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FIG. 1 (above): Ginger
Wikilyiri discusses the canvas
shown in fi g. 5, realized with
Keith Stevens and Bernard
Tjalkuri, during the opening
of Territoire du rêve.
© Fondation Pierre Arnaud, Lens.
Nestled in the high plateau of Crans-
Montana in Switzerland, the Pierre Arnaud
Foundation in Lens is presenting a magnifi cent
exhibition on Australian art called Art aborigène.
Territoire du Rêve (Aboriginal Art: Dreaming
Territory), which will be on view until May 20,
2018. Bérengère Primat, a woman whose sensibility
for the culture is a part of her family’s DNA, is
the driving force behind this groundbreaking
show. In the fi rst interview she has agreed to give,
she told us in her gentle and understated tone
about her unusual connection with Australian
Aboriginal art. Her story is both fascinating and
touching, and it demonstrates that love, humility,
and determination can lead to incredible human
experiences as well as artistic ones.
Tribal Art Magazine: You are deeply connected
to the world of art and culture, but all of your
collecting activities have been concentrated on
Australian Aboriginal art. Why is that?
Bérengère Primat: First of all, it’s important for
me to stress that I absolutely do not see myself
as being a collector. Amassing, possessing, and
systematically acquiring pieces—the qualities that
are the hallmarks of the collector—are not at all
part of my mindset. I consider myself an afi cionado
and a sponsor of Aboriginal art, although my
passion for it has led me to buying works of art
that speak to me. Since that has been going on for
about fi fteen years now, it is true that I have put
together a quite substantial ensemble of Aboriginal
artworks that I have fi nally come around to
seeing as a collection, for lack of any better term
to describe the way I live with the art. And why
FIG. 2 (top right): Bérengère
Primat with artist Dinny
Nolan Tjampitjinpa, Alice
Springs, NT, 2007.
© Personal archive of Bérengère
Primat.