Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali Exhibition at Tweed Gallery

THE touring Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali Exhibition has opened at Tweed Regional Gallery, signalling a historic homecoming of ancestral woven objects.

For the first time, nine objects from the Australian Museum collection will return to Country, displayed alongside 10 newly-commissioned works by contemporary Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr and Kamilaroi (Gamilaroi) artists.

Presented by Arts Northern Rivers and curated by artist Kylie Caldwell, the exhibition brings together three major regional galleries – Tweed, Lismore and Grafton – to showcase the powerful collection of woven pieces that reconnect past and present.

Caldwell said the exhibit uniquely showcased ancient and contemporary women’s woven practices.

“Each weaver’s story is interconnected in one way or another,” Caldwell said.

“They all have a strong appreciation and respect for renewing and continuing our ancient woven cultural practices.

 

“We are fortunate with this exhibition to share a union of past and present that leads to tomorrow.

“The Bundjalung bags will be home for a while, conversing, sharing, informing, inspiring, affirming and connecting to their homelands.

“This is an exciting homecoming, one that weaves our history into the present.”

Arts and cultural leader Rhoda Roberts AO said weaving was a continuum.

A practising weaver, festival director, curator, writer and broadcaster, Roberts’s piece Continuous Persistence is made of lomandra grass harvested on Country.

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

 

“We have returned full circle to the old ways where our grandmothers once gathered under the trees, weaving.

“As I lie back with our children, we are reminded under the dappled shade that every leaf and every star is an ancestor.”

Tweed Regional Gallery director Ingrid Hedgcock said the display embodied a profound cultural legacy and the continuity of cultural expression.

“We are privileged to show this significant exhibition – a powerful reminder of the deep cultural connections embedded in these woven objects and the enduring strength of Bundjalung weaving traditions,” Hedgcock said.

“It is an honour to bring these ancestral pieces home to Country and to share this exhibition with our community.”

The Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali Exhibition will run until April 27.