Join us for a conversation between Robert Fielding and Gerald McMaster (O.C., PhD), world-renowned Indigenous scholar, curator, and artist (Plains Cree/Siksika Nation), and Professor Emeritus at Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto, Canada moderated by Kluge-Ruhe director Nici Cumpston in the Upper West Oval Room of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia on Thursday October 2 from 5-6:30 pm.

The discussion will take place in the context of the exhibition on view Maḻatja-Maḻatja | For the Next Generation: Printmaking at Mimili Maku Arts. Light refreshments will be served. Parking is available in the Central Grounds Garage at 400 Emmet St S. Please register to reserve your spot.

Robert Fielding is undertaking an artist residency at Kluge-Ruhe from September 24- October 15, 2025. Fielding’s solo exhibition Tjukurpa | Handle It is on view at Kluge-Ruhe through January 11, 2026. Dr. Gerald McMaster authored the catalog essay which accompanies the exhibition. We are honored to welcome them both to the University of Virginia for this public talk.

Gerald McMaster (O.C., PhD) is a renowned curator, artist, author, and scholar with over four decades of international experience in contemporary art, critical theory, museology, and Indigenous aesthetics.Former Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) University, McMaster has profoundly shaped the intellectual and curatorial landscape of Indigenous art through his advocacy for Indigenous voice, representation, and visual knowledge.

Beginning his career as both artist and curator, McMaster challenged conventional museological approaches, particularly the display of culturally sensitive objects in ethnographic contexts and the exclusion of Indigenous artists from mainstream art institutions. His practice, grounded in Indigenous epistemologies, introduced compelling alternatives to Western exhibition design and contributed to the emergence of a distinctly Indigenous visuality.

McMaster has curated numerous landmark exhibitions, including Indigena (1992), First American Art (2004), and Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity (2022), all of which expanded curatorial discourse around identity, authorship, and Indigenous self-representation. His leadership on the global stage includes serving as Commissioner for Canada at the 1995 Venice Biennale, Artistic Director of the 2012 Biennale of Sydney, and curator for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Most recently, in 2022, he curated a major international exhibition at Toronto’s Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, bridging Indigenous artists from across the circumpolar Arctic and the Amazon basin.

McMaster studied fine arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (BFA 1977), earned an MA in anthropology from Carleton University, and completed a PhD in cultural analysis at the University of Amsterdam. A citizen of the Siksika Nation and of Plains Cree heritage, McMaster has dedicated his career to advancing Indigenous art and thought on a global scale.

Robert Fielding is a contemporary artist of Western Arrernte, Yankunytjatjara, Afghan, and Pakistani descent who lives in the community of Mimili on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Robert combines strong cultural roots with contemporary views on the tensions between community life and global concerns. He confidently moves across different mediums, forming a meeting point for different
narratives to come together and connect with each other. His practice includes new media, painting, and traditional craftsmanship.

Fielding’s work is rooted in his personal experience of reclaiming culture as a son of the Stolen Generations. He has spent extended periods of time connecting with Australia’s major cultural institutions, while concurrently learning from his Elders on the APY Lands. This personal history brings a uniquely potent perspective to his work, which offers a reminder that many cultural practices are stronger than ever today, while also noticing traditions worn down or destroyed by white intervention. His work is a stern truthtelling and a reconciliatory call for unity simultaneously, constantly bridging perceived opposites, creating new connections and community around him. Through residencies at Canberra Glassworks (2023) and McClelland Sculpture Park (2023), Robert continues to deepen his relationships with peers throughout Australia, always generously inviting collaboration and co-creation.

Robert celebrated his first international solo exhibition at Fondation Opale in Switzerland in late 2018. In 2022, he was featured as part of the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. In 2024, Robert held a major survey show of his recently developed print portfolio at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. He guest lectured at the Victorian College of the Arts as part of the Stuart Black Fellowship, and is the 2025 recipient of the University of South Australia Jeffrey Smart Commission at the Samstag Museum of Art.

Nici Cumpston OAM is a proud Barkandji artist, curator, writer and educator whose family are also of Afghan, Irish and English descent. Barkandji are the river people who belong to the Barka, the Darling River in far western New South Wales, Australia. She prides herself in her ability to build meaningful relationships and she is passionate about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to develop and showcase their works of art. Before beginning her role as director of Kluge-Ruhe, Cumpston served as the inaugural curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) since 2008 and the artistic director of the internationally renowned Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art since 2014.