Max Moon
Max Moon is Collection Manager for the World Cultures Collection, caring for more than 14,000 objects from over 100 countries, with particular depth in Indonesian and Southeast Asian material.
A second-generation migrant of Dutch and British-Australian heritage, Max was born and raised on Larrakia country in Garramilla/Darwin before undertaking university studies in Sydney and Yogyakarta. His formative years across North Australia and Indonesia shaped a passionate commitment to the cultural networks of the Arafura region and the shared histories that connect Eastern Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and North Australia.
Max’s professional background spans community arts, cultural collections and curatorial practice, with extensive experience in Indigenous governance, repatriation and data sovereignty. He has led the establishment of a community keeping place in Arnhem Land, served as a lead on a bespoke cultural database developed with Indigenous communities across North Australia and Indonesia, and worked as an advisor to an independent First Nations parliamentarian.
Guided by the mentorship of respected Indigenous cultural authorities, Max brings significant expertise in collaborative approaches to the intersection of cultural heritage management and social justice. Central to much of this work is a practice of supporting communities to regain access and control of their recorded cultural heritage and facilitating the reintegration of this knowledge into living cultural practices.
Max is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, with working knowledge of Javanese, Balinese and Yolŋu Matha. Max’s research focuses on the transnational cultural ecology centred on the Arafura Sea.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts (Indigenous Studies) & Bachelor of Media (Journalism and Communications), UNSW
- Diploma of Languages (Indonesian) USYD/Gadjah Mada University
Publications, presentations & projects
- ‘In Conversation with Yiŋiya Guyula MLA’ – Yabun Festival, 2026 (Moderator)
- ‘Djalkiri Keeping Place – When You Wake Up What Lies Asleep’, Max Moon and Gwen Warmbirrirr at Data. Art. Knowledge Symposium, University of Melbourne, Darwin, August 2025 (Speaker)
- ‘Djambaŋ’puy Dhäwu (Story of the Tamarind)’ – Milingimbi Art and Culture Short Film, 2023 (Associate Producer)
- ‘Gali’ku’ – A History of Cloth in Arnhem Land’, in Interwoven Journeys: The Michael Abbott Collection of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, 2023 (Contributing Author)
- ‘We Are The Old: Luku Ŋurruŋgitj’, Exhibition at Salon Arts, Darwin 2024 (Curator)
- ‘Yolŋu Law, Art and Culture’ – Event at Australian Embassy, Paris 2022 (Speaker)
- ‘Sagillik Saguluk’ – Exhibition at Rumah Sanur, Bali 2019 (Curator)
- ‘Mutual Unknown’ – Exhibition Catalogue, Goethe Institute, Bandung, Indonesia 2017 (Editor)
