What: a 5 day didgeridoo-making and didgeridoo-playing workshop with Djalu Gurruwiwi and family on country. Djalu will show you how to find a suitable tree to harvest and instruct you in the finer points of crafting your own instrument. At the end of the process a family member will paint your didgeridoo. Djalu was recently a winner at the National … Read More
Tanderrum 2014, Federation Square, Melbourne (AU)
What: opening of the 2014 Melbourne Festival with a Tanderrum ceremony, only the second of such an event since 1835. “Presented by Melbourne Festival, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company in association with The Bardas Family Foundation. TANDERRUM is the traditional ceremony of the Kulin nations. It is a welcoming festival of song, dance, trading and cultural exchange. This is an essential and … Read More
In Between Songs
By Joshua Bell My journey as a filmmaker and as a human being is reflected in the crafting of the documentary, In Between Songs. Over the course of nearly twelve years since I first visited Arnhem Land, much has happened, both to me and to the Gurruwiwi family. In Between Songs is a tiny 87 minute window into a vast and complex cultural landscape. … Read More
Individuality is a basic human right
By Dean Frenkel Civilisation requires societies to value a range of human liberties and protect them as rights. It’s important to identify each one and the degree they are respected. My siblings and I were born in Australia to Jewish parents. Our mother was 6th generation Australian, and father, a Polish immigrant who had been forced out of his homeland … Read More
Witchetty Grub
How do you feel about snacks that wriggle while you’re eating them? One of the best know Australian bush foods is the witchery grubs, also known as witjuti grubs. They are part of the traditional diet of indigenous Australians. This grub is the larva of a moth and found in Central Australia. They are normally found in the root system of the Witchetty Bush and … Read More