While Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, just a few blocks away, gallerist Michael Reid and director Toby Meagher were hosting some of America's most prominent art world figures at their pop-up exhibition of Indigenous Australian art. The timing couldn't have been more dramatic, as their gallery opened amid the chaos of a government shutdown that has closed all of the nation's capital museums.

"The Stars Before Us All" opened in mid-October in downtown Washington, situated just off a busy and sometimes chaotic corner in the heart of the city. The exhibition's launch coincided with major international events, including the World Bank's annual meeting and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit, which created traffic gridlock throughout the area. Despite the urban mayhem, curious locals have discovered this unexpected cultural oasis.

"The sentiment from everyone who's stepped in is like: you get this preamble about how things in Washington are kind of crazy, and it's really nice to have something like an oasis," explains Meagher, director of Michael Reid Galleries. The gallery has become a refuge from the political turmoil surrounding it, offering visitors a peaceful space to engage with Indigenous Australian culture.

Reid shares a particularly touching encounter: "We had a woman come in this morning, formerly from the State Department, and she was really excited. She said, 'I was having a really bad day.' And then she rushed up saying, 'Thank you, I've been really energized,' and she's looking at buying a work." These personal connections highlight the exhibition's impact on Washington's art community.

The location in downtown D.C.'s somewhat sterile government district, surrounded by federal departments and corporate steakhouses, might seem unusual for a commercial collection featuring more than 30 works from 20 Aboriginal artists. However, the placement was strategic, originally planned to complement a landmark event in Indigenous art history.

The exhibition was designed to coincide with the National Gallery of Victoria's touring show at Washington's National Gallery of Art, titled "The Stars We Do Not See," curated by Myles Russell-Cook. This collaboration would have created a significant cultural moment for Indigenous Australian art in America's capital. Unfortunately, the federal government shutdown derailed these plans, leaving the major institutional exhibition locked away with no reopening date in sight.

Reid and Meagher have transformed this setback into an unexpected opportunity. "Strangely enough, among all the chaos and discombobulation, it's actually working in our favor," Reid notes. Without the usual institutional programming competing for attention, their pop-up has attracted museum directors and serious collectors from New York who might not have otherwise made the trip.

The exhibition's guest of honor at the recent launch party was Regina Pilawuk Wilson, whom Reid describes as "Australia's preeminent living female First Nations artist." Her work "Wupun," a painting of a sun mat, occupies the place of honor in the intimate gallery space. Wilson's connection to Washington runs deep – in 2018, she painted two murals at the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle, and her fishnet designs, inspired by traditional Aboriginal weaving, are featured in carpets throughout the Australian embassy.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd, despite his busy schedule preparing for Prime Minister Albanese's visit, made time to meet Wilson and her family before the exhibition's opening. He personally showed her the community hub and meeting room at the embassy that bears her name, highlighting the diplomatic importance of cultural exchange.

The exhibition showcases a diverse range of contemporary Indigenous artists, including Gaypalani Wanambi, a Yolŋu artist from Yirrkala in northeast Arnhem Land and winner of the prestigious 2025 Telstra Art Award. Her innovative work transforms found metal road signs, marking her U.S. debut. The show also features Kuninjku carver and painter Owen Yalandja and contemporary artist Christian Thompson, among others.

"We're showing quite a broad range of work," Meagher explains. "We are trying to open an entry point for new North American collectors into First Nations art, and we want to show that there's a real breadth that's probably beyond what's expected." This educational approach aims to expand American understanding of Indigenous Australian artistic traditions.

Sales have been slower than initially anticipated due to the absence of the National Gallery exhibition, but Meagher reports fresh interest from institutional collectors in recent weeks. "It's going OK, but there's still work to do," he admits. "We have sold probably 65-70 percent of the show now. Ideally, we would have been getting close to selling out. So we're giving ourselves an extra couple of weeks." The exhibition has been extended until November 9 to accommodate the growing interest.

Indigenous Australian art has found a growing audience among North American collectors, with notable supporters including actor Steve Martin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art added new Indigenous artworks to its reopened Michael C. Rockefeller wing earlier this year, though they represented only a small portion of the Oceanic exhibit. However, the market has faced challenges, including a disappointing Sotheby's auction in New York last year, widely attributed to poor timing following the death of well-connected dealer Tim Klingender.

Meanwhile, the National Gallery of Victoria's touring exhibition remains locked inside the National Gallery of Art, waiting for politicians on nearby Capitol Hill to resolve their differences, reopen the government, and restore access to the nation's cultural institutions. Until then, "The Stars Before Us All" continues to serve as Washington's unexpected window into Indigenous Australian culture, proving that sometimes the most meaningful cultural exchanges happen in the most unlikely circumstances.