NAIDOC Week at the Art Gallery of WA

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year's theme Heal Country! invites us to reflect on the need for stronger measures to recognise, care for and protect our lands, waters, sacred sites and cultural heritage. Join AGWA during the July School Holidays for storytelling, basket weaving and studio practice in artist-let workshops supporting local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Visit Balancing Act, an exhibition which attempts to showcase works of art that reflect the depth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture, with other aspects of the Aboriginal condition. For more information on NAIDOC Week at AGWA please visit: artgallery.wa.gov.au/whats-on/events/naidoc-week-2021 Storytelling with Olman Walley 10.30-11.30am, Tuesday 6 and Friday 9 July | FREE, bookings essential In celebration of NAIDOC Week, pop into AGWA and hear from acclaimed Noongar performer and community leader Olman Walley as he takes you on a journey into Noongar culture. Interactive and informative, listen and take part in Dreamtime stories followed by a 'show and tell' where you'll be introduced to traditional artefacts, their uses and connection to other elements of culture such as the six seasons in a 'show and tell' activity. Basket Weaving with Sharyn Egan 10am-1pm, Thursday 8 July | $65+bf Celebrate NAIDOC Week these July School holidays and head to AGWA for a workshop on basket weaving with Noongar artist Sharyn Egan. Interactive and fun, you'll learn how to make an original woven basket by transforming natural fibres and raffia into your own unique vessel using coiling and other techniques. Painting Stories with Rory Charles 10.30am-12.30pm and 1.30-3.30pm, Friday 16 July | $45+bf Join emerging Aboriginal artist Rory Charles during NAIDOC Week and work together to create an Aboriginal-inspired story pole. Learn about Indigenous art traditions and develop your own artwork as well as a collaborative public art piece that will be installed as part of the East Perth redevelopment. Balancing Act 10am-5pm, Tuesday – Monday | FREE This exhibition attempts to showcase works of art that reflect the depth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture, with other aspects of the Aboriginal condition. Image credit - Shane Pickett Waagle - Rainbow Serpent 1983 (detail). Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 183.5 cm (sight); 93.2 x 185.2 cm (framed). State Art Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia. Purchased 1996. © Shane Pickett, 1983.