As a collective of artists and movement leaders, we are gravely disappointed to be making this public statement.
We have spent the past three weeks attempting to address a serious violation of our rights and principles in private, within the bounds of tikanga, only to be met with deflection, minimisation, silence and evasion. The harm caused by the unauthorised use of our work and the subsequent censorship within the National Gallery of Australia demands accountability, and we can no longer allow this issue to remain unaddressed.
Nine months ago copyright artwork of Robyn Kahukiwa, used as the trademark copyright image for Kia Mau, was taken without consent and incorporated into an installation piece exhibited in the National Gallery of Australia by the Savāge K’lub art collective, under the leadership of Rosanna Raymond. At no point were we asked for permission, nor would we have given it under the conditions in which it was displayed. The unauthorised use of our work was harmful in itself, but the situation was further compounded when the gallery, deeming a Palestinian flag in the installation a political risk, ordered it to be covered. The installation artists complied with this censorship, and in doing so, placed Robyn’s stolen image directly adjacent to the covered flag, creating the false impression that we endorsed both the censorship and the installation itself. We only learned of this months later, when the media reported on the gallery’s decision to cover the flag.
In all of the statements made by the gallery, and Rosanna, it is inferred that the “artists” in question are Rosanna Raymond and the Savāge K’lub. Rosanna Raymond featured and wrote for Australian art publications over those nine months as both the curator and artist. It is not once mentioned that the art for this installation is actually sourced from other artists. All of the public statements made by Rosanna have invisibilised the actual artists on whose behalf she made the decision to capitulate to the gallery. Rosanna has also offensively referred to the art as a “by-product” of her relationship with the gallery, a relationship which was prioritised over standing in solidarity with Palestinians and doing the right thing by the actual artists.
Upon discovering Robyn’s work had been stolen and misrepresented, we sought an explanation directly from The Savāge K’lub, and agreed to meet. In the meeting, they admitted fault, apologised profusely, claimed that it was down to being foolhardy and rushed, and promised urgent and immediate accountability. These statements left us with the false impression that it was a recent event. We insisted that the restorative pathway center the Palestinian community (whilst also including us and addressing our concerns) and recommended they reach out to them. The Savāge K’lub agreed to this, however they failed to disclose that the installation had been on display and censored for nine months at that point, before media attention pushed the issue into the broader public sphere and to our attention. This belies any excuse that we were not engaged was because the Savāge K’lub were “rushed”. We discussed the tapu of toi Māori, explained the importance of Robyn’s artwork, and the role that image played in protecting our movement from attacks, it is not just a shirt decoration. We also made it very clear that we found Rosanna’s statements in the media regarding their decision to capitulate to the gallery to be misleading, and unhelpful.
In the meeting, the Savāge K’lub also committed to a restorative process with us—one that has never materialised.
Savāge K’lub leaders have said that the Savāge K’lub will take collective responsibility. While we can respect that request, we feel strongly that as the leader of Savāge Klub, as the lead curator of the exhibition, as the media lead for the exhibition, and as a senior artist, Rosanna Raymond carries the bulk of responsibility.
Subsequent investigations revealed that this was not the first time the Savāge K’lub had stolen work from other artists, nor was it the first time they had made empty promises to correct their behaviour. It was shared with us that in 2022 the same installation was exhibited under the name of the Savāge Klub in England, and they were called out by artist Sarah Hudson who found out on social media that their work was included in the installation, without consent or credit. When queried, the exact same profuse apology, blame of being foolhardy and rushed, and commitment to not do this again was made to Sarah. Following Sarah’s information we found that Robyn’s Kia Mau image was also used in the 2022 exhibition, a fact that was also not disclosed in the earlier hui. It was this same artwork, called out in 2022 by Sarah Hudson as appropriated, that the Savāge K’lub then installed in the National Gallery of Australia in June 2024, again without seeking consent of the relevant, original artists.
It was also subsequently discovered that at least one other well-known and respected artist – Melanie Tangaere Baldwin – had her work included (also flanking the covered flag of Palestine) in the 2024-2025 National Gallery of Australia installation without her consent or knowledge. It then came to light that not only was this artwork fraudulently exhibited as the work of the SaVĀge K’lub, but they also accepted payment from the gallery for it, and withheld payment that should rightfully go to Robyn. None of this was information volunteered by the SaVĀge K’lub.
A written apology was later privately issued to Kia Mau and Robyn, but it was inadequate, downplaying what happened as a mere “failure to seek consent” rather than the theft and misrepresentation that it was. It did not address the intentionality that has become very clear by the fact that they reinstalled this artwork with full knowledge that consent should have been sought. We raised with the Savāge K’lub that we were, at that point, aware of much more information that had not been disclosed in the hui, which undermined our confidence in the process, belied the excuses that were offered, and suggested a greater level of intentionality. We explained that we could not accept the apology in its current form and insisted on full accountability, including public recognition of the harm done. We further asked to be connected to the Palestinian community. In response, Rosanna framed our concerns as accusations and ceased communication.
