Sustaining Australia's Indigenous Music and Dance Traditions: The Role of the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia

Abstract

This article examines the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia as a dedicated network of Indigenous performers, and allied scholars and curators, to protect and sustain Australia's highly endangered traditions of Indigenous music, dance and ceremonies. The paper examines how the National Recording Project has developed into a community of practice for the making and archiving of Indigenous Australian music and dance recordings in response to Indigenous community agency and concerns, and how its annual Symposium on Indigenous Music and Dance has developed into a unique forum for intercultural exchange. Strategies for this initiative's future growth are identified and explored.