Seemingly overnight, as Asian countries attempted a return to business as usual by finally dropping draconian Covid-19 restrictions in late 2022 and early 2023, simmering issues over personal and political power returned to the forefront of public discourse.
Scandal unfolded in 2023 at the National Gallery Australia (NGA) in Canberra. After receiving allegations that external studio assistants had intervened in the creation of 28 Indigenous artworks at the (APYACC) ahead of the NGA’s exhibition “Ngura Pulka–Epic Country,” on April 28, the NGA and state-government bodies announced an independent review. The APYACC adamantly denied claims and welcomed a review, leading the NGA to indefinitely delay “Ngura Pulka.” In August, the expert panel’s 34-page
