Touring exhibition: Unfinished Business
Experience an accessible 3D photography exhibition detailing personal stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living with disabilities across Australia.
Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be advised there are names, images and voices depicting deceased persons.
Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia. Honouring story-telling truths, the exhibition is a thought-provoking recognition of the ongoing impact of colonisation, and a call for meaningful social and systemic change. Each participant determined how their visual story would be shared, using their own words, chosen narrators and imagery to give audiences direct insight into their personal experiences.
Utilising the 3D-effect of lenticular photography, which creates an illusion of depth, movement and transformation, and documentary film, each image demonstrates the diversity of disability. This powerful body of work was created by Sydney-based human rights documentarian Belinda Mason OAM and her sons Dieter and Liam Knierim.
Unfinished Business also raises the bar on accessibility through creating a carefully considered exhibition space. Designed for an inclusive experience, audiences are invited to engage through multiple sensory elements, including tactile panels, audio descriptions, online resources, and Auslan content.
We are grateful to The Balnaves Foundation for supporting this presentation of Unfinished Business, which invites deeper connection and understanding by acknowledging the strength and resilience of each participant.
Thank you to Vision Australia and Expression Australia for their support and advice on accessibility.
Banner Image: Gayle Rankine, Ngarrindjeri woman. Chairperson, First Peoples Disability Network (Australia). Chairperson of the Indigenous Persons with Disabilites Global Network. Photography: ©Belinda Mason OAM
For more information on the Australian Museum touring exhibitions, please contact Louise Teteris, Touring Exhibitions Producer.
Explore the Unfinished Business virtual tour
Exhibition highlights
Uncle John Baxter
Uncle John Baxter, a respected Latja Latja and Narungga Elder, is deeply committed to strengthening cultural identity, advocating for justice, and empowering future generations. Through decades of advocacy, he has become a guiding figure in promoting understanding, inclusion and reconciliation. Learn more about Uncle John's story here.
Image: John Baxter, Latja Latja and Narungga man. Board member of Reconciliation Victoria, Board member First Peoples Disability Network. Photography: ©Belinda Mason OAM
Not fit for purpose
Presented for the first time as part of the Unfinished Business exhibition, the installation, ‘Not fit for purpose’, by Uncle John offers a striking reflection on the systemic inequities within Australia’s disability support systems.
In Australia, 5.5 million people, approximately 21% of the population, live with disability (ABS, 2022). Many continue to face unmet needs in essential areas such as mobility, communication, and emotional support. These challenges are especially acute in regional and remote communities where limited access to services and infrastructure increases isolation. For First Nations peoples living with disability these issues are compounded by systematic racism and the ongoing effects of colonisation.
Explore the accessible content
Unfinished Business documentaries
Meet the people who make Unfinished Business a thought-provoking experience.
