The first Aboriginal Tent Embassy was erected in 1972 on the front lawn at Parliament House in Canberra. It was an occupational protest in response to prime minister William McMahon’s Australia Day announcement that no form of traditional land ownership would be recognised under Australian law. An escalating police response to the protest only encouraged wider participation, with people from across Australia mobilising and making their way to Canberra to show their support.

Bell’s Embassy 2013 is a recreation of the 1974 iteration of the Tent Embassy, which was mounted in support of the Yirrkala petition on land rights presented to the subsequent prime minister, Gough Whitlam. The installation embodies the spirit and energy of the movement and stands as a potent symbol of resistance and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander empowerment.