A total of nine Aboriginal arts projects will be staged in Western Australia, thanks to $324,729 in funding from the State Government.
The funding is provided through the Aboriginal Arts Grants Program, which supports the long-term growth and sustainability of Aboriginal arts and culture.
One of the successful recipients is the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub WA. Aboriginal arts workers in remote areas will work with the Art Gallery of Western Australia on the installation of their highly anticipated Desert River Sea exhibition, due to open in February 2019.
Other projects supported by the grants program include a design project in Albany; a music project in the Gascoyne; visual arts and crafts projects in Roebourne, Fremantle, Derby and Mundaring; and interdisciplinary projects in Warmun and Bluff Point.
The projects to be supported are:
Vancouver Arts Centre – City of Albany, Albany, $40,000
The ‘Mokare Project’ will commission five permanent public artworks by local Menang artists to be installed in the Albany Cultural Centre. The artworks will explore Menang cultural stories and interpret and respond to Mokare’s life and legacy.
Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd (APRA AMCOS), Gascoyne, $40,000
As part of the skills development project, ‘Starting Ground’, APRA AMCOS will receive funding to improve the participation of Goldfields-based Aboriginal musicians in the music industry.
Cheeditha Group Aboriginal Corporation, Roebourne, $31,250
This grant will enable the Cheeditha Arts Group to further their technical skills in glassmaking via workshops with leading Australian glass artist Jessica Loughlin.
Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub WA (AACHWA), Midland, $38,490
Funding will support AACHWA’s new professional development program, which will give remote-based Aboriginal arts workers the chance to be a part of the install of the Desert River Sea exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
DADAA Limited, Fremantle, $35,114
This grant will enable Desmond Woodley, an Aboriginal artist with disability, to present a solo show of paintings and drawings at Ellenbrook Arts. The works will also be translated into an animation and lighting installation at Yagan Square.
Mowanjum Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre, Derby, $40,000
Funding will support ‘Yalmin (Stringybark)’, a collaborative project with Wunambal traditional owners to reinvigorate the traditional cultural practices of bark harvesting and painting.
Mundaring Arts Centre Inc., Mundaring, $19,920
This grant will support the presentation of the DANJOO – INTERWOVEN exhibition and public program at the Midland Junction Arts Centre. The exhibition will present artworks from established and emerging Noongar and indigenous artists along with weaving and fibre puppetry workshops, talks, music and storytelling.
Warmun Art Centre, Warmun, $40,000
The Warmun Art Centre will receive funding for the ‘Joonba Program’ which will maintain and preserve Goja corroboree – practised as performance styles Joonba, Wangga, Balga and Lirrga.
Rebecca Millar, Bluff Point, $39,955
This grant will support the development of a script that tells the harrowing story of the Lock Hospital Tragedy. The project will be a fundamental part of the healing process, paying respect and acknowledging the suffering of several hundred Aboriginal people who were medically incarcerated on Bernier and Dorre islands in the early 1900s.
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
“I am delighted to announce these successful projects that will contribute to our significant Aboriginal arts and culture sector.
“The creative industries are an important part of any community, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects.”
As stated by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt:
“The creative industries are vital to the social, cultural and economic growth of our communities.
“By creating jobs and contributing to the professional development of Western Australian Aboriginal artists, the benefits of this grants program cannot be understated.”
