Opening of the Saltwater Freshwater exhibition 09.12.23

Manning River Times

Opening of the Saltwater Freshwater exhibition at the Manning Regional Art Gallery

Transcript

00:00 As an artist myself, I understand what you go through.

00:04 And being through some exhibitions myself,

00:09 I know what it feels like when you first put your heart--

00:12 that's your heart as an artist, putting your work up there

00:15 on the walls for people to like.

00:18 So congratulations to you.

00:22 I even look at the back, and I'm admiring even just what I've

00:26 seen in here, different artists that have put their time

00:29 and effort into it.

00:32 And on that path, also, the layer that we stand on.

00:40 This country, Aboriginal people, we identify to our--

00:45 the Burrapai country, the Warrawa country, the Wurundjeri

00:49 country, the Bunjilung country, and so forth.

00:52 And there's many countries all over Australia

00:55 that Aboriginal people claim as their country.

01:00 Burrapai means "place of big hollow."

01:02 We now call this the Manning Valley today.

01:05 But for thousands of years, we've already named this place.

01:09 Burrapai means "place of big hollow."

01:12 Burrapai Wurrawa.

01:15 And our people hunted and gathered for thousands of years,

01:18 like I said.

01:20 We moved along these rivers, creeks, and the ocean

01:24 at different times of the year.

01:26 So this land was very precious and sacred to us.

01:30 There may be robots.

01:31 There may be other things all around me today.

01:33 But deep underneath that all the heart is footsteps

01:38 of my ancestors, where they've walked and gathered

01:43 for thousands of years.

01:44 So I stand here, a strong Burrapai man.

01:49 And I want to welcome you now in the language that's

01:52 spoken in this country.

01:56 Gatang, gatang language.

01:59 And it goes like this.

02:01 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

02:21 I said, greetings.

02:22 My name is Uncle Russ.

02:24 And I, yes, I am a proud, strong Burrapai man.

02:28 This is Burrapai country.

02:30 And it always was and it always will be Burrapai country.

02:35 This is sha country.

02:37 But this is our country.

02:39 I share this with all of us today.

02:41 This is our country.

02:44 So let us go together, my friends.

02:49 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

02:51 And that's where they said, it sounds like didgeridoo.

02:59 And that's where the name comes from.

03:02 But it comes from the top end in the central desert.

03:06 There's two names up there, the way they call it.

03:09 But let me play it in tune.

03:12 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

03:18 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

03:22 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

03:25 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

03:29 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

03:32 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

03:36 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

03:39 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

03:42 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

03:54 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

03:57 [MUSIC - "GATANG"]

04:00 [APPLAUSE]

04:19 The Saltwater Freshwater Arts 2023

04:22 is a touring exhibition combining the Saltwater

04:25 Freshwater Aboriginal Art Award and Contemporary Cultural

04:28 Object Exhibition.

04:30 This award was established in 2017.

04:32 And the exhibition features artists

04:34 from Warrami, Biripi, Dungunee, and Gulbanga

04:37 nations on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

04:40 Saltwater Freshwater is an organization

04:42 which is supported by the New South Wales

04:44 government through Create New South Wales.

04:46 And without their support, this exhibition wouldn't happen.

04:51 This year's guest curator is Crown Rajaridman,

04:54 Catherine Kroll.

04:55 Catherine, unexpectedly and due to unforeseen circumstances,

04:59 can't be here today.

05:01 So I would just like to say a few words on her behalf

05:05 about the exhibition.

05:07 Catherine is an artist herself, a curator, a writer,

05:10 and lecturer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies

05:13 at TAFE New South Wales, and the founding director

05:16 of Cultural Partnerships Australia.

05:18 Catherine has initiated and managed large international

05:20 touring exhibitions and cultural exchange programs

05:23 throughout the Asia Pacific and works

05:26 in the space of having that cross-cultural connections

05:30 between Asia and indigenous nations.

05:34 So this is from Catherine.

05:36 "I'm delighted by the diversity of artwork

05:38 and the breadth of stories submitted.

05:40 Artists from across the saltwater freshwater footprint

05:43 have created pieces which reflect their personal journeys,

05:46 their connection to country, language, culture,

05:49 and family.

05:50 Many of the works specifically reference the colour

05:53 of the artist's saltwater freshwater country

05:56 and their connections to the ancestral knowledge

05:59 and law passed down over millennia."

06:02 So thank you to Catherine.

06:04 And I would like to also say thank you

06:06 to all of the artists that are present here.

06:08 So if you're an artist for saltwater freshwater,

06:10 just put your hand up.

06:12 Wonderful.

06:14 Yay.

06:15 So thank you.

06:16 And the artists, the works that continue on the tour,

06:20 they started in on Gadigal country

06:22 at the Gumbali Aboriginal Art Gallery in Sydney.

06:25 And it will continue on with a third space to have the show.

06:30 It'll head up to Coffs Harbour.

06:31 It will go to Kempsey.

06:33 And then it's also going to come back to Port Macquarie.

06:35 So there's still opportunity to see the show further up here.

06:39 But we're very happy to have it here.

06:41 So thank you so much to the artists.

06:43 And congratulations.

06:45 [laughter]

06:47 [no audio]

Category

Transcript

Recommended