Two regional NSW Voices of Women programs in Dubbo on Wiradjuri
(Tabba-Gah Maing) Country and on the Mid North Coast on Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr Country showed the power of diversity and what happens when women from First Nations and multicultural communities come together to listen to each other, get creative and be heard. The program focussed on:
- Yarning, Creative Storymaking, Weaving
- Refreshments and Connecting Across Cultures
- Time Out to Be Creative
- Readings, Performance and Recordings
Mid North Coast – Kempsey
There’s something special that happens when women come together on Country. The spirit of connection was alive at the ‘Stronger Women’ yarning workshop, co-facilitated with Amie Jacky, General Manager of Dunghutti Elders Aboriginal Corporation, where Dunghutti Women Elders and women from across the community gathered to connect, laugh, learn and share. Together, the women explored what matters, shared the problems they faced, celebrated the strengths within the community and imagined positive change to help shape a brighter future. We were excited to see their beautiful new outdoor yarning circle, launched during NAIDOC Week.
We joined the Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre women’s groups for craft and cooking, inspired to talk about the power of community and creativity to boost confidence and connection. Thank you to Shirley Kent and the team at KNC for inviting us to take part.
Mid North Coast – Coffs Harbour
We sold out our CREATIVE + CONNECTED workshop in Coffs Harbour / Girlambirla on Gumbaynggirr Country at the Gallery, Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance! It was a powerful statement of the magic that can happen when we share across cultures.
Welcomed by Aunty Debbie Kelly, women from over eight different cultures and languages around the world shared stories, explored where our imagination could take us, laughed and cried and shared a fabulous Bush Tucker lunch. We then joined in a Connecting Through Country Weaving Experience with senior Dunghutti weaver Aunty Cheryl Blair and her daughter Nancy Pattison.
Voices of Women invited our composer in residence Elizabeth Jigalin to create a musical response to our voices and stories. We invite you to slow down, take a moment to place yourself in the space we created together and listen to the poetry that happens when our voices intertwine with music.
We were thrilled to hold the workshop in The Gallery at Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance amongst the exhibition of artist Uncle Allan Phillips, Gumbaynggirr, Guringai & Worimi Elder. Find out more here.
Thank you to Amie Jacky at Dunghutti Elders and Shirley Kent at Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre. Thank you to Mizgeen Barakat for co-facilitating and translating at the Coffs Harbour workshop and to everyone who took part: Pamela, Esther, Carmel, Kirsty, Kirra, Michelle, Lucy, Lilian, Mohadese, Media Badal Ibraheem Khalaf, Nofa, Alice, Shamy, Shirin, Heather, Judith, Guli, Naomi, Gawri, Caty, Moriah, Olivia, Aisho, Charity, Janan Greenwood and everyone at the Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance for their beautiful venue, production assistance and community support. Thank you for the support from Naomi Steinborner from All One Under the Sun and STARTTS, our assistant on professional development from TAFE NSW Macksville and Kempsey Heather Clarke, and Lillian Hong from TAFE NSW Multicultural Network.
We connected with inspiring Australian women in Dubbo, with First Nations women on Wiradjuri Tubba-Gah Country, and from women with heritage in cultures in Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Greece, France, India, United Kingdom.
Click the link above to see and hear what we got up to!
This Multicultural Grassroots Initiative received grant funding from the Australian Government and support from the Carla Zampatti Foundation.