Archie Moore’s Golden Lion-winning kith and kin acquired by Tate in partnership with Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Tate today announced that Archie Moore’s landmark artwork kith and kin is being acquired in partnership with Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in Australia. The acquisition is being supported by Creative Australia and the Australian government, in a collaboration which will ensure kith and kin’s enduring legacy on the world stage.

Winner of the Golden Lion award for Best National Participation at the 2024 La Biennale de Venezia, kith and kin represents the expansiveness of First Nations Australian history, whilst speaking to the universality of the human family.

In kith and kin, Moore maps 65,000 years and 2,400 family generations through a genealogical chart hand-drawn in chalk across expansive walls. Evoking the artist’s Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British heritage, the piece brings international awareness to the vitality of kinship, while acting as a memorial to the past and present injustices faced by First Nations people. The work builds on Moore’s enduring exploration of history and identity developed over 30 years of artistic practice.

Tate and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s connection with kith and kin is implied by the artwork’s exploration of maternal First Nations (Kamilaroi/Bigambul) and paternal British convict lines, gesturing to the complex terrain that defines and connects Australia and the United Kingdom as nations.

The acquisition of kith and kin reflects the growing commitment to indigenous artists at Tate. Building on the success of recent acquisitions, Tate seeks to create a step-change in the number of contemporary artists from indigenous communities around the world whose work is represented in our galleries.

On the news of the acquisition, Archie Moore said:

“I am so grateful for this generous donation that enables kith and kin to be seen both in Australia and overseas, in the near and distant future.”

Tate Director Maria Balshaw said:

"Archie Moore's kith and kin is both highly personal and political, and it offers a powerful meditation on humanity's interconnections stretching back into deep time. Sharing this great work with QAGOMA also reflects the ever-stronger ties between Tate and our fellow art museums in Australia.

“It builds on the hugely successful joint acquisitions we made with the MCA in Sydney in partnership with Qantas and our upcoming collaboration with the NGA in Canberra to bring Emily Kam Kngwarray to Tate Modern. I'm very grateful to Creative Australia and all our friends and colleagues in the region who have helped make these relationships blossom."

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Director, Chris Saines CNZM, said:

“Encountering Archie Moore’s kith and kin at the Venice Biennale was a spectacular and moving experience that resonated with the weight of history and ancestry. In its unimaginable endeavour to map a personal genealogy through more than two thousand generations, Moore has summoned up an extraordinary image of human connection through deep time.

“kith and kin has that rare power to still you into silence and reflection. We are profoundly grateful to be the joint custodians of this historic work and we look forward to showing the project, curated by QAGOMA’s Curator of Contemporary Australian Art, Ellie Buttrose, in Brisbane from August 2025.”

Following its display at the Australia Pavilion, Venice, kith and kin will be presented at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane in 2025-2026.