The annual NAISDA NIDA collaboration explores a multitude of creative and cultural learnings, sparking fresh ideas and forging ongoing connections between First Nations and non-Indigenous artists. This year’s program was no exception, with NAISDA Developing and Practising Artists and NIDA Design and Director students exploring cultural and creative perspectives, storytelling and collaborative performance making.
For NAISDA Practising Artist Joshua Doctor, a Yuwaalaraay, Gamilaraay and Gubbi Gubbi man, the collaboration provided an opportunity to build upon his experience from the previous year’s program. “This year felt different,” he shared. “We all brought our own individual ideas and then shared them with the directors and the designers, breaking down those walls and connecting with them.”
Alira Morgan, a Yuin and Gamilaroi woman and NAISDA Developing Artist, participated in the program for the first time this year, having been an audience member during last year’s final performance presentations.
“I was really happy with this year’s outcome and getting to know everyone properly instead of just watching what they did last year. It was a way cooler experience.”
One of the highlights for Josh was the weaving workshop that was held at the beginning of the week. “We sat and listened to each other’s stories of who we were and our identities,” Josh explained. “Some of us made baskets, some of us made little hanging pieces and some of us had stories that we would incorporate into them.”
Alira also shared her highlight, which were the yarns that took place throughout the week, saying, “The yarns with different people, and then continuing these conversations afterwards about particular subjects were really important and special to me.”
“I really valued a lot of the information that we shared and having that bond with the NIDA students.”
Alira added that another highlight was the openness of the NIDA students in learning and engaging with NAISDA’s connection to culture, adding, “It was also really beautiful seeing how open the NIDA students were towards learning cultural dances.”
When reflecting on their learnings, both artists spoke on the importance of playfulness and exploration as the week progressed.
“Our aim of the week was to just play around and see what the outcome would be,” Alira explained. “There weren’t too many challenges for our group personally. There was a lot of getting to know and trust each other and what our bodies are capable of.”
For Josh, the program offered a new perspective on what he thought the challenges of performance making are. “This year it was all about playing into that world of developing instead of the end result being a performance,” he said. “That gave me a new perspective on the challenges, where the creative piece was not the end result.”
The opportunity to work alongside NIDA students from complementary disciplines also sparked new concepts about creative-making and career possibilities. “From all the different ideas that we had put in individually, suddenly we had all these items and we made a story out of them straight off the bat,” Josh said. “That’s what I want to take into my future career.”
Alira saw the collaboration as an important networking experience and an opportunity to grow her connections within the industry, saying, “I think this collaboration helped in a way that if I need ideas or feedback when I’m creating, I can go to the people I’ve worked with and know, because of our relationship, they would be willing to help.”
“Also just to keep an open mind is a really important aspect to have for my future career as well,” concluded Alira.
If you’re dreaming of becoming a leading First Nations dancer, choreographer, artist or creative innovator, you can register your interest for NAISDA’s 2025 cohort and find out more here.