The 2010 Long Walk will be held on Saturday, May 22, at Federation Square, Melbourne. Following celebrations and activities, AFL champion Michael Long, together with Indigenous leaders and sporting legends, will lead the walkers from Federation Square to the MCG, for the Dreamtime at the 'G annual match between Essendon and Richmond (part of the AFL's National Indigenous Round).

 

This year The Long Walk has taken a exciting new step with the merging of art and sport, launching a set of new official 2010 Long Walk tee-shirts with the themes Strength, Respect and Protect. The artwork was designed by acclaimed Indigenous artist, Clinton Nain.

 

In 2004 Michael Long inspired The Long Walk, with his walk from Melbourne to Canberra to get the lives and future of Indigenous people back on the national agenda.  He wanted to raise awareness about health, education, employment – he wanted equality between black and white Australians.   He asked the then Prime Minister - 'Where is the love?" Now six years on, in 2010, the Long Walk story has been artistically interpreted as a way of promoting Indigenous culture and awareness.

 

Artist Clinton Nain was invited to design a new tee-shirt for The Long Walk. Nain's designs draw on themes familiar in his work - the struggle for Indigenous rights, his iconography of hearts, targets, crosses and text as well as his use of tar, bleach and heritage colours.   With these inspirations, he has created three distinct designs that reflect the intent of the original Long Walk to Canberra and the continual momentum and support that has followed in the last six years.  

 

While the Strength themed shirt draws on the idea of walking in unity, Respect echoes the slogan "Where is the Love (for Indigenous people)?" worn on the original walk in 2004. The third shirt themed Protect features fragile mission flowers, symbolic of the need to protect the fragility of Indigenous culture.

 

Nain has donated the original art works to The Long Walk to be auctioned in 2010 and will conduct floor talks with the curators of the NGV Indigenous Art Gallery at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square from 4pm on Saturday 22 May, 2010.

 

Get your Clinton Nain designed The Long Walk 2010 tee-shirts here

 

Want to get the exclusive Cream designed Clinton Nain tee and walk on the hallowed turf of the MCG with Michael Long at Dreamtime at the 'G? Check out the Onground Walker package by clicking here

 

Clinton Nain is represented by Mossgreen Gallery Melbourne