Introduction

The Collection

A collection of paintings by Koori children were entered into the Victorian Aboriginal Children's Art Competition in 1995 and form an important contemporary collection of Aboriginal art from south-east Australia which is held by Museum Victoria.

'The rainbow tree' by Lenay Ewart of Swan Hill. A winning entry in the Category Girl ages 5 to 6.

The competition was conceived in 1994 when Museum Victoria decided to host Drawn from the Heart, an exhibition of Aboriginal children's artworks from the National Museum of Australia. In response to the lack of Victorian works in the exhibition, Museum Victoria ran a state-wide art competition for Aboriginal primary school children. Drawn from the Heart and the competition formed part of the Museum's contribution to the International Year of the Family. The aim of the competition was to encourage the emergence of Aboriginal art within Aboriginal children in Victoria.

Competition entries were received from the Wathaurong community at Geelong, Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula, Heywood in the south-west, Lakes Entrance in east Gippsland and Warragul in south Gippsland, Swan Hill on the Murray River in the north-east, and Yappera Kindergarten in Melbourne.