhard Adam Collection of International Indigenous Culture

Curator: Joanna Bosse

The Leonhard Adam Collection of International Indigenous Culture was formed from 1942 to 1960 by Dr Leonhard Adam, a distinguished scholar and lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Melbourne. This exhibition is the second in recent years to present to the public rarely seen objects from the Indigenous cultures of North and South America, Africa, Melanesia, Asia and Australia held in the collection.

A priority is to reconnect these important holdings with contemporary communities and individuals for whom they have multi-layered cultural meanings. Our goal is to invite engagement with these beautifully crafted and culturally significant items and incorporate both past and current Indigenous perspectives into our custodianship, interpretation and presentation of the collection.