Beruk was the inaugural exhibition launching the new First Peoples gallery dedicated to presenting Victoria’s Indigenous voices at the State Library of Victoria. The exhibition was awarded the ganbu gulin Aboriginal Melbourne Award at the 2024 Melbourne Awards.

Studio Peter King and Well-made were commissioned by Victorian Indigenous Research Centre in collaboration with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation to create the exhibition spatial and graphic design for this important project that, in the words of the descendants of Beruk “welcomes home two artworks, Corroborree (Women in Possum Skin Cloaks) and a Parrying Shield back to Wurundjeri Country and community where they belong.”

The exhibition design utilised curved paper walls to create different zones within the circular gallery. Approaching the rotunda, visitors encounter the exhibition title wall depicting Beruk’s name and portrait. Studio Peter King and Well-made conceived and developed a bespoke signage system that integrated with the pleats of the curved paper walls. The printed medium was scored by a machine and then folded by hand, before being affixed to the wall.

Client: State Library Victoria | Victorian Indigenous Research Centre
Curator: Stacie Piper
Exhibition Design: Studio Peter King
Exhibition Graphic Design: Well-made
Graphics: Design To Print and Boom Studio