Weaving stories and reclaiming culture

THE travelling Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali exhibition is concluding its regional tour at Lismore Regional Gallery next month.

The cultural homecoming brings together nine ancestral woven objects – returned to Country from the Australian Museum – with 10 newly commissioned works by contemporary Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr and Kamilaroi artists.

Curator and Bundjalung artist, Kylie Caldwell, said the project was a continuation of cultural reclamation, collective storytelling and community care.

“The exhibition, a unique and unprecedented local Bundjalung exhibition that celebrates women’s stories from ancient to contemporary forms, is sadly on its last leg of the tour,” Caldwell said.

“It’s the last chance to see the outstanding, dexterous skills of our Bundjalung ancestral weavers.

“We are impressed with the warm embrace from both Grafton and Tweed Heads community members, whose strong support and appreciation have been instrumental in making this exhibition a success.”

The exhibition features artists Bindimu, Casino Wake Up Time, Janelle Duncan, Madeleine Grace, Lauren Jarrett, Tania Marlowe, Bianca Monaghan, Krystal Randall, Rhoda Roberts AO, Kyra Togo, and Margaret Torrens, each contributing a contemporary fibre work that draws from ancient traditions while speaking to present-day identity and connection to Country.

Lismore Regional Gallery director Ashleigh Ralph said the exhibition coming to Lismore felt like the closing of a circle.

“As the final stop on its powerful journey across Bundjalung Country, this exhibition offers our community a meaningful opportunity to engage with cultural knowledge that is both ancestral and present,” Ralph said.

Lismore-based arts and cultural leader Rhoda Roberts describes weaving as more than an art form, but a continuum.

A practicing weaver, festival director, curator, writer and broadcaster, her exhibited work, Continuous Persistence, is made from Lomandra grass harvested on Country.

Roberts will join Aunty Janelle Duncan and Tania Marlowe to lead a weaving workshop during the exhibition opening event.

“Weaving is more than art; it’s an essence of the circular rhythm, something continuous, crafted from the provisions of Country,” Roberts said.

The Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali exhibition and free weaving workshop open on Saturday, September 13, at 1pm.

For information, visit lismoregallery.org