How do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples express and maintain heritage and identity through art, music, dance, story and the media?
Examine cultural expression through art, music, dance, story, film and media as a means of maintaining and renewing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and identity
A clear answer on cultural expression for HSC Aboriginal Studies. Covers visual art, songlines and music, dance and ceremony, story, and contemporary film and media, explaining how the arts carry Dreaming knowledge, assert identity, and renew culture, while respecting cultural protocols and intellectual property.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
NESA wants you to examine how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples express and maintain heritage and identity through cultural forms: art, music, dance, story, film and media. The key idea is that these are not just artistic products but vehicles for law, knowledge, connection to Country and identity, and that they are dynamic, carrying tradition forward into new forms. A strong response treats cultural expression as both a means of maintaining heritage and an act of self-determination, while respecting that cultural knowledge belongs to communities.
The answer
Cultural expression carries knowledge
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, art, song, dance and story are how Dreaming knowledge, law and connection to Country are recorded and passed on. These forms predate writing and have carried complex knowledge across thousands of generations. Cultural expression is therefore a form of education and law as much as art, and the right to perform a particular song, paint a particular design or tell a particular story is held under kinship and custom, not freely available to anyone.
Visual art and design
Visual art ranges from rock art and engravings that are among the oldest in the world, to bark painting, sand and body designs, to the contemporary acrylic painting movements that began at places such as Papunya in the central desert. Designs often encode Country, Dreaming stories and the rights of the artist to depict them. The contemporary Aboriginal art movement has also become economically and politically significant, asserting identity on a national and global stage while raising important questions about the protection of cultural intellectual property.
Music, dance and ceremony
Music and dance, often performed in ceremony, bring people into relationship with kin, community and the ancestral world, strengthening identity and belonging. Traditional instruments and song cycles carry Dreaming knowledge, while contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians across many genres assert identity, tell stories of history and survival, and reach wide audiences. Dance companies and festivals maintain and renew performance traditions and showcase them with pride.
Story and language
Oral storytelling transmits Dreaming narratives, family history and law, and is inseparable from language. The revival of languages and the recording of stories, on community terms, are central to maintaining identity. Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers extend this tradition into literature, carrying voice and perspective into new forms while drawing on the deep well of oral culture.
Film and media
Film, television and digital media have become powerful tools of cultural expression and self-determination. Aboriginal-controlled media organisations, filmmakers and broadcasters tell stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, countering stereotypes and asserting agency over how communities are represented. National Indigenous Television (NITV) began broadcasting in 2007 and became a free-to-air channel on SBS in 2012, while the Koori Mail newspaper, founded in 1991 and owned by Aboriginal community organisations, has long carried community news and voice. Control over representation is itself a self-determination issue, because for much of Australian history Aboriginal people were represented by others rather than speaking for themselves.
Protocols and intellectual property
Because cultural expression carries knowledge owned under custom, protocols matter. The right to depict a design, sing a song or tell a story is held by particular people and groups, and Indigenous cultural and intellectual property must be respected, including in commercial and educational use. Strong responses acknowledge that cultural expression is not a free resource but belongs to communities, which connects directly to data sovereignty and self-determination.
Examples in context
Example 1. The Papunya art movement. Beginning in the early 1970s at Papunya in the central desert, Aboriginal artists translated traditional sand and body designs into acrylic paintings on canvas and board, launching a movement that has become internationally significant while raising ongoing questions about the protection of custodial designs and cultural intellectual property.
Example 2. National Indigenous Television (NITV). Launched in 2007 and made free-to-air on SBS in 2012, NITV is an Aboriginal-controlled broadcaster that gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creators direct control over storytelling, illustrating how film and media function as both cultural expression and self-determination.
Try this
Q1. Identify three forms of cultural expression examined in this dot point. [3 marks]
- Cue. Any three of: visual art, songlines/music, dance/ceremony, story, film/media.
Q2. Explain why protocols matter for the use of Aboriginal cultural designs, songs or stories. [5 marks]
- Cue. Custom-based ownership of the right to depict/perform; Indigenous cultural and intellectual property; a named example (e.g. Papunya-derived designs).
Q3. Assess the impact of increased Aboriginal-controlled media on the maintenance and renewal of heritage and identity. [8 marks]
- Cue. Self-determination over representation (NITV, 2007/2012); transmission of language and Dreaming (Koori Mail, 1991); countering stereotypes; counter-weight of scale/under-representation; judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of NESA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
2019 HSC20 marksExplain how representations in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal media have promoted Aboriginal peoples' heritage and identity.Show worked answer →
For 20 marks, structure an explanation that draws on both Aboriginal-controlled and mainstream media, with concrete examples.
