NAISDA’s Developing Artists, trainers and staff recently enjoyed an excursion to Canberra, where they enjoyed an opportunity to experience a special exhibition at National Museum of Australia called Songlines, Tracking the Seven Sisters Exhibition.
The exhibition is the first of its kind, telling an Indigenous founding narrative, Seven Sisters Dreaming, using Indigenous ways of passing on knowledge. The exhibition, which features the work of more than 100 Aboriginal artists, including stunning paintings, weavings and sculptures, as well as photos, videos and multimedia projections, takes viewers on a journey across the Australian desert in a meeting of ancient knowledge and new technology.
The enriching and immersive experience provided Developing Artists with the opportunity to learn about the passing of cultural knowledge and the importance of understanding, preserving and sharing Songlines for future generations.
As well as the morning’s visit to Songlines, we experienced a striking and very powerful virtual reality experience in the afternoon called Collisions.
Strapping on our Virtual Reality headsets and headphones, we were literally transported to the remote Western Australian Desert, the land of Indigenous elder Nyarri Nyarri Morgan and the Martu people. This was an immediate, emotive and unique way to connect so tangibly with the stories of the Martu and the issues they are facing.
It was a long trip, travelling to Canberra and back in a day, but an unparalleled and thrilling opportunity to celebrate and experience Indigenous culture, presented so beautifully through these groundbreaking exhibitions.
Here’s what NAISDA Developing Artist Amy Flannery had to say about the experience:
“It was only a short five-hour drive to beautiful Ngunnawal country and the Capital of Australia, Canberra, where the tracking of the Seven Sister’s Songlines is being shared at the National Museum Australia.
Before the exhibit entry, there was a set of five screens with Aunties and Uncles welcoming and encouraging people in language to go in.
It has been mentioned that Elders are worried that youth are too distracted with technology and other worldly things that Dreamtime stories will not be passed on and will inevitably be forgotten. I think the exhibit displayed a traditional story in a very contemporary and relatable way that was able to capture and grasp everyday people without losing the essence and cultural values within the Seven Sister’s Songlines exhibition.
I loved that the artworks throughout the exhibit were used for the dome experience. We were taken on a journey through the museum, coming full circle and ending where we started, almost like everything did not really happen yet leaving completely changed with a warm fuzz in my chest.”