Acknowledgements
This book is the result of the creative and intellectual contributions of the many authors of the chapters within. It was written on the Country of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the continent now known as Australia, and we acknowledge the elders of the unceded lands on which this book was conceived, imagined into being and realised in written form. In a number of cases, the chapters have been worked up through collaboration and ongoing discussion over a number of years, and we thank the authors for their persistence and willingness to shape their ideas and experiences into the forms in which they appear here. The work of bringing the chapters together and researching and writing several of them has been supported by funding from the Australian Research Council for the projects ‘Hearing the Music of Early NSW, 1788–1860’ (DP210101511), ‘Restoring on-Country Performance’ (IN200100012), ‘Resonant Histories of Musical Encounter in Australia’ (FT220100115) and ‘Making Social Cohesion Ecocentric through Indigenous Language and Song’ (FT230100651). We also acknowledge the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the University of Sydney for their financial support for editorial work in finalising the chapters. The many anonymous peer reviewers who gave their expert advice on each of the chapters have shaped the volume, and we thank them for their time, generosity and wisdom. Kilmeny MacBride, Julia Russoniello, Laura Case and Amy Budrikis provided careful, meticulous and discerning editorial support in copy-editing the volume – thank you to each of you. The original vision for the volume was shaped in liaison with Cambridge University Press’ Commissioning Editor Kate Brett, and we are grateful for her flexibility, constancy and wise counsel. Anonymous reviewers of the book proposal also constructively and provocatively shaped the direction of the volume, and we acknowledge their valuable advice.
Cover image: Kaylene Whiskey (Australia b1976), Yankunytjatjara, Southern Desert region. Dolly visits Indulkana, 2020. Acrylic on linen with plastic jewels 168 × 198 cm. Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by the Aboriginal Art Collection Benefactors 2020. © Kaylene Whiskey/Copyright Agency, 2024 Image © Art Gallery of New South Wales.