- Aboriginal-controlled media
- Show how outlets and creators owned and run by Aboriginal peoples assert identity on their own terms: National Indigenous Television (NITV), the Koori Mail newspaper, Indigenous radio, and First Nations film and music. These carry community voices, language, Country and Dreaming, strengthening heritage and supporting self-determination over representation.
- Non-Aboriginal media
- Mainstream broadcasters and platforms have promoted heritage and identity when they amplify Aboriginal stories, for example landmark films and series featuring Aboriginal writers and actors, NAIDOC coverage, and acknowledgement of Country in public broadcasting.
- Explain the effect
- Both forms can promote pride, transmit culture to younger generations, educate the wider public and counter negative stereotypes. Note the tension that representation in non-Aboriginal media is only positive when it is accurate, consultative and avoids appropriation. Markers reward an explanation that links specific media examples to the maintenance and renewal of heritage and identity.
2023 HSC20 marksAssess the impact of increased Aboriginal representation in the media on Aboriginal peoples and the wider Australian community.Show worked answer →
The verb "assess" requires a judgement on the impact of increased representation, weighed across two audiences.
- Impact on Aboriginal peoples
- Increased representation through outlets such as NITV, the Koori Mail and a growing body of First Nations film, music and journalism strengthens cultural pride, transmits language and Dreaming knowledge, models success for young people, and supports self-determination by letting communities control their own story.
- Impact on the wider community
- Accurate, Aboriginal-led representation educates non-Aboriginal Australians, challenges stereotypes and cultural racism, and builds support for reconciliation and recognition.
- Qualify the judgement
- Note continuing limits: under-representation in decision-making roles, the persistence of negative or sensationalised coverage in some mainstream media, and risks of appropriation when stories are told without consultation.
- Conclusion
- Increased representation has had a substantial and largely positive impact - empowering Aboriginal peoples and informing the wider public - but the impact is uneven and depends on whether representation is genuinely community-controlled and accurate.
Practice questions
Original practice questions graded from foundation to exam level, each with a full worked solution. Try them before revealing the solution.
foundation3 marksIdentify three forms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural expression covered by this dot point.Show worked solution →
Answer (1 mark each, any three). Visual art (or design); songlines/music; dance and ceremony; story; film and media (any three of these five).
Marking spine: 1 mark for each correctly named form, up to 3; a vague answer such as "culture" with no named form scores 0.
foundation4 marksExplain why cultural expression is described as carrying 'knowledge' rather than simply being artistic decoration.Show worked solution →
Explanation (4 marks). Art, song, dance and story are the means by which Dreaming knowledge, law and connection to Country have been recorded and passed on across thousands of generations, predating writing. The right to perform a particular song, paint a particular design, or tell a particular story is held under kinship and custom, not freely available to anyone, showing that these forms function as education and law as much as art.
Marking spine: identifies that cultural forms carry Dreaming knowledge/law/Country (2), links this to the custom-based ownership of the right to perform/depict (2). An answer describing only artistic style with no reference to knowledge or custom caps at 1 to 2.
core5 marksExplain what a songline is and why it is described as encoding knowledge that is 'at once spiritual, practical and legal'.Show worked solution →
Definition (2 marks). A songline (or dreaming track) is a sung sequence that maps the journeys of ancestral beings across Country.
Why it is spiritual, practical and legal (3 marks). It is spiritual because it recounts the actions of ancestral beings and connects the singer to the Dreaming; it is practical because the song encodes geography and ecological knowledge, functioning as a form of navigation across the land; it is legal because it carries law and custom, including who has the right to sing particular sections, tying knowledge, land and authority together in a single form.
Marking spine: accurate definition (2); all three dimensions (spiritual, practical, legal) explained with a specific link to the songline's function (3, 1 per dimension). Naming only one or two dimensions caps at 3 to 4.
core6 marksAn illustrative ExamExplained dataset tracks the share of surveyed Australians able to name at least one Aboriginal-led film or television production: about 15% in 2010, 28% in 2015, 45% in 2020, and 62% in 2024. Describe the pattern and explain two factors that plausibly contributed to it.Show worked solution →
Describe the pattern (about 2 marks). Awareness rose steadily and substantially across the period, from about 15% in 2010 to about 62% in 2024, more than quadrupling; the increase appears to accelerate after 2015, with the largest single jump (17 percentage points) occurring between 2015 and 2020.
Explain two contributing factors (about 4 marks). First, the growth of Aboriginal-controlled media and Aboriginal-led screen production, including National Indigenous Television (NITV, launched 2007, free-to-air on SBS from 2012), gave Aboriginal creators greater control and visibility over storytelling, increasing the volume and reach of Aboriginal-led content. Second, mainstream broadcasters and streaming platforms increasingly commissioned and promoted Aboriginal-led film and television, amplifying reach to audiences beyond dedicated Aboriginal media and increasing public awareness. Together, growth in both Aboriginal-controlled and mainstream distribution plausibly explains the rising trend.