To be clear: We stand unequivocally in solidarity with Palestine. We would never have agreed to participate in an exhibition where our work was used to flank and legitimise the erasure of a Palestinian flag. The theft of our work not only violated copyright but also put the integrity of our movement at risk, misrepresenting our stance and undermining the very solidarity we hold with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
We were assured by the Savāge K’lub that their statement and response at the closure of the exhibition would include and address “any and all misplaced relational/ reputational damage for you, and any other artists impacted by this mistake”. We responded by again requesting to be included in this process that is also about us, and requesting, for a third time, to be connected to the Palestinian community so that we could convey our distress and solidarity directly to them rather than through the SaVĀge K’lub. After this third request we were finally put in contact with the Palestinian community to complete that step.
We also emailed the National Gallery of Australia requesting that the work be removed immediately, and an apology issued. This has received no response.
We wish to make it clear that the statement and process undertaken on the weekend at the National Gallery of Australia was developed through a process that has excluded us as affected artists and activists. This is supremely ironic, given the issue is bound up in one of exclusion to begin with.
The Apology Event at the National Gallery of Australia
For us, as affected artists and activists, we consider the actions taken at the exhibition closure to be insincere and insufficient. The Director Nick Mitzevich centered art over human rights and property rights, framing art as the victim, and even framing himself as a victim who is apparently put into a difficult position of having to “balance” the gallery’s artistic interests against actual human rights interests. Rosanna made impassioned statements about seeing and hearing Indigenous people who have lost land and culture, even as she invisibilised us as victims of cultural theft, and herself as the lead perpetrator of said theft. She acknowledged it was important to take accountability for the decisions made in relation to the censorship, but completely ignored the fact that the censorship involved stolen work, thereby evading accountability. Incredibly, both Raymond and Mitzevich repeated the line “art is the answer” even as the gallery has refused to answer our email regarding the theft of copyright.
To Nick Mitzevich we say: Your actions and statement lack integrity. Were you real about wanting to engage in this discussion, you would have responded to our email. Art is not the answer. Human rights, honesty and dignity is the answer. Answering us when we email you is also an answer.
Both Nick and Rosanna consistently thanked each other for standing together as artists and gallery even in their difference. All of the references to “the artists” infer the SaVĀge K’lub alone, and not the artists from whom SaVĀge K’lub took in order to make the installation. At the very end of their statement, there is a vague, and very brief, acknowledgement that the SaVĀge K’lub “caused hurt”to some members of their own community, including Kia Mau, Robyn Kahukiwa and Melanie Tangere-Baldwin – but it does not say how we were hurt, it does not even allude to the issue of consent, let alone theft.
Rosanna Raymond made reference to media generated about this that “feeds the beast by taking words and twisting them up” – completely obscuring the fact that the vast majority of the media generated about this has been dominated by Rosanna’s statements and writings. It further ignores the agency that the SaVĀge K’lub exercised, and the fraudulent positioning of the SaVĀge K’lub as the rights holders over that artwork and victims of the gallery. It further ignores the fact that this particular installation has included stolen art since 2022, does not name Sarah Hudson as one of the artists also taken from.
We were very clear with the SaVĀge K’lub from the outset that an apology which does not correctly name the harm is not sufficient and does not amount to being accountable. Accordingly, we reject this as an act of contrition or healing.
We are making this statement publicly because private avenues have been exhausted and abused. We cannot allow this pattern of exploitation and theft to continue unchecked, nor can we allow our stolen work to be used in ways that distort our values. Solidarity cannot be at the expense of the integrity of our narrative. We have no way of knowing how many other times, or to whom else, this may have happened. Other artists and activists deserve to know the truth and to be protected from similar violations.
We call for:
- Full accountability from the Savāge K’lub and Rosanna Raymond
- Public acknowledgment of the theft (both in 2022 and 2024) and its consequences
- Public acknowledgement of the disrespect shown towards the artists in media and at the closure event, and towards the attempted restorative process which was bound in tikanga
- Meaningful action to meet the promises made for an inclusive restorative process and to ensure this does not happen again.
- Money earned by the inclusion of this artwork (in both 2022 and 2024) be shared amongst the rightful artists, and the Palestinian community.
Furthermore, we call upon the National Gallery of Australia to take responsibility and apologise for exhibiting stolen work and its complicity in the political censorship of Palestine.
Cultural appropriation of our moana region has, throughout time, contributed to sexual and physical violence towards Indigenous peoples and Indigenous women – it has always been inextricably linked to the stripping of sacredness. Cultural appropriation of toi Māori practices, and particularly from wāhine Māori, is unacceptable. Further more, our tikanga is there to protect tapu, not to cloak the violation of tapu. We expect more of our own, and consider it our responsibility to actively protect the integrity and dignity of our art, and our narrative, alongside the integrity and dignity of our Indigenous relations. If art is not centering human rights, and Indigenous rights, then it is colonising.
Solidarity is not selective, and cannot come at the cost of integrity. Theft and misrepresentation are not acceptable. Censorship in the name of political convenience is not neutrality—all of these actions are a choice. We reject these actions in their entirety and stand firm in our commitment to justice, integrity, and unwavering solidarity with Palestine and all oppressed peoples.
Tina Ngata, Robyn Kahukiwa, Melanie Tangaere-Baldwin, Sina Brown-Davis, Sarah Hudson, Kauae Raro Research Collective.