Marking spine: an accurate reading with at least two figures and the accelerating shape noted (2), two distinct, plausible factors each explained with a mechanism (4, 2 each). Figures are an illustrative ExamExplained dataset; treat as illustrative, not a real survey.
core5 marksExplain why protocols and cultural intellectual property matter for Aboriginal cultural expression, using one specific example.Show worked solution →
Why protocols matter (3 marks). Cultural expression carries knowledge and rights that are owned under custom rather than freely available: the right to sing a particular song, paint a particular design, or tell a particular story belongs to specific people and kinship groups. Because this knowledge is not a free public resource, protocols govern who may use, reproduce or adapt it, including in commercial and educational contexts, and Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (ICIP) must be respected.
Example (2 marks). The contemporary Aboriginal art movement (for example, works originating from the Papunya painting movement that began in the early 1970s) has raised protection concerns where designs have been reproduced commercially without the artist's or community's consent, showing why ICIP protections and consultation with the relevant custodians are essential.
Marking spine: the custom-based ownership principle explained (3), a specific, accurate example connecting to protocol/ICIP concerns (2). An answer with no named example caps at 3.
exam8 marksAssess the impact of increased Aboriginal-controlled media on the maintenance and renewal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and identity.Show worked solution →
An 8-mark "assess" needs a sustained judgement across multiple named forms of Aboriginal-controlled media, not a description of one outlet.
Band 6 PLAN.
Thesis: Aboriginal-controlled media, including National Indigenous Television, community newspapers and Aboriginal-led film, has had a substantial positive impact on maintaining and renewing heritage and identity, by transferring control over representation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples themselves, though the impact remains constrained by resourcing and continued under-representation in mainstream decision-making.
Argument 1 - self-determination over representation. National Indigenous Television (NITV) launched in 2007 and became free-to-air on SBS in 2012, giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creators and communities a platform to tell their own stories on their own terms, directly countering a long history in which Aboriginal peoples were represented by others rather than speaking for themselves.
Argument 2 - transmission of language, Dreaming and history. Aboriginal-controlled outlets, including the Koori Mail newspaper (founded 1991), carry community news, language and cultural content that mainstream media rarely covers, actively renewing cultural knowledge for younger generations who may otherwise have limited access to it.
Argument 3 - countering stereotypes and building pride. Aboriginal-led film and television, screened through Aboriginal-controlled outlets and increasingly picked up by mainstream platforms, model success and pride for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences and educate the wider public, reducing reliance on externally imposed, often negative, media stereotypes.
Counter-weight / judgement: Aboriginal-controlled media outlets typically operate with far smaller budgets and reach than mainstream broadcasters, and Aboriginal people remain under-represented in senior mainstream media decision-making roles, so the impact, while real and significant, has not fully displaced the influence of non-Aboriginal-controlled representation; on balance, Aboriginal-controlled media has substantially strengthened self-determined heritage and identity maintenance, with the main limitation being scale and continued gatekeeping in mainstream institutions rather than a lack of impact.
Marker's note: markers reward a sustained thesis, at least three distinct, named forms of Aboriginal-controlled media each with a mechanism linking it to heritage/identity maintenance, and a genuine counter-weight (scale, mainstream under-representation) resolved into a judgement. Description of one outlet with no analysis of impact stays mid-band.
exam6 marksAnalyse how the contemporary Aboriginal visual art movement both maintains tradition and functions as a form of contemporary self-determination.Show worked solution →
A 6-mark "analyse" needs the dual function (maintaining tradition AND self-determination) developed together, not treated as two unrelated points.
Maintaining tradition (about 3 marks). Visual art ranges from rock art and engravings among the oldest in the world, through bark, sand and body designs, to the acrylic painting movement that began at Papunya in the central desert in the early 1970s; designs continue to encode Country, Dreaming stories and the artist's custodial right to depict them, carrying the same knowledge functions as older forms into a new medium.
Functioning as self-determination (about 3 marks). The contemporary art movement has become economically and politically significant, giving Aboriginal artists and communities an internationally recognised platform to assert identity and cultural authority on their own terms, while also raising and reinforcing the importance of protecting cultural intellectual property, since commercial success increases both the visibility and the risk of unauthorised reproduction of custodial designs.
Marking spine: the continuity-of-knowledge function explained with an accurate example (Papunya) (3), the self-determination/economic-political significance function explained with an explicit link to identity and ICIP protection (3). Treating the two functions with no connecting analysis caps at 4.